Player of the Day Chase Plymell, Smith Cotton 3-4, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI
Pitcher of the Day Sam Brunnig, Trinity Christian CG, 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 7 K
Cooper City 5
Clewiston 4
The Cooper City Cowboys ended their FHSI Classic on a high note, withstanding a furious comeback attempt by Clewiston to hold on for a 5-4 win on Friday morning at Lake Brantley.
Clewiston jumped to an early lead in the first thanks to an RBI groundout from Davis Witt. Cooper City responded promptly with two runs on three hits in the bottom of the first to take the lead. The Cowboys then added two more runs in the fourth inning on a single from Justin Croque.
Heading into the seventh, Clewiston trailed 4-1, but refused to go down without a fight. With two men on, Weston Rayburn knocked in a run, and then Colin Roth plated two with a single of his own, making the score 4-4. Cooper City was quick to regain the lead (and the ballgame) when Devin Pole knocked in leadoff hitter Josh Valencia, ending the game at 5-4.
Brandon Newland pitched well in a no decision for Cooper City, throwing six innings with four strikeouts. Valencia, Pole and Noah Izquierdo had two hits each to jumpstart the Cowboy offense. Both teams finished the tournament with a 1-3 record.
Ponte Vedra 12
Leesburg 5
The Ponte Vedra Shark offense smelled blood in the water on Friday morning, scoring twelve runs in a blowout win over Leesburg.
The Sharks scored in five of their six innings on offense, including four innings of two or more runs. They tallied nine hits on the day, and we helped by four errors from the Leesburg defense and ten walks from the Jackets pitchers. Jacob Young led the Shark attack, reaching base five times from the leadoff spot. He had three hits, two walks, scored three times and drove in one. He also stole three bases in the game, giving him eight bags for the week. Josh Johnson was the bright spot for the Jackets, going 1-4 with a double, a run scored and three RBI.
Jack Hahnemann picked up the win, throwing 2.2 innings. He gave up two runs (none earned) on one hit, and struck out four. Ponte Vedra wrapped up their week with a 1-3 record, while Leesburg lost all four of their ballgames.
Trinity Chritsian 2
University Christian 0
If you are a fan of solid pitching performances, then this was the game for you. Sam Brunnig of Trinity Christian battled Jose Visaez in a close one before the Eagles were able to pull away from the Christians by a score of 2-0.
The two starters were in complete control as neither allowed a run in the first five innings of the game. In fact, UC only managed three hits over that time while Trinity could only get two. The game would change in the bottom of the sixth however as TC was able to get on the board. After Jacob Bowen walked, Daniel Nugent deposited a base hit to right field. The ball got by the right fielder, allowing Bowen to come all the way around to score. After a pitching change, Zach Coleman then scored Nugent on a base hit of his own. The damage was limited to only two runs, but it was enough for Trinity as they held on for the win.
Brunnig was spectacular for the Eagles, going the distance in the game. In his seven innings of work, he allowed three hits, no runs and two walks. He had swing and miss stuff working as well, retiring seven batters via strikeout. Nugent led the offense going 2-3 with a run. Trinity finished the week 2-2, while University ended with a 3-1 mark.
Timber Creek 9
Seabreeze 2
The Timber Creek offense was on full display on Friday morning as they pounded out fifteen hits in a 9-2 victory over the Seabreeze Sand Crabs.
Seabreeze actually made it to the scoreboard first on a Joey Harbuck RBI single in the first inning. The lead would only last until the bottom of the second before the Wolves rallied. Five of the eight batters in the inning picked up a hit, highlighted by a two-run stroke from Parker Rook. They would score three in the inning, and add to it in the third. This time four hits and an error led to four runs, with Rook once again coming through, this time with an RBI double. Timber Creek would add two more in the fourth, giving them nine runs for the game. The Crabs scored once more in the fifth, but could not muster anything more.
Preston Schumacher threw well in his start for TC, striking out six in 3.2 innings. Nick Allen relieved him and picked up the win, accounting for three Ks of his own. Arnie Ruiz and Tomas Farkass each put up three hits for the Wolves offense, while Rook scored twice and drove in three. Timber Creek ended the week at a very respectable 3-1 and the Crabs fell to 2-2 after Friday’s result.
Smith Cotton 6
Seminole 4
Chase Plymell made sure that the Smith Cotton Tigers wouldn’t head back to Missouri on a sour note. The senior RHP started on the mound and swung a hot bat, leading the Tigers to a 6-4 win over Seminole.
The bulk of the Tigers’s runs came in the first two innings. Baxter Mays was responsible for two runs in the top of the first after he roped a double to left field. In the next round of at bats for Smith Cotton, Plymell helped himself out with a three-run bomb, scoring teammates Seth Fraley and Nick Hagedorn to make it 5-0. The Seminoles got two runs back in the third off a Matt Allan RBI single and a Scott Fickas sac fly. Plymell helped himself again in the top of the fourth with an RBI single, making it a 6-2 game. Seminole made it interesting in the fifth scoring two with Allan providing another highlight with a solo homerun, his third of the week. Tyler Abney put a stop to the comeback, saving the game for Smith Cotton after recording the final seven outs of the game.
Plymell took the win with a line of 4.2 innings, seven hits, four runs (two earned) and two strikeouts. At the plate, he was 3-4 with a homerun, two singles, two runs scored and four RBI. Allan was 2-4 with a run and two RBI for Seminole, who finished the week 2-2. Smith Cotton heads back to Sedalia, Missouri with their heads held high as they went 3-1 at the Classic.
American Heritage 8
Olympia 3
An early offensive explosion coupled with a complete game effort from Eli Zuckerman resulted in an 8-3 win for the Stallions of American Heritage over the Olympia Titans on Friday afternoon.
American Heritage struck early for four runs in their opening frame off of Drenis Ozuna. Two hits and a pair of hit batters provided the baserunners for Heritage in the inning. The highlight of the inning came on a Jason Fox single that scored two, and then added a third when a pickle situation ensued. The umpire ruled that Michael Marseca scored before Fox was tagged out trying to stretch his hit into a double. Four runs was more than enough run support for Zuckerman, who did not overpower hitters, but still coaxed outs from the Titans bats. To be safe, the Stallions added another four runs in the fifth inning, thanks to five hits from the offense. Olympia played a handful of runs, but the damage was too much to overcome as the game ended 8-3.
Zuckerman lasted seven innings, scattering seven hits and two earned runs with one strikeout. Jack Campbell supplied the offense for Heritage, going 3-4 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI. American Heritage ended the week with a 2-2 record while Olympia fell to 1-3.
Championship Game
Jupiter 4
IMG Academy 2
The Jupiter Warriors capped off a great week of play with a two-run victory over powerhouse IMG Academy on Friday afternoon.
Both teams were undefeated heading into the game. Due to potential weather concerns, the game was not only moved up from 7 pm to 4:30, but the location was changed from Sanford Memorial Stadium to Lake Brantley High School, whose artificial turf infield can withstand the torrential Florida rains.
After IMG took a 1-0 lead in the third inning, the Warriors scored all four of their runs in the bottom of the same inning. They managed all four runs on only one hit, taking advantage of three errors from the IMG defense. Blake Disher, Anthony Servideo, Mitchell Hartigan andRamon Machado all scored in the inning to give Jupiter the lead. Five different Warriors entered the game to protect the lead, and they all did a serviceable job. Zach Wilbanks, the first reliever after starter Shane Shuba was taken out, took home the win. Zach Sprankle was awarded the save with a two out effort in the last inning. Machado led the offense for Jupiter with one hit, one run and one RBI. The Warriors ended the week with a 4-0 record, scoring a total of sixteen runs and allowing only nine in four games. IMG fell to 3-1 on the week, as their bats failed to find solid contact with the Jupiter staff.