Buchholz Baseball 4-0 After 7-2 Win Against Santa Fe

The Buchholz Bobcats baseball team remains undefeated after topping the visiting Santa Fe Raiders 7-2 on a chilly Friday night when the temperature hit 39 degrees.

Buchholz has handled teams en route to a 4-0 start by outscoring foes by a combined 36-9.

Solid Offense

Seniors Kai So, a Harvard commit, and Stuart Ding and junior Blake Brewer led Buchholz with two hits apiece. Senior Cedaris Smith and junior Aidan Kastensmidt scored two runs each for Buchholz and Ding, who also hit a double, drove in two runs.

Buchholz had six stolen bases.

Harvard commit Kai So with a strong hit to open the bottom of the 6th @Bobcat_Baseball pic.twitter.com/ZhT9FhIyvY

— Riley Tirrell (@Riley_Tirrell) February 22, 2025

Buchholz senior pitcher JJ Gardner (2-0) tossed four innings and struck out seven before three relievers took the mound to ride out the game. Buchholz pitchers combined to strike out 11.

Santa Fe senior Caleb Kietzman (0-1) gave up the seven runs, but only two were earned in five innings. Kietzman also led Santa Fe with two hits on offense.

So was perfect in the field for the Bobcats, going 11 for 11 on putout chances. Santa Fe third baseman Dylan Doria made the defensive play of the game with a diving catch to put out Smith in the bottom of the fourth.

Up Next

Buchholz looks to continue the winning streak next week with an away game against Citra North Marion (3-3) on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. It will be the Bobcats’ first three-game week of the season, which coach Ron Brooks said will be a challenge for the pitching staff.

“It is momentum, but there’s some stuff we gotta get better at,” Brooks said of the hot start. “We gotta throw more strikes than we have been and, do (a) better job with runners on base … so we got a lot we can work on.”

Buchholz baseball head coach Ron Brooks following the 7-2 win against Santa Fe pic.twitter.com/om5s5GU8Bv

— Colby Kistner (@vintagemall73) February 22, 2025

Santa Fe (2-4) looks to move on from the tough loss on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. with another road game at Dunnellon (1-5). It will be the Raiders’ first of four consecutive games.