University 3 Seminole Ridge 2
Joshua Pagan was a two-way force for the University Cougars in their 3-2 win over the Seminole Ridge Hawks on Wednesday morning.
The junior pitcher went the distance, tossing all seven innings of the ballgame. He scattered seven hits, gave up two runs (one earned), walked three and struck out nine. He was also effective at the plate, going 2-3 with a run and an RBI.
University got on the board in the second when a sac fly from Justin Santiago plated Pagan. They added two more in the third inning when Pagan hit a sac fly of his own, followed by an RBI single from Andrew Distler.
Seminole Ridge made it interesting late. They scored one in the sixth on a wild pitch, and then once again in the seventh on an Alex Morjen RBI single. Pagan was able to settle in on the next hitter however, inducing a 4-6-3 double play to end the ballgame.
Palm Beach Central 3 East River 1
The Palm Beach Central Broncos took home a victory in their first game of the Classic, defeating the East River Falcons 3-1 on Wednesday morning.
Joseph Corona got the scoring going in the fourth inning went to third base off of two errors from East River. He was brought in on a sacrifice bunt by Krishna Raj to make it 1-0. Guillermo Garcia extended the lead one batter later when he laced a single to the outfield, scoring Hal Francisco. Justin Rivero added to the lead in the fifth when he scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-0. East River punched a run across in the sixth inning on a sac fly from Elliott Vargas to make the final of 3-1.
The Broncos used four pitchers in the win, with Zac Lampton (1.2 IP, 1 H, 4 K) taking home the win and Tyler Kramer (1.2 IP, 0 R) earning the save. Rivero paced the offense with two hits, a run scored and a stole base on the day.
Montverde 10 Ocoee 0
The Montverde Eagles made quick work of the Ocoee Knights in their 2018 FHSI debut, pumping out a 10-0 mercy rule win in five innings.
Jake Holland stole the show at the plate, reaching base safely three times in three tries. He had an RBI double in the first, an RBI single in the second, and a three-run home run in the fourth.
He scored twice on the day and drove in five runs total. Nanded de Sedas scored three times in the ballgame as well.
Francisco Mateo was efficient on the mound, working four innings of shutout ball. He allowed three hits, one walk and struck out four to earn the win.
Orangewood Christian 2 Timber Creek 1 (8 innings)
The Orangewood Christian Rams took home an exciting extra-inning win in their first game of the week, defeating Timber Creek 2-1 on Wednesday evening.
For three innings, starting pitchers Vance Wimberley (Orangewood) and Kyle Sarissian (Timber Creek) held both offenses scoreless. Orangewood was the first to strike when Drew Bane launched a home run to deep left in the top of the fourth. Timber Creek answered back in the fifth when Parker Smith drew a bases loaded, two-out walk to tie the game.
Orangewood put the winning run across in the eighth when Timber Creek attempted to turn a double play. An errant throw from the shortstop allowed Wimberley to score the winning run.
Wimberley started the game and recorded five strikeouts in 2.1 innings before being pulled due to a pitch limit. Josh Morse earned the win with 3.1 innings of his own work in which he punched out six batters. Sarissian threw the entire game for Timber Creek, allowing only four hits on the night.
Palm Beach Central 9 Seminole Ridge 5
The PBC Broncos swept their two games played on Wednesday, taking home a 9-6 win over Seminole Ridge in their nightcap.
The Broncos scored in five of their six innings of offense, including two in the first, one in the second, one in the third, three in the fourth, and two in the sixth. Joseph Corona led the way with four hits in four at-bats. He doubled, tripled, scored once and drove in three. Ivan Suarez chipped in two hits of his own, as well as three RBI and a steal.
Montverde 5 Orangewood 1
Montverde capped their doubleheader sweep with an impressive 5-1 win over Orangewood on Wednesday night.
Starting pitcher Ernesto Hidrogo was the story in this one. He threw five innings for the Eagles, and amassed thirteen strikeouts. After inducing a groundout to the Rams’ first batter of the game, Hidrogo would go on to strikeout the next eight batters in a row. Thirteen of the fifteen outs he recorded came via the punchout. Hidrogo also carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning.
Trevor Candelaria and Eduardo Acosta each had a hit and two RBI to lead the Montverde offense. Catcher Brooks Rikeman had the only two hits on the night for Orangewood.
University Christian 4 Lake Minneola 3
The University Christian Christians took home their first win of the week with a 4-3 defeat of the Lake Minneola Hawk at Sanford Stadium on Wednesday night.
UC scored a pair in the first thanks to an error and an RBI groundout from Griffin Dichiroff. They added a third run in the second when a throwing error of a sacrifice bunt allowed Lance Bolton to score. Lake Minneola added one in the third and one in the fourth via RBI singles from Caleb Pundsack and Brian Morales, respectively. A Hudson Welch sac fly in the fifth made it a new ballgame with the score knotted at three apiece. That would last until the sixth when a sac fly from Aaron Bentley put UC up for good, making the final of 4-3.
Gage Dixon tossed five innings for University Christian, allowing three runs (one earned) on five hits with four strikeouts. Dylan Richards closed out the last two innings to earn the win. Dylan Hathcox tallied three hits to lead the UC offense.
Other games played today (Stats unavailable)
Colonial 9 Mount Dora 7
Winter Springs 7 Royal Palm Beach 6 8 Innings
Timber Creek 6 West Boca 2
Schedule for Thursday March 22
Sanford Memorial Stadium
9 am: Olympia vs. University
11:30 am: Winter Springs vs. Timber Creek
2 pm: Seminole vs. Montverde
4:30 pm: Hagerty vs. Palm Beach Central
7 pm: Mount Dora vs. East River
Seminole High School
9 am: Seminole Ridge vs. Ocoee
11:30 am: University Christian vs. West Boca
2 pm: Leesburg vs. Colonial
4:30 pm: Lake Minneola vs. Royal Palm Beach
7 pm: Suncoast vs. Orangewood