Day two of the Kingsmen Baseball mission trip was another very successful one. Pride lefthander John Bakke threw a complete game no-hitter as the Pride blanked a team from San Pedro by a score of 7-0. The redshirt freshman from Huntsville, AL and Morehead State University allowed only 3 baserunners via walks over the 7 innings, while striking out 10.
Offensively, the Pride only managed 5 hits, but were aided by 12 walks. Joe Sibeto (Oakdale, PA and Slippery Rock University) and Kale Rhame (Chapin, SC and Charleston Southern University) each had a double and RBI. Ben Harris (Mount Laurel, NJ and Millersville State University) added an RBI single, while Luke Stageberg (Greer, SC and College of Charleston) chipped in with a triple.
After the game, outfielder Ben Harris shared his testimony with the opposing team. Ben talked about how he accepted Christ when he was a young child, but it wasn’t until this year that he really made a decision to go “All In” for Christ. When Ben finished sharing, Coach Joe Hudak shared how God loved us so much that he gave His only son to pay the penalty for our sins. He told how Jesus willingly took our place on the cross. After sharing, the Pride players again gave Spanish New Testament Bibles to the other team.
When the team left San Pedro, they traveled to Santo Domingo to the home of Pride player Richard de la Cruz. Richard hails from Santo Domingo, but has been playing baseball in the United States the past three years. He played his senior year of high school at Lynchburg Christian in Lynchburg, Virginia. He played his first two years of college at Radford University, but is transferring to Belmont Abbey College. The de la Cruz family provided the Pride players with a delicious home-cooked Dominican meal.
The Pride take a break from baseball on Saturday. They will visit the village of Villa Caoba in the morning to play with a group of 80 disadvantaged kids, and then help serve the children lunch. In the afternoon, the players will visit the Orfanato Ninos de Cristo, an orphanage for homeless and abused children.
