LHS sophomore second baseman Aaron Rea swings at a pitch against Shawnee Mission North. The Lions dropped that game, 5-4, but Rea's two-run homer in their earlier game helped get the offense rolling in a 10-4 rout of Blue Valley North on Saturday at Ice Field.

Home runs by No. 9 hitters in high school baseball are as rare as bamboo bats.

Yet Aaron Rea, hitting at the bottom of Lawrence High’s lineup, crashed a two-run homer that boosted the Lions to a 10-4 victory over Blue Valley North on Saturday afternoon at Ice Field.

“I’m not your typical nine-hole hitter,” Rea said. “Most pitchers throw the No. 9 guy first-pitch fastballs, figuring to get them out pretty easy.”

Rea, a sophomore second baseman, stepped to the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning with two outs, a runner on first base and the Lions trailing, 3-2.

Moments later, Lawrence led 4-3 after Rea deposited a first-pitch fastball by BVN left-hander Drew Donaldson over the left-field fence.

“I was looking first-pitch fastball, and I hit it good, and it went out,” Rea said of his initial homer as a high schooler. “It was a little bit of a surprise, but it was a nice surprise.”

It also was a hitting catalyst for the Lions, who went on to score six more runs in the next two innings, including a two-run homer by senior first baseman Nick DeBiasse.

“We were really, really slow starting today,” Lawrence coach Brad Stoll said. “Rea’s shot really got us going. He’s a kid I’m pretty excited about.”

Stoll was also pretty excited about Drew Hulse’s pitching. The senior right-hander went the first six innings, allowing six hits and four runs. Only one of the runs was earned.

“That’s just Drew Hulse,” Stoll said. “We needed some gutsy pitching, and he’s that guy. Guys love to play behind him because he works fast and he’s a ground-ball pitcher.”

Hulse played a different role later when he shifted to right field for the continuation of a game against Shawnee Mission North that had been suspended last Tuesday night because of rain.

Less than half an hour after the end of the BV North game, the Lawrence-SM North contest resumed with the Indians at bat with one out in the top of the seventh.

Lions’ right-hander Jordan Guntert disposed of the Indians in that frame, then the Lions went 1-2-3 against SM North ace Gage Daniels, forcing extra innings.

In the eighth, the Indians had runners at first and second with two outs when Zach Gabriel lifted what looked like a routine fly to short right field. The wind, however, was gusting behind Hulse’s back in right field, and the ball dropped in front of him, allowing a run to score.

That run proved decisive when the Lions went 1-2-3 again in the bottom of the eighth against Daniels.

“He’s their No. 1 guy, and he’s good,” Stoll said of Daniels. “We had six unimpressive at-bats against him.”

At the same time, Stoll couldn’t fault Hulse for the ball that dropped in right field.

“We didn’t lose because of that,” the Lions’ coach said. “I’d love to have fly balls hit to Drew all day. He’ll catch 99 out of 100 of them.”

Next for the Lions (9-7 overall, 5-4 Sunflower League) will be SM South on Monday at Ice Field. That game will begin at 7 p.m. instead of the normal 5:30 p.m. start because of a logistical problem involving umpires.