{"id":260,"date":"2026-06-04T04:06:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T04:06:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=260"},"modified":"2026-06-04T04:06:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T04:06:26","slug":"crls-baseball-wins-nail-biter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=260","title":{"rendered":"CRLS baseball wins nail-biter"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

When Joel Rojas-Cruz stepped to the plate in the bottom of the sixth for Cambridge Rindge and Latin against Natick on Wednesday night, the score was tied, the bases were loaded and there were two outs. But he was calm, relaxed and ready to jump on anything he knew he could hit. He smacked the first pitch down the left field line for a two-run double.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI knew I could come through,\u201d said Rojas-Cruz, who went 4-for-5 on the night. \u201cIt means a lot to me because I\u2019ve been with this program for four years and these coaches have always been here for me. I didn\u2019t want it to be my last game, so I went out there and did something for my team.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Natick, which came into the game ranked sixth in Eastern Massachusetts by the Boston Globe, wasn\u2019t done.<\/p>\n

Jasen Thomas, who pitched five innings of one-hit ball against Somerville in the regular season finale, came in to close out the game. He retired Natick\u2019s Henry Kinchla on a fly ball to right to open the inning but loaded the bases after walking two batters and hitting another. With two outs, Thomas got Braeden Homer to ground the ball weakly back to him. Thomas calmly fielded the ball and threw to first baseman Stefan Alexandrov to give the Falcons (19-2) a heart-stopping 10-8 win. They advanced to the round of eight in the MIAA Division I baseball tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t really feel anything,\u201d said Thomas. \u201cIt was just vibes. All I could really see was the catcher\u2019s mitt and was trying to throw as hard as I could. Even with the bases loaded I felt great. All the work we put in during the season made me feel like I could do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Cambridge, ranked 14th by the Globe, scored four runs in the first inning and led 6-1 after three. Natick clawed back into the game with three runs in the fourth inning to make the score 6-4. After Cambridge tacked on a run in the fifth, Natick scored four runs in the sixth to take an 8-7 lead, with cleanup hitter Alex Jacques hitting a three-run home run.<\/p>\n

But as has been the case all season, the Falcons were unfazed when they found themselves trailing. Pinch hitter Ari Maslan led off with a single to left field. With one out, Josh Silber reached on an infield single, advancing Maslan to third. Natick brought in reliever Max Bonavire, who threw the ball away in a pickoff attempt at first base before he threw a pitch, allowing Maslan to tie the game. With two outs, Oliver Henke was intentionally walked, Hugo Davis was hit by a pitch and Rojas-Cruz hit his double.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were just relentless with the bats and just grinding all the way,\u201d said coach Robert Merrill. \u201cI\u2019m so proud of the guys tonight. We always talk about staying humble, staying hungry, and giving your max effort. The guys really buy into it. That\u2019s why they don\u2019t freak out when we get down by a run late. They just battle and fight through it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Falcons had 16 hits and were never retired in order. Henke reached base in four of his five at bats, hitting two home runs and a triple, driving in two and scoring four runs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe kid\u2019s special,\u201d Merrill said. \u201cWe go as he goes. He set the tone with the leadoff triple at the start of the game and then the second home run literally gave me goosebumps.\u201d Merrill said Henke \u201cnever shows emotion\u201d but tonight \u201cI think he broke my hand high-fiving me in the dugout.\u201d<\/p>\n

This weekend CRLS will face the winner of Thursday\u2019s game between Boston College High School and Braintree. BC High is the Globe\u2019s top-ranked team and the tournament\u2019s top seed.<\/p>\n

Merrill likes CRLS\u2019s chances. \u201cI feel like we\u2019re just as good as any of the eight teams (left),\u201d he said. \u201cWe kind of stuck our flag in the ground tonight and said, \u2018We\u2019re for real.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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When Joel Rojas-Cruz stepped to the plate in the bottom of the sixth for Cambridge Rindge and Latin against Natick on Wednesday night, the score was tied, the bases were loaded and there were two outs. But he was calm, relaxed and ready to jump on anything he knew he could hit. He smacked the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":259,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[118,145,69],"class_list":["post-260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-culture","tag-baseball","tag-cambridge-rindge-and-latin","tag-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nCRLS baseball wins nail-biter - Cambridge Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=260\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"CRLS baseball wins nail-biter - Cambridge Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When Joel Rojas-Cruz stepped to the plate in the bottom of the sixth for Cambridge Rindge and Latin against Natick on Wednesday night, the score was tied, the bases were loaded and there were two outs. 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