Player of the Day Herbert Iser, Osceola 3-4, 2 HR, 3 R, 4 RBI
Pitcher of the Day Alex Lopez, Okeechobee 6 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 7 K
North Florida Christian 9 Osceola 8
The first game of Day 2 was one of the best in tournament history. Both NFC and Osceola showed why they are considered two of the top programs in the state in a hard fought battle that went to the Eagles.
The action started in the second inning with Osecola batting. Dallas Beaver led off the inning with a solo home run, his first of the tournament. After a strikeout, catcher Herbert Iser matched Beaver with a solo blast of his own, making the score 2-0. The excitement wouldn’t last long for the Kowboys as NFC came storming back in the bottom half. With one out, Taylor Schmidt was hit by a pitch and Meigs Lamb roped a single to put two men on. Stephen Veliz would bring in Schmidt with a single of his own. A throwing error by the catcher would then allow Lamb to score. Freshman Brandon Walker’s sac fly would deliver Veliz, and a single by Matt Dickey would plate Trey Pearce to make the score 4-2.
The Kowboys stayed hot at the plate as Kevin Silva, Francisco Thomas and Dallas Beaver all reached to start the inning. A sac fly from Jorge Ramirez would make the score 4-3 before Iser would step up and smash his second bomb of the game, scoring three and making it 6-4 Osceola. The score would remain that way until the fifth inning.
Control issues plagued NFC as Beaver and Jorge Ramirez would walk, followed by an Iser single and a third walk, this time to Adams Torres, scoring Beaver. Andrew Walden would then deliver a base hit to score Ramirez and make the score 8-4. Against most teams, that would be plenty of room late in the game. However, the explosive Eagles offense was able to make it a game in the bottom of the inning. Matt Dickey led things off with a double, and would score on a JD Tease single. After a double off the bat of Chris Jerry put two men on, Travis Ray stepped up and delivered a three-run bomb to knot the game at 8 apiece. One inning later, Taylor Schmidt would deliver a RBI single, scoring Dickey and giving North Florida a lead they would not relinquish.
Five Eagles had multiple hits, including Matt Dickey who went 4-4 with a double, two runs and an RBI. Iser had a great day at the plate in a losing effort for Osceola, going 3-4 with two HR, two runs and four RBI. North Florida is now 2-0 in the tournament, while Osceola falls to 1-1.
Maclay 5
Okeechobee 4
Game two of the day also brought some drama, needing an extra frame to decide the winner. Maclay put together multiple late rallies to tie the game and earn the win late over Okeechobee by a score of 5-4.
Okeechobee would strike first in the bottom of the opening frame, ripping off four hits, with Koby Chapman’s single being of the RBI variety. After a scoreless second, Maclay would strike back in the third. With one out, Matt Cabalero singled, and would be replaced on the bases by Hayden Bass. Max McKinley would step next and rope a double to center field, moving Bass to third. After a strikeout, Matt Boynton was able to come through with a single to score both baserunners before being thrown out trying to advance. The Brahmans would tie the score back up in the bottom of the third thanks to some heads up base running and an error from the Maclay catcher.
The fourth inning would go scoreless for both teams. Maclay would then threaten in the fifth, loading the bases with two outs, before Alex Lopez was able to induce a flyout to right to end the threat. Maclay would then get a run across in the sixth, catching a break when Lucas Briggs struck out, but advanced to first on a drop. He would then steal second and score on a double off the bat of Bryce Hatfield to make it 4-3. Okeechobee was quick to answer though as a Trevor Thomas single plated Alex Lopez in the bottom of the sixth.
In the seventh, Briggs would once again be a thorn in the side of the Brahman as his bases loaded walk gave the Marauders a one run advantage. Okeechobee would be down to two outs left before Cody Louthan laced a triple to left field. A Zeke Mathews single would score him, and send the game to extras. Speedster Andrew Higdon got things started for the Marauders, leading off the eighth with a double, and moving to third on an error. Jack Brady would then deliver the game winning hit two batters later.
Tanner Stafford picked up the win by throwing a shutout inning in the eighth for Maclay. Alex Lopez took a tough no decision after working six innings, giving up three runs on seven hits, walking none and striking out seven. Brady led the way on offense for Maclay, going 1-3 with a run, an RBI and two steals. Cody Louthan went 2-4 with a triple and two runs for Okeechobee, who fell to 0-2 for the tournament. Maclay is now 2-0 for the week.
Barron Collier 11
Flagler Palm Coast 1
A day after suffering a ten run rule loss, the Cougars of Barron Collier took out their frustrations on Flagler Palm Coast, cruising to a five inning, 11-1 victory over the Bulldogs.
The Cougars strung together twelve hits on the day, led by Marc Coffers (2-3, HR, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI), Logan Langham (2-2, 2B, 1 R, 4 RBI) and John Long (3-3, 2B, 2 R). The offense was more than enough for starter John D’Amelio, who allowed just one hit in his start with two strikeouts. The trio of Aaron Makara, Sam Hershoff and Tate Knapke would then close the game out for BC.
Kyle Antos suffered the loss for the Bulldogs. Their offense managed only three hits, all singles, with the lone RBI coming from a bases loaded walk to Zach Loftus. FPC falls to 0-2 on the week, while Barron Collier now stands at 1-1.
Lincoln 4
Orangewood 3
The nightcap saw the third one-run ballgame of the day in a magnificent pitcher’s duel featuring Ryan Osgood of Lincoln against Christian Simon of Orangewood Christian. In the end, it would be the Trojans who would come through with a late rally to give themselves the 4-3 victory over the Rams.
Both pitchers held their opponent scoreless through four innings. It wasn’t until the fifth that the Rams would get the offense going. A one out error would put Zack Sutter on first base. Michael Spears would then move him to second with a single, followed by a base hit from Patrick Yost to load the bags. Jeremiah Davis then came through with the third straight hit for Orangewood, plating both Sutter and Spears. The Rams would tack on one more run in the inning on an RBI groundout from Jake Lefever to make it 3-0.
Sloppy play would lead to the demise of Orangewood in the top of the sixth. Jesse Hall would reach on a walk, and move to third when Ryan Hagen reached on an error. A wild pitch would put Hagen on second and call for a pitching change. Reliever Quinn Echelson did not fare much better as he walked Austin Pollock to load the bases. Seton Bentz would then deliver a single to score Hall, and an error on the play would allow Hagen to come across the plate as well. With the score now 3-2, Travis Hall would deliver a sharply hit groundball to short that was deep enough to allow Pollock to score. A wild pitch to Josiah Miller would bring in Bentz, giving the Trojans a 4-3 lead. They scored four runs in the inning with just one hit. Orangewood would fail to score in the final two innings, giving Lincoln the win.
Osgood received the win after going five innings, allowing three runs (one earned) on five hits with five strikeouts. Nick Standriff picked up the save by firing two perfect innings to close it out. Seton Bentz led the way on offense for Lincoln, going 2-3 with a run and an RBI. Jeremiah Davis was 1-3 with 2 RBI for the Rams, who are now 0-1 in tournament play. Lincoln sits atop Pool B with a 2-0 record.
Schedule for Wednesday, March 16
2:00 pm Broken Arrow vs. Lincoln
4:30 pm Orangewood vs. Florida High
7:00 pm Osceola vs. Palmetto Ridge