By RYAN ARENA

Sports Editor

Still trying to sort out its starting rotation for this season, West St. John fell in its season opener at Southern Lab on Monday, 7-2, in a game shortened to six innings due to time constraints.

Ram pitchers combined to walk nine batters, while the WSJ offense mustered only three hits on the day.

“You can’t have nine walks in a game. It’s a recipe for defeat,” said West St. John coach Lennix Madere.

The WSJ rotation was rocked before the season began when its ace in 2007, Karl Herbert, did not rejoin the squad this season. That, combined with second starter Dray Joseph’s current occupation with the Rams basketball playoff team, leaves three young players to carry the load on the mound: Dontre’ Turner, Devon Jackson and Dontrelle Lumar.

Jackson (0-1) started the game and took the loss. He went three innings before giving way to Turner.

“The thing with the young guys is they’re nervous right now. We didn’t think we were going to need to rely on them so fast,” said Madere. “These guys are going to be real good pitchers for us, but we would have liked to bring them along slowly.”

West St. John (0-1) took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. First, after Barry Hanson walked, and Kenneth Taylor doubled to set up two men in scoring position. That set up Quincy Green, who added a double of his own down the left field line to bring both in.

Southern Lab (1-0) got on the board with a run in the second inning, then added two more on a two RBI single third to take the lead.

Each team was scoreless over the next two innings, before Southern Lab broke loose in the bottom of the sixth. After going ahead 4-2, it loaded the bases, and a Southern Lab batter struck out.

But the ball wasn’t handled cleanly, and when the batter took off, the throw to first base sailed into the outfield, allowing three runs to score.

Madere thought the strikeout should have stood.

“Maybe I need to go back and review that rule a little better, I don’t know,” Madere said. “But as far as I know, when the bases are loaded, the runners have nowhere to go.”

But regardless, the Rams did not get the chance to come back out for the seventh inning – there was a game scheduled on Southern Lab’s field afterwards, so the time limit on the first game expired.

West St. John was scheduled to play at St. James on Thursday, but the game has been moved to Saturday, at West St. John. The Rams’ Saturday game against Douglass is cancelled. WSJ will visit St. James Tuesday.