FHSI Recap Day 4
Trinity Prep Saints 5
Gibbs Eagles 2
The Trinity Prep Saints scored early and never relinquished the lead as they defeated the Gibbs Eagles by a score of 5-2 on Thursday.
Ryan Olenek got things started for the Saints in the bottom of the 1st inning with a leadoff base hit, one of three for him on the day. After being sacrificed to second base by Ethan Groff, Olenek would come around to score after back to back wild pitches from Gibbs. Groff would then come in to score himself on an RBI groundout from Jackson Furstace. After Gibbs managed a run in the top half, Trinity Prep would strike again in the second inning. A one out walk to Andrew Roberts, followed by singles from Slade Cecconi and Olenek would load the bases for the Saints. Jared Herron would deliver, lacing a single that would score two runs to make the lead 4-1.
Trinity Prep would add one more run in the fourth inning after a leadoff walk to Patrick Trevisani. After a sacrifice and a groundout, Olenek would deliver a single to score the leadoff man to extend the lead to 5-1. In the top of the 5th, Pierce Elliott did his part to keep Gibbs close, sending a 2-0 pitch over the left field wall for his first homerun of the tournament. Johnson would finish 3-4 with a double, homerun, run scored and RBI for Gibbs. Jared Herron would come on to close the game for the Saints by firing a scoreless final frame.
Lake Brantley Patriots 5
University Christian Christians 3
A first inning rally and an efficient start from Trey Van der Weide helped the Lake Brantley Patriots to a victory over University Christian on Thursday.
Jay Charleston led the game off with a triple to start the Patriot rally. After a strikeout, Paxton Rigby would walk and steal second, putting two men in scoring position. Luis Olivier would then continue his hot hitting for the tournament, bringing them both in with a double. Olivier would end the day 2-3 with two doubles and is now hitting .700 for the tournament. A wild pitch to the next batter would advance Olivier to 3rd base, and he would score on a groundout from Connor McDonald. University would get a run back of their own in the bottom half, with a leadoff single from Gage Bishop, a double from Conner Johnson and an RBI groundout from Chris Gau.
Charleston would begin another run scoring effort in the third inning when he reached on a single. He would advance to second on a balk, to third on a sac bunt and then score off Olivier’s second double of the game. With the score 4-1 in the bottom half, Van der Weide would escape a bases loaded jam by inducing a flyout and groundout to quell the Christians’ rally. The teams would swap runs in the 5th inning, and University was able to put get one more in the bottom of the 7th, but it wouldn’t be enough as the Patriots were able to hold on for the win.
Palm Beach Central Broncos 3
Ponte Vedra Sharks 2
A strong effort from the Broncos two man pitching staff of Kyle Giragos and Erik Strandberg helped the Broncos to their second win at the FHSI.
Chase Hahnemann stayed hot after his 3-3 performance on Wednesday, this time delivering a double to open the ballgame. He would then steal third base and be brought in by Hunter Hallstrom two batters later to give Central a 1-0 lead. The Sharks were quick to respond however. Brad Zippin led off with a single, and would advance to third thanks to a wild pitch and single off the bat of Anthony Gallecchio. Brooks Aristy would then deliver a sac fly to plate Zippin and tie the ballgame. Both Giragos and Ponte Vedra starter Justin Vega would keep things calm until the 4th inning, when the Broncos were able to strike again.
Aristy would lead off the inning with a double, and come in to score on an error during Brett Hoberman’s at bat. After a double play ball, Brandan Whalen would rekindle the rally, lacing a double to the gap. The Broncos would again take advantage of a Sharks error, allowing Whalen to score to make the score 3-1. In the top of the 5th, Hahnemann would deliver again for the Sharks with an RBI groundout that would score Zach Wernick, who had reached on a walk to start the inning. That would be the end of the day on offense for both teams however, with the Broncos holding on to win 3-2. Giragos went four innings, giving just four hits and one run while striking out two. Strandberg earned the save with three innings pitched, one hit, one run and one strikeout.
Edmond Santa Fe Wolves 4
Royal Palm Beach Wildcats 1
The Edmond Santa Fe Wolves rallied for four runs in the third inning, supplying all the offense they would need to earn a hard fought victory over Royal Palm in the day’s first winner’s bracket semi-final matchup.
The Wildcats played a baseball purist’s perfect inning of baseball in the bottom of the first. Leadoff man Sean Malynn reached on a walk, and immediately stole second base. A groundball to the right side from Sean Houck would move Malynn to 3rd base, and he would eventually score on a sac fly from Troy Hamilton. After an uneventful second frame, the Wolves’ offense would wake up in the third. Colin Goad punched a double to right-center field to get things started. A Jake Martin single one batter later would put runners on the corners with one out. Zak Bycko was intentionally walked to load the bases for cleanup hitter KJ Orr. Orr didn’t waste any time in his at bat, launching a double to the left-center wall that would plate all three runners. Ryan Sanderson would then bring Orr in on a single for the fourth run of the inning.
Edmond starter Quinn Costello didn’t miss a lot of bats, but his location was near perfect throughout the day. He settled down after the first inning, firing five straight shutout frames. Sidearmer Zak Jurko would come on to close the game for Edmond, and secure their spot in Friday’s championship game. Costelo and Jurko allowed just three hits and one walk on the day for the Wolves.
American Heritage Stallions 2
Palm Beach Gardens Gators 1
Any fans looking for offense would struggle to find it in this ballgame, as both teams’ pitching staffs were on point throughout the day.
After two scoreless innings apiece from Dylan Gordon (AHS) and Austin Wilson (PBG), the Stallions were finally able to scrape a run across the board in the top of the third. Leadoff man Tyler Frank did his job, reaching first base after getting hit by a pitch. He would advance to second on an error, and then to third on a wild pitch. Chris Canavan would then score Frank on a nice piece of hitting, sending a groundball to the right side for an RBI groundout. The score would remain at 1-0 until the Gators tied it up in the bottom of the 5th. Udie Summerall, hitting a cool .375 for the tournament, would lead off with a single. A sac bunt from Anthony Maldonado moved him to second, and a Hunter Holland single got him to third. Sam Prince would then reach on an error that would score Summerall and tie the game.
Things would remain that way until the 8th inning. Florida Gator commit Jonathan India smoked a single to reach base. He would then showoff his speed, stealing both second and third base. An error from the third baseman would score India, to give the Stallions a 2-1 lead that they would not relinquish. Tyler Frank pitched a perfect bottom half of the inning, earning himself a win. Gordon lasted 5.1 innings for AHS, allowing just two hits and one unearned run while striking out six. Wilson went 6.2 innings himself, allowing just one hit and one run with four Ks.
Lake Mary Rams 10
Tampa Prep Terrapins 2
The top of the Lake Mary lineup had a monster day, helping the Rams cruise to a 10-2 win over Tampa Prep.
Things started quickly for Lake Mary as the first four batters all reached base safely via a single, walk, single and RBI single. After two outs, a bases loaded walk to Frank Nieman would bring in another run for the Rams. The Terrapins would get one run back in the bottom half, with leadoff man Brad Nenna reaching on a single, advancing to third on a base hit from Matt Hodges, and scoring on a Luis Medina sac fly.
The Rams would put the game away thanks to runs in the 2nd, 3rd and 6th innings. This included an RBI double from John Radetsky and a homerun from Brendan Rodgers. The Rams would tack on two more runs in the 7th inning to finish the game 10-2. The aforementioned top of the lineup (Brad Nenna, John Radetsky, Brendan Rodgers) for Lake Mary finished 6-13 at the plate with five runs and seven rbi.
Barron Collier Panthers 3
Dwyer Panthers 0
The day’s second semi-final matchup featured just two pitchers, and was a battle until the end.
Colton Rendon of Dwyer and Joey Dalton of Barron Collier each tossed impressive games, but in the end, Barron Collier was able to come out on top.
Each pitcher held the opposing team scoreless through four innings. It wasn’t until the bottom of the 5th that the Cougars would put a run on the board. Jesse Ferreira opened the inning with a double, and would score during the next at bat thanks to an error from Dwyer. Jonathan Newman, who had advanced all the way to third base on the previous error, was brought in to score on a sac fly from Marc Coffers to make the score 2-0.
Dalton carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning, but Dywer’s Connor Webb was able to lay down a bunt to break up the no hitter. Dalton did not let the base hit effect him though, as he was able to register a groundball out before the Panthers could get back in the game. Enrique Ferrer put the game out of reach in the bottom half of the inning by launching a solo home run to lead off the frame. Tha made the score 3-0, and Dalton would keep it that way by finishing the 7th inning. His final line read: seven innings pitched, allowing three hits, no runs, no walks and two strikeouts. The win placed the Cougars in the championship game against Edmond Santa Fe on Friday night.
Chiles Timberwolves 4
Seminole Seminoles 3
Thursday’s nightcap ended with a one run ballgame that went down to the wire.
Both Seminole and Chiles were able to put runs across the board in the first inning. The Seminoles made it to the board when Yuri Sabb walked to lead off the game. He would advance to second on a wild pitch, and then to third on a single from Scott Fickas. A groundball from Alex Diemer would plated Sabb for the first run of the game. Chiles was able to answer back in the bottom half however. After Josh McLanahan walked and Conner Dunbar singled, the Timberwolves were ready to score. McLanahan advanced to third on a fly ball, and would score on a Seminole error. Dunbar, who advanced to third on the error, was then brought in on a Tate Hagan sac fly.
Chiles would add a run in each of the third and fourth innings to make the score 4-1. Things stayed that way until the final frame for Seminole. In the tip of the 7th, they attempted a comeback. Rony Williams would lace a two out double to bring in Ryan O’Donnell, who had reached on a walk. With the score now 4-2, Andre Bell;s single would score Williams to make it 4-3. With runners on first and second with two outs, Dunbar was able to come on and strike out the last batter to save the game for Chiles.
Friday’s Games
Sanford Stadium:
9AM - Palm Bach Gardens vs. University Christian
11:30AM - Ponte Vedra vs. William T Dwyer
2:00 PM - Palm Beach Central vs. Chiles
4:30PM - Royal Palm Beach vs. Seminole
7PM - Edmond Santa Fe vs. Barron Collier (Championship)
Lake Brantley:
10AM - Gibbs vs. Tampa Prep
1PM - American Heritage vs. Lake Brantley
4PM - Trinity Prep vs Lake Mary