It only takes one inning to change a game, and in Friday’s matchup between St. Aloysius and PCA, that inning came early.

The Flashes scored seven runs in the first inning and coasted to a 13-3 victory and a sweep of PCA in their two-game home-and-home series. St. Al won the first game 7-0 on Thursday.

PCA committed six errors and mustered only three hits, while St Al had seven hits and just two errors. Thomas Phillips was 2-for-3 with three runs scored for St. Al.

St. Al coach Sid Naron was pleased with how his team took control of the game.

“Definitely feel like our offense is slowly coming around,” Naron said. “I think its strictly due to getting more at-bats, really felt like the guys are starting to see the ball, and was really starting to click on offense. We’re getting a lineup that can compete every day.”

St Al’s hot start was kicked off with an error on a bunt that allowed two runs to come home, then a wild pitch that allowed Josh Collins to score. Next, a sacrifice fly by James Trichell sent home Tyler Breithaupt, and then Wes Warnock smacked a bases-clearing triple to left field. Warnock scored on an error on the next at-bat.

PCA scored an unearned run in the second inning, and the Flashes scored on a bases-loaded walk in the bottom half of that frame, but things heated up a little for the Eagles in the top of the third. Gage Wilkinson sent home a runner with a sacrifice fly, and a Josh Smith single to right field scored Kyle Guider to cut it to 7-3.

From there, St. Al (5-0) took control back. It scored twice in the third inning, once in the fourth, and eventually ended the game early in the fifth inning due to the mercy rule. Collins had an RBI double and Thomas Phillips scored on a wild pitch to end it.

Naron felt that the team’s big first inning was especially important, as it took some pressure off of pitcher Lane Hubbard.

Hubbard pitched five innings and allowed three hits and two walks, but only two earned runs. He struck out five.

“We had a young guy on the mound who hadn’t thrown. It’s his first varsity start, he’s a 10th grader. I thought he threw extremely well, but to get him those runs in the first inning was very, very important,” Naron said. “He was shaky throughout the game, but he continued to compete. I’m very proud of his effort to make it throughout the complete game.”

PCA made solid contact with a number of Hubbard’s pitches, but it seemed like every time they did it would go right to a St. Al fielder, or a great defensive play would snuff out the potential hit.

“We wanted him to throw to contact,” Naron said. “He’s found a third pitch. I felt like that was vital to him being able to stay in the length of the game. He found his change up in the second inning, which really extended him into the rest of the game.”

Although the score was a bit more lopsided, PCA coach Wade Patrick said the Eagles did improve on Thursday’s loss. St. Al’s Tyler Breithaupt recorded 15 strikeouts in a one-hit shutout in the first half of the home-and-home series at PCA’s Pierce Field.

“Yesterday we just didn’t put the ball in play,” Patrick said. “You strike out 15 times, you’re not going to win, no matter who you’re playing. Tonight, we hit the ball better. They made some plays behind him that you have to make, and we just made too many costly errors, giving too many free runs.”

Patrick was proud of his team’s effort, but felt that his defense had to improve in the future. The Eagles commited a total of eight errors in the two games against their crosstown rival, which led to 11 unearned runs.

“(St. Al) is a good team. I was proud of the way we played for the most part, we just have to cut out the errors that are giving runs away,” Patrick said. “If we can do that, we’ll be competitive in most games.”