The562’s baseball coverage in 2025 is sponsored by the Millikan, Long Beach Poly, and Lakewood baseball boosters.
The562’s coverage of St. Anthony athletics is sponsored by Jane & B.I. Mais, Class of 1948.
St. Anthony senior Benny Lane had one thing on his mind heading into the Saints first round game against Heritage – win.
Lane did just that by pitching six innings and allowing just one run while going 2/3 from the plate with two home runs and three RBIs. Lane’s big performance led St. Anthony to a 3-1 win over Heritage in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 5 playoffs.
“Winning was the overall mindset of today,” Lane said. “We have to win today to get you to tomorrow and I feel like I just felt all the energy from my teammates in the dugout and I used that to my advantage.”
Heritage didn’t make it easy for Lane, as the first-place team out of the Sun Belt League used a two-out rally after Zach Cedillo doubled and later scored on a wild pitch to take a 1-0 lead in the first inning.
St. Anthony’s Nick Galluccio responded in the bottom half of the inning with a leadoff single and scored after Lane hit his first homerun of the afternoon with a shot to right field that bounced off the foul pole.
“I feel blessed,” Lane said. “Not every day you’ll get the opportunity to be able to do something like this.”
After two scoreless innings, Lane helped himself with a leadoff home run to left center to give the Saints a 3-1 lead.
The Saints weren’t out of trouble, as Heritage continued to pressure Lane on the mound — including in the sixth inning, when the Patriots loaded the bases with only one out.
However, Lane settled in and was able to get the last two outs to hold the 3-1 lead.
After going down 1-2-3 to end the sixth inning, junior Jaylen Butler got the ball to get the last three outs.
Butler delivered as he retired Heritage in order to push the Saints to the second round.
“I watched Benny throw strikes today and really give them trouble,” Butler said. “So, I figured if I could hit spots, get some people to roll over and some good defense to back me up and get out of it.”
“I thought we played really well,” St. Anthony coach Kris Jondle said. “That’s a really good team.”
The Saints will get another home game as they host Jurupa Hills on Tuesday at Clark Field.
