St. John’s baseball completes its dominant season with a WCAC sweep

“It feels good to be back,” said senior first baseman Andy Francis, who went 4 for 4.

The Cadets claim this year’s run, a 30-1-1 tour de force that slots them alongside the best programs in the country and elevates them far above every other school in the D.C. area, was special. But only because any year that ends in a WCAC title is special.

Certainly, no year in the WCAC is easy, and no run is unvalued, even during a season in which St. John’s outscored its opponents 282-44. Because the Cadets practice year-round, they say, their bond is closer than other local programs. Continuity, combined with recruited talent, kept the machine turning after last year’s runner-up finish.

“Success begets success,” St. John’s Coach Mark Gibbs said.

On Sunday, those weighty barrels and whipping arms excelled. Clayton Armah, a 6-foot-4 sophomore right-hander committed to Auburn, stymied Gonzaga batters, blanking the Eagles (20-8) until a solo home run in the sixth inning. Cadets junior outfielder Brady Ruiz-Weiss opened scoring with a two-run blast that cleared the right field wall by a good dozen feet.

Still, they embraced the smaller attributes. After Ruiz-Weiss’s home run, the Cadets recorded eight more hits, five of which they legged out as infield hits or bunted singles. The Cadets scored four runs in the next five innings, three of which came from a sacrifice bunt and two sacrifice flies.

“We stick to the little details,” Armah said. “That’s what separates us.”

In the WCAC semifinals, the Cadets took Game 1 from Paul VI on Monday, 4-1, before the Panthers snapped their chance at an unbeaten record, besting St. John’s, 4-3, on Tuesday. The Cadets eliminated Paul VI on Wednesday, 11-0, before taking Friday’s Game 1 against Gonzaga by a 12-4 score.

In the end, the only motivation they felt they needed came from the logo on their chests.

“It’s all about selflessness at the end of the day,” Francis said. “Even in school, we do things a certain way. And we’ve been humbled before. Especially last year. But we just take things one day at a time. We’re with our boys every single day. So there’s no one who is above anyone else on this team.”