Player of the Day
Trey Pearce, North Florida Christian
3-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB
Pitcher of the Day
Max McKinley, Maclay
CG, 7 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 6 K
Maclay 4
Barron Collier 0
Max McKinley dominated the Barron Collier lineup in the most impressive pitching performance of the tournament thus far, helping the Maclay Marauders to a 4-0 win and a spot in the championship game on Friday.
After allowing two singles in the first inning, the senior RHP did not allow another hit for the rest of the game, and allowed just two more baserunners via walk and a hit batter. He was incredibly efficient with his pitches, needing only 75 total (53 strikes) to finish the game.
The Marauders made it on to the board in the bottom of the second inning. With one out, Matt Boynton would reach base on a walk, and move to second on a Lucas Briggs single. Will Choi would then step up and hit a ball to short … the resulting error would allow Boynton to come across. Two batters later, Briggs would score on a double steal to make it 2-0. In the third, the lead would extend to 3-0 after Jack Brady scored on an error by the first baseman. The fourth and final run of the game would come on a failed pickoff attempt that allowed JD Gladden to score.
Lucas Briggs was 1-2 with a run and an RBI to lead the Marauder offense. Jonathan Newman reached base twice for Barron Collier.
Palmetto Ridge 4
Florida High 3
Late inning heroics courtesy of Kenny Geiger lifted the Palmetto Ridge Bears to a walkoff, 4-3 victory over the Florida High Seminoles in game two on Thursday.
Starting pitchers Brandon Mitchell (FH) and Andrew Roach (PR) swapped scoreless innings in the first and second. Florida High was then able to start the scoring in the top of the third by executing small ball. John Michael Jones walked and was bunted to second by Destin Todd. A single by Makel Young would but Jones on third, and a sac fly from Tanner Godwin would bring him home. The Bears would claw their way back into the ballgame in the bottom of the fourth when Jeff Pelletier walked and would eventually come around to score on a wild pitch.
A big turning point in the game came in the fifth inning when Florida High loaded the bases with no outs. Adrian Soler was effective in relief; he allowed a Mason Thornton single that would drive in a run, but would then retire the next three batters to limit the damage and keep the score at 2-1. The lead would not last long however, as Kenny Geiger had an RBI single in the bottom half to knot the game back up.
Palmetto Ridge would strike again in the sixth. Noah Gariepy led off the inning with the single, and would be pinch run for by speedster Brandon Snyder. Snyder would steal second base, and then come around to score on a base hit from Stephen Gomez to give the Bears the 3-2 lead. Down to their last out in the top of the 7th, Dylan Causseaux would reach first base on an error. He was promptly brought in by a Matt Falstrom double, tying the game. Jeff Pelletier was then called on in relief, and ended any futher damage. In the bottom half of the inning, Pelletier doubled with one out, and then stole third base. Kenny Geiger then stepped up and delivered a fly ball to center, deep enough to score Pelletier and end the game.
Pelletier earned the win for his one out relief appearance, and was also 3-4 at the plate with a double and two runs scored. Matt Falstrom led the Florida High offense, going 2-4 with a double and a RBI.
North Florida Christian 6
Okeechobee 3
Freshman Brandon Walker did a little bit of everything to help the North Florida Christian Eagles stay undefeated in tournament play, defeating the Okeechobee Brahmans 6-3 on Thursday.
After a shaky start that saw four Okeechobee players reach base in the first, Walker was able to escape the jam unscathed. The Eagles would then pile on plenty of run support in the top of the second. A single from Stephen Veliz, a triple from Walker, a single from Trey Peace and a double from Matthew Dickey accounted for the four RBI hits in the inning, giving Walker all the help he would need.
Both offenses would stall in the third and fourth innings as both starting pitchers tightened up.NFC was able to tack on an extra run in the top of the fifth thanks to a Travis Ray RBI single. Things would get interesting in the bottom of the sixth as Okeechobee was able to take advantage of three errors by the Eagles to score three runs. Koby Chapman highlighted the inning with a two-run single with two outs. With the score 5-3, Trey Pearce put the game out of reach for North Florida Christian with a solo home run to lead off the seventh inning. Major Posey would pitch the seventh inning, striking out two and earning the save.
Walker was awarded the win after going six innings, giving up six hits and three runs (zero earned) while striking out four. He was also 2-4 at the plate with a triple and an RBI. Pearce was 3-4 with two runs and two RBI. Jarred Morgan and Gabe Greseth had two hits apiece to pace the Brahmans.
Orangewood Christian 11
Broken Arrow 0
With a berth in the championship game on the line, Quinn Echelson and the Orangewood Christian Rams offense dismantled the previously undefeated Broken Arrow Tigers, winning Thursday’s nightcap by a score of 11-0.
Both teams went three up, three down to start the game. Then in the top of the second, a Jake Lefever groundout would score Ethan Garrido, who had reached earlier on a single. Another 1-2-3 inning in the bottom half brought the Rams offense back in the top of the third, where they would extend their lead. Four runs would be scored on just one hit, one walk, a hit batter and an error. The highlight of the inning was a bases loaded ground rule double off the bat of Jeremiah Davis that scored Michael Spears and Matt Smon. Broken Arrow got their first base runner in the bottom of the third on a single from Peyton Launius, but we would be stranded. An error, a balk and a wild pitch coupled with a pair of singles would score three more Rams in the fourth inning, making it a 8-0 ballgame. Three more runs would come across in the 5th for Orangewood. Echelson would then handle business in the bottom half, and the game was called due to the ten-run rule, with the final being 11-0.
Echelson threw all five innings, allowing just one hit and two walks with four strikeouts. A total of eight different Rams scored runs in the game with Michael Spears, Ethan Garrido and Matt Simon coming across twice each.
Friday’s Schedule
9:00 AM - Broken Arrow vs. North FL Christian
11:30 AM - Florida High vs. Flagler Palm Coast
2:00 PM - Palmetto Ridge vs. Okeechobee
4:30 PM - Lincoln vs. Barron Collier
Championship
7:00 PM - Maclay vs. Orangewood Christian