No. 2 Sussex Tech may have overreacted just a bit after giving up a two-run home run to visiting No. 15 Red Lion in the top of the first. The Ravens baseball squad proceeded to mercilessly hang 10 runs on the Lions in their bottom half of the inning to propel the Henlopen Conference champions to a 12-5 victory May 25.

Sussex Tech coach G.L. Jefferson opted to go with southpaw Jeremy Vest to start the contest. After surrendering a lead-off single, the senior settled down to record two outs in a row. Red Lions Brayden Redmond watched one of Vests throws sail in for a strike before the sophomore sent a laser over the fence in right-center.

[Redmond] put a great swing on the ball, Jefferson said.And with our guys, I think the way our energy levels have been the past few games, I knew we would match it. I didn't expect a 10-run first inning, but I knew we would be able to match it. I was proud of our guys for keeping their heads up and then continuing to battle through that first and be able to put that big cushion ahead of us.

Braydon Hazzard and Sean Ely walked to start the inning. It looked like Red Lion was about to roll a double play before Ely beat the throw to second. With the bases loaded, Rosnell Lewis singled on a line drive to left field to score Hazzard and Ely. Gavin Hudson scored on the next play, a ground out to second. Lewis scored on a passed ball before the Ravens collected three free passes to load the bases. Zane Adams picked up an RBI with his walk before a pair of singles off the bats of Hazzard and Ely scored one and two runs, respectively. With the bases loaded, Gavin Hudson tripled to plate another three, giving the Ravens a 10-2 lead at the end of one.

The defensive play of the game came in the second inning when Lewis fielded a single to center and came up firing with no need for a cut-off man. Kade Hall had plenty of time to position himself, grab the missile and tag Logan Hill for the final out.

Ely, who led the team in hits and RBIs, drove in another run in the bottom of the second to continue padding the lead.

This morning, I got into the cages early, started working off the tee and working balls into the back of the net, Ely said.

Red Lion scored once in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, but it wasnt enough, as the Ravens sailed to a 12-5 victory and into the quarterfinals. The Ravens added their 12th run in the fifth inning. Ely thinks the team can use the game as a mental boost heading into the next round.

This definitely does build our energy back up and gets us ready for our quarterfinal against William Penn, Ely said.

Following the win, Sussex Tech was all business.

They realize how much we've invested into the season and not to give it away just by having low energy or having a low-quality outing, Jefferson said.

The Ravens will welcome No. 7 William Penn to their nest at 4 p.m., Tuesday, May 28.

Read more:

Sussex Tech uses big first inning to advance to quarterfinals - CapeGazette.com