The St. Ignatius Varsity Wildcats wasted no time making a statement on the road Tuesday, rolling past the Palo Alto Vikings 9-1 behind a barrage of 13 hits and a rock-solid outing from their pitching staff.

The Wildcats drew first blood in the opening frame when Archer Horn stepped to the plate and launched a solo shot to center field, giving St. Ignatius the early 1-0 advantage and setting the tone for the afternoon.

St. Ignatius continued to pour it on in the third inning. DJ Delaney ripped a triple down the right field line, and Ryan Rosenthal followed with a single to left, both players coming around to score and extend the Wildcats' lead to 3-0. It was the kind of timely hitting that put the game firmly out of reach.

On the Mound

Connor Law was masterful on the hill, earning the victory in commanding fashion. The right-hander worked three and two-thirds innings, surrendering just three hits and no runs while striking out one and walking one. Leo Rhein then took over out of the bullpen, delivering two and a third strong innings and punching out two batters. AJ Wineinger closed things out with one inning of spotless relief — no hits, one strikeout, no walks.

Offensive Explosion

The Wildcats' offense was relentless from top to bottom, racking up 13 hits as a team. Rosenthal, Horn, Delaney, and Delmar Petersen each went multi-hit on the day. Delaney was the offensive catalyst, going 2-for-3 with a team-high three RBI. St. Ignatius also played clean defensively, committing zero errors and turning one double play. Chase Gordon was a standout in the field, recording a game-high 10 putouts.

St. Ignatius returns home Friday to face Carlmont, riding high on the momentum of one of their most complete performances of the season.