Montverde 4
Hagerty 2
The Montverde Academy Eagles claimed the 2018 FHSI Classic Championship with a hard-fought win over Hagerty, 4-2, on Friday night at Sanford Memorial Stadium.
Hagerty threatened early on in the game, putting two men on in the first with two outs. Montverde starter Saul Gonzalez was able to escape the jam with a strikeout however. That would set the tone for the rest of the game as Gonzalez tossed a gem for the next six innings.
In the second inning, Montverde was able to get on the board. Diego Millan singled, and was replaced by courtesy runner Justin Cohen. Cohen stole second base and then moved to third on a Trevor Candelaria single. Candelaria then stole second himself. Caleb Cali delivered a sac fly to right field, scoring Cohen. A groundout to second then plated Candelaria, making it 2-0.
Over the course of the second, third, fourth, and fifth innings, the Huskies never sent more than four men to the plate as Gonzalez worked his magic on the mound. In the sixth, they had two men in scoring position thanks to a single and an error, but once again the big righty struck out the last hitter to quell the threat.
Montverde added insurance in the bottom of the sixth. Diego Millan led off the inning with an absolute bomb to left field to make the score 3-0. After Caleb Cali doubled, he was brought in two batters later on a double from Johann Campines, giving the Eagles a 4-0 advantage.
The Huskies made it interesting in the seventh inning. With two outs, Riley Greene doubled to score his teammate Ryan Cymerman. One batter later, Jackson Grabsky singled to bring in the speedy Greene, cutting the lead in half, 4-2. Alfredo Caraballo was called on out of the bullpen and was able to induce a groundout for the final out of the game to earn the save.
Gonzalez finished with a final line of 6.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB and 12 K. The future Alabama State Hornet featured a fastball that sat in the low 90s, and a nice breaking ball that kept the Huskies off balance all night. Millan, Cali and Campines each finished with two hits and an RBI to lead the offense.
This is Montverde's first FHSI Tournament Trophy in seven tries.
Other Game Notes
Seminole Ridge 1
Lake Minneola 0
- Mark Link was terrific, tossing a complete game shutout. He allowed three hits, walked two and struck out eight for the Hawks
- Donovan Marten was equally impressive in the loss, going 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K
- Nick Healton drove in Will Keifer for the lone run of the game in the fourth
Colonial 9
East River 8
- Colonial scored three in the bottom of the seventh for the win
- Four Grenadiers had two hits in the game
- Louis Trinidad earned the win in relief with three innings of work. He allowed one hit, one run and struck out five
- Jon Egner had a good game for the Falcons from the nine-hole, picking up two hits (including a double), scoring once, driving in two, and stealing a base
Ocoee 4
Royal Palm Beach 3
- Collin Hall was a two-way star for the Knights. He earned the win with five innings of work, allowing two hits and striking out four. He was also 2-3 with a double and two RBI at the plate
- Caleb Andreus added two hits for Ocoee, raising his tournament average to .455. He also scored two runs.
- Stephen Godek tossed the last two innings, allowing zero runs, for the save
Winter Springs 3
West Boca 2
- Each team scored early, and then was shut down for the middle innings thanks to solid pitching on both ends.
- Michael Jordan drove in Michael Chang for the winning run in the sixth on a base hit up the middle
- Jordan Wimpelberg earned the win with a line of 6 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 7 K
- Chang was 2-3 with two runs and two steals for the Bears
Timber Creek 5
University Christian 1
- Jason Riley allowed only two hits and one unearned run on the mound for Timber Creek
- Parker Smith's two-run home run in the 5th was the nail in the coffin. He finished with two runs and two RBI for the Wolves.
- Garrison James had two hits and one driven in for the Christians
Palm Beach Central 9
Seminole 2
- The Broncos came out hot, scoring five runs in the first. They started the game by drawing four straight walks, then followed with a double, single, and fielder's choice to go up 5-0.
- Jeremy Neff hurled five innings for PBC, scattering five hits while allowing one run and striking out six
- Ramon Molina picked up three hits, including two doubles, and drove in two for the Broncos
Olympia 16
Suncoast 2
- The Olympia Titans scored in all four innings that they batted en route to a mercy rule victory
- Five Titans had multiple hits, including Collin McMahon who went 3-3 with a double, two runs, three RBI and a walk and Austin Vetter, who was also 3-3 with a run and two batted in
- Richey Lakes made it on base four times and scored three runs form the leadoff spot
- Olympia pounded out fifteen hits, the most in any game this week'
Leesburg 12
Mount Dora 4
- The Yellow Jackets scored six in the second and five in the third to build an insurmountable lead
- Seth Bryant led the way with four hits in the game. He had two doubles, two singles, two runs scored and two RBI
- Hector Fernandez was in do-it-all mode for Leesburg. He hit a triple, scored twice, drove in two, and threw the last 3.1 innings on the mound. He scattered three hits and allowed one run to come in on his way to the save
Orangewood 7
University 4
- The bats were hot early for the Rams as they hung a five-piece in the first inning
- Brooks Rikeman reached three times (two doubles, walk) and also scored twice
- Josh Morse and Jason Wert each picked up two hits and drove in two for the Rams
- Vance Wimberley closed out the game with a perfect seventh, including two punchouts
- Josh Pagan, Aaron Cuesta, and Max Ruiz each had two hits int he game for the Cougars