Lake Brantley Patriots 3
Trinity Prep Saints 2
The Lake Brantley Patriots, playing on their home turf, used a quick start on offense and a tremendous pitching effort from starter Mike Ruff to earn a victory over Trinity Prep. The Patriots put four of their first five batters on base via the single, scoring two runs in the first inning with RBIs from Luis Olivier and Connor McDonald. Trinity would answer back immediately with two runs of their own, courtesy of an RBI single from Jarred Herron and a dropped third strike that would score Herron three batters later.
The game would remain tied until the 5th when Olivier led off with a double, and was brought in on what would be the game winning RBI off the bat of Alex Ray.
The Patriots were led by starting pitcher Mike Ruff, who settled down after the first inning and ended with a tremendous line: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER and 11 strikeouts. Jimmy Hartley and Kyle Cross would fire two shutout innings to help the Patriots hold on for their opening day win.
Lake Mary Rams 6
Barron Collier Cougars 7
Barron Collier used a big inning to take the lead, and were able to come up with a big at bat in the second extra inning to earn a hard fought win over the highly touted Lake Mary Rams.
Jacob Corso go things started for the Rams in the first inning with a two-run double. They would double their lead in the next frame with RBI hits from Bryce Voorhees and John Radetsky. With one of the best offensive players in the country in the lineup in Brendan Rodgers, the game seemed all but wrapped up. The Cougars had other plans though, as they were batted through and hung a 5 spot on the Rams in the bottom of the 4th, highlighted by a two-out, 2 RBI double from Marc Coffers. The Rams would not falter though, as Brett Brubaker would come through for Lake Mary in the top of the 7th, scoring leadoff hitter Brad Nenna on a single to tie the game. The game would eventually go nine innings, with Joey Dalton drawing a bases loaded walk in the bottom of the frame to secure the win for the Cougars. Dalton also earned the win on the mound for Barron Collier, firing three innings of shutout ball.
University Christian Christians 5
Gibbs Eagles (TN) 3
University Christian rode the efforts of Chris Gau and Trey Jarrell to a late inning win over Gibbs.
After firing two scoreless frames on the mound, Gau helped himself in the third inning, roping an RBI double to score Connor Johnson. Zack Miller would then score Gau with a single during the next at bat to give the Christians a 2-0 lead. The score would remain that way until Grant Crosby and Brandon Tuggle stroked back to back two-out singles in the bottom of the 6th to tie the game. As the teams entered the final frame knotted up, Trey Jarrell was able to come through in the clutch. With two outs, and the bases loaded, Jarrell sent a 1-0 pitch to the wall, scoring all three runners and clinching the game for University. Gau would end the game with 6 innings pitched, allowing two runs on six hits and striking out 10.
William T. Dwyer Panthers 4
Tampa Prep Terrapins 1
Sophomore standout Tyler Ahearn did a little bit of everything to help the Dwyer Panthers earn a Day 1 win over Tampa Prep.
The Terrapins would strike first on a textbook groundball to the right side off the bat of Luis Medina to score Matt Hodges, who had reached on a walk. The Panther would answer back with a run of their own in the bottom half, when leadoff man Connor Webb scored on a 6-4-3 double play. Ahearn would then regain his control and show why he is one of the top prospects in the 2017 class. After the first inning, he would fire four innings of shutout baseball, scattering just four hits and striking out seven to keep the game out of reach. Ahearn would also help himself with a couple of insurance runs scored off of his double in the 5th inning. Shane Roberts would come on in relief with two perfect innings that included four strikeouts of his own to earn the save for Dwyer.
Edmond Santa Fe Wolves 12
Palm Beach Central Broncos 5
Edmond Santa Fe showed no fatigue after a 24 hour journey from Oklahoma, starting and ending the game with a barrage of offense in their Day 1 win over Palm Beach Central.
With one out in the top of the first, the Wolves strung together a single, single, RBI double (KJ Orr), walk, 3 RBI double (Ryan Sanderson), and RBI double (Garrett Russell) to earn a 5-0 lead that they would not relinquish. Orr was effective on the mound for the Wolves until the 5th inning when Brett Hoberman tagged a 2 RBI double and Joey Romano added an RBI single of his own to cut the Edmond lead to 6-3. The Wolves quelled the rally immediately, hanging a four spot in the bottom of the frame, highlighted by a two-run single from Jake Martin. Each team would add two more runs, making the final score 12-5. Sanderson was one of three Wolves with two hits, and he also added two runs and three RBI.
Royal Palm Beach Wildcats 6
Ponte Vedra Sharks 2
The Wildcats of Royal Palm Beach enjoyed a victory over Ponte Vedra in a battle between two teams making their FHSI debuts.
Royal Palm plated two runs in the bottom of the 1st with an RBI single from Brandon Hernandez and an RBI groundout from Triston McKenzie. They would add three more runs in the next inning thanks to a wild pitch, groundout and a two-out double from Troy Hamilton. Those five runs would be more than enough for starter Nick Fernandez, who allowed just two hits and one earned run in six innings of work. Zach Retzler would come on in the final frame and close the door on the Sharks. Troy Hamilton finished 2-3 with a run and RBI for the Wildcats.
Palm Beach Gardens Gators 2
Chiles Timberwolves 1
The Gators used a couple of clutch late inning at bats to earn a Day 1 win over the Timberwolves of Chiles High School.
Chiles, playing in their first FHSI, scored a run in the first inning when Garrett Mathes plated Josh McLanahan on a bases loaded fielder’s choice. The game would then turn into a pitcher’s duel as both Will Guay (PBG) and Bowden Francis (Chiles) turned in strong performances. After five innings of shutout baseball, Hunter Sanicky was able to reach base with a single. Two batters later, with two outs, Udie Summerall smashed a ground rule double that would score Sanicky and tie the game. In the following frame, the Gators would strike again, this time securing the win. Sam Prince reached on an error with one out, and Sendle Jean would deliver the eventual game winning RBI single two batters later. Guay came out to end the game, but after allowing two runners on via an error and walk, he was replaced by Cody Gardere. Gardere would play the closer’s role to perfection inducing a flyout and fielder’s choice to end the game. Guay’s final line was 6.1 IP, 5 H,1 R, 2 BB and 3 K.
American Heritage 10
Seminole Seminoles 0
The first game of the 2015 FHSI started off with a bang courtesy of Jonathan India and the American Heritage Stallions.
India, one of the top prospects in the entire tournament, showed some of the power that makes him such an intriguing prospect for scouts with a solo home run in the first inning. That would have been enough insurance for starter Zack Schneider, but his teammates went ahead and added another 9 runs to put the game out of reach. Four Stallions recorded two hits (Frank, Canavan, India, Swinarski), headlined by India’s homerun, double, two runs scored and four RBI. Schneider was equally impressive during his six inning complete game. He allowed just one hit and two walks while striking out a dozen Seminoles as American Heritage earned a trip to the winner’s side of the bracket.
Tuesday's Games
All Games played at Sanford Memorial Stadium 10 AM Lake Mary vs. Chiles 1 PM Tampa Prep vs. Seminole 4 PM Palm Beach Gardens vs. Barron Collier 7 PM Dwyer vs. American Heritage