Barron Collier 4
University 3
The Barron Collier Cougars took home the first win of the 2019 Showcase, defeating the University Pioneers by a score of 4-3 at Sanford Memorial Stadium on Monday afternoon.
The Cougars struck in their first turn at bat. Marcus O'Malley led off with a single, and promptly stole second. He was driven in two batters later when Johnny Long laced a triple to the gap to make it 1-0.
After a scoreless second, it was deja vu all over again in the third. O'Malley reached on an error, and stole second. After being sacrificed to second, Long came through again with an RBI single to extend the lead to 2-0. The lead did not last long though. In the bottom of the frame, University took advantage of two errors by Barron Collier and scored twice to knot the game up.
In the fifth inning, it was the speedy O'Malley who stole the show once again. With one out, he walked, and stole second base for the third time. After moving to third on a passed ball, he then scored his third run of the game on a successful double steal to reclaim the lead for the Cougars. The Pioneers fought back again, with Jacob Mote ripping a two-out single that scored Bailey Klemmensen to make it three all.
The final run of the game came in the sixth when Matt Lord singled, stole second base, move to third on a base hit and scored on an RBI single from Emmett Maritato. Sean Means, who entered the game in the fifth as a relief pitcher, fired his third straight scoreless frame in the seventh to seal the win for Barron Collier.
O'Malley led the offense with two hits, three runs and four stolen bases. Johnny Long had two hits and two RBI. Aidan Bennett was formidable on the mound, striking out eight over four innings before giving way to Means in the fifth. Parker Mathieson had a double and a run scored to lead the University offense.
Flagler Palm Coast 4
Orangewood Christian 3
An exciting back-and-forth affair ended with the the FPC Bulldogs walking off against Orangewood Christian at their home ballpark on Monday afternoon.
Orangewood, despite playing on their own turf, were the away team for this Pool B matchup. The Rams started things off in the first when Nate Sullivan drove in Matt Simon with a double to right field. The Bulldogs were quick to respond when D'Emilano Whiters tripled to lead off the bottom half of the inning, and scored immediately when two-hole hitter Donnie Little grounded out to second.
Both starting pitchers ... Sullivan and FPC's Ashton Neuman ... were solid in the second and third innings, allowing only one hit between them. Neuman then helped his own cause by leading off the bottom of the fourth with an absolute laser into the right field parking lot to give Flagler a 2-1 advantage.
The Rams were able to take their first lead of the ballgame just one frame later. After an error and two walks loaded the bases with one out, Simon smacked a single into center, plating Zach Yousef and Joe Belflower to give Orangewood a 3-2 lead. A slick 5-3 double play by FPC third baseman Charlie Alfano allowed the Bulldogs to escape without any further damage being done. In the bottom of the fifth, it was Whiters' turn to play hero as he launched a ball over the fence in right-center to tie things up.
The score remained tied until the final at bat for Flagler. With two outs, Donnie Little ripped a double to left. Orangewood chose to intentionally walk Matt Arnold, and then unintentionally walked Jace Wilson to load the bases. After a pitching change,Christian Diaz smoked a 2-2 pitch back up the middle to score Little and end the game, 4-3.
Whiters led the offense with seven total bases, two runs and an RBI. Arnold was perfect in relief, firing two innings of flawless baseball with three strikeouts to earn the win. Matt Simon was 2-3 with two RBI to lead the Rams.
Second Baptist 4
Christ School 2
A fifth-inning rally helped the Second Baptist Eagles to a win over the Christ School Greenies in their first ever FHSI appearance.
Both teams tallied a run in the first inning. Max Lecroy led things off for the Greenies with a single in the first at bat of the game. He then stole second and moved to third on a groundout. A misplay by the Second Baptist shortstop allowed Lecroy to score. In the bottom half, Anthony MacKenzie showed off wheels of his own with a walk, a steal, and an advance to third on a fly ball to center. Blake Langford then drove in the leadoff hitter with a sac fly to knot the game up.
The second and third innings were relatively quiet. In the fourth, Christ School was able to take advantage of a defensive miscue, with Andrew Grande scoring their second run on an error by the pitcher.
Second Baptist then turned the offense on in the bottom of the fifth. Grayson Kim walked, and then moved to third when MacKenzie singled. In the next at bat MacKenzie stole second to put two men in scoring position. Michael Fordham, Blake Langford, and JC Davis then recorded back-to-back-to-back RBI on a double, fielder's choice and groundout to make it a 4-2 ballgame.
Luke Wilson was called on with two men on and one out in the sixth. He induced a double play to escape the jam, and then fired a perfect seventh to earn the save and secure the win for the Eagles.
Reid Stiefel was solid on the mound for Second Baptist, tossing 5.1 innings while scattering seven hits, giving up two unearned runs, and striking out four. Fordham had two hits, MacKenzie had two runs and Langford had two RBI to lead the offense. Jack Galbraith and Andrew Grande each had two hits for the Greenies.
Calvary Christian 5
South Fork 1
The CCA Eagles only recorded two hits in the final game of the day, but they were big ones, and helped them secure a big win over the South Fork Bulldogs.
In the bottom of the second, three Eagle reached base via hit by pitch, walk and a second hit by pitch. Ty Hollandsworth then smacked a single that scored Ryan Keenan and Kyle Tako. Another walk reloaded the bases, followed by a pitching change. It looked like South Fork might escape the jam with a groundball to short, but an errant throw to first on the turn by the South Fork second baseman allowed both Jonathon Lane and Hollandsworth to touch home, making it 4-0.
That lead was plenty for the pitching duo of Irving Carter and Chase Cone. Carter started the game and tossed five innings, scattering four hits with seven strkeouts. The only blemish on his ledger was allowing a run to score on a sac fly in the fourth inning. Cone tossed two perfect frames in the sixth and seventh, posting four strikeouts.
Rozenblum drove in the Eagles fifth run with a double in the sixth that plated Chris Romero. The catcher reached base twice and drove in a pair on the day to lead the offense.
SCHEDULE for Tuesday March 12
11:00 am
University vs. South Fork
4:00 pm
Calvary Christian vs. Barron Collier
Both games played at Sanford Memorial Stadium