Barron Collier 8
South Fork 2
On a perfect morning at Sanford Memorial Stadium, the Barron Collier Cougars used a late rally to push past the South Fork Bulldogs to secure their second win of the week.
The first run of the game came in the top of the second inning when Barron Collier scored on a throwing error by South Fork. They added two more in the top of the third as well. After leading off with a double, Marcus O'Malley came around to score on a Johnny Long sac fly. The Cougars then loaded the bases with two outs, and brought in their third run of the game when Buddy Packish was hit by a pitch.
South Fork made things interesting in the bottom of the fourth. With two outs, the Bulldogs hit three consecutive singles, including one that drove in a run off the bat of Mitchel Little. During the next at bat, the BC catcher tried to pick off Hunter Wentworth at third, but the throw got away and allowed Wentworth to score to make it 3-2.
After a scoreless fifth kept it tight, the Cougars blew the game open in the sixth inning. They scored five runs on seven its, with RBI coming from Easton LaPlaca, Aidan Bennett, Buddy Packish, and Emmett Maritato. Tanner Bradley then tossed a scorelss seventh to lock up the dub.
Five Barron Collier hitters ... O'Malley, Bennett, Dylan Doria, Matt Lord and Packish ... finished the game with two hits each. Ricky Boyce picked up a pair of hits, giving him a .625 (5-8) average for the week.
Second Baptist 8
Flagler Palm Coast 6
The Second Baptist Eagles scored five runs in their final at-bat to secure an 8-6 win over the Flagler Palm Coast Bulldogs on Thursday afternoon.
A combination of solid hitting and sloppy defense turned this one into a slugfest. FPC started things with two runs in the top of the second thanks to a hit by pitch RBI from Noah Trawick and a sac fly from D'Emiliano Whiters. Dylan Kim got one of the runs back in the bottom half when his single to right field brought in Blake Langford.
The Eagles then jumped ahead with two more runs in the fourth. It was Kim coming through once again, this time with a sac fly that plated Dane Dentler. The next batter, Mitchel Reddy, followed with a single that scored Langford to make it 3-2. Bulldogs starting pitcher Aeden Celestino was able to buckle down and strand the last two runners before any more damage was done, however.
Flagler came roaring back in the fifth, putting four across the plate. Christian Diaz and Chance Barber each had RBI doubles, while Trawick added his second RBI of the game with a two-out single.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Eagles were able to take advantage of bad defense and used timely hitting to come storming back. A single and an error put two men on before Carson Huguenard drove in JC Davis. A balk brought in Mitchel Reddy to make it 6-5. Grayson Kim then laid down a sac bunt to move Drake Gilbert to third. With two outs, Anthony MacKenize smoked a single through the infield to score Gilbert and tie the game. A Reid Stiefel single and a third Flagler error put the other two runs across in the inning to make the final of 8-6.
MacKenzie was the standout on offense, picking up two hits, a run, an RBI and two stolen bases. Blake Langford scored twice and Daniel Kim drove in pair for the Eagles. Christian Diaz had two doubles, two runs, an RBI and a walk to pace the Bulldog offense.
Orangewood Christian 6
Christ School 5
Not one, but two late rallies from the Orangewood Christian Rams helped them clinch a spot in the Showcase championship game after their 6-5 extra inning win over the Christ School Greenies on Thursday evening.
Christ School was in command from the start, jumping out to a 4-0 lead through four innings. Andrew Grande hit a bomb over the wall for what looked to be a two-run home run, but he passed teammate Jack Galbraith on the bases, leading to Grande being called out. The Greenies added two more in the third thanks to a wild pitch and an error from Orangewood. Their fourth run came when Jack Sutton drew a bases loaded walk in the top of the fourth
Orangewood began to chip away by getting one back in the fifth on a Matt Simon RBI single. After Jeremy Yousef tossed a pair of scoreless frames for the Rams, they were able to tie the game up in the sixth. Zach Yousef, Quentin Lefever and Simon all picked up in RBI in the inning on a single, walk, and hit by pitch respectively.
Neither team was able to score in the seventh, leading to extras. Even with the international tie breaker in effect (runner starts each inning on second base), the eighth went scoreless as well. The Greenies played small ball to perfection in the ninth, with a sac bunt and sac fly to score a run and make it 5-4.
That set the table for drama in the bottom of the ninth. With Joe Belflower on second, Brooks Rikeman drew a leadoff walk. A passed ball moved both runners up to second and third. It was then time for Matt Simon to come through once again. He roped a base hit into the outfield, scoring both runners and ending the game.
Simon finished the day 2-3 at the dish with a walk and a hit by pitch. He also drove in four of the six Orangewood runs. Teammate Jason Wert added two hits, two runs and a steal. Braydon Calapa took home the win by firing three frames in relief. He allowed one run on two hits and had one strikeout. Chad Treadway had two hits for Christ School.
The win puts Orangewood in the championship game on Friday afternoon against the winner of Pool A.
Calvary Christian 4
University 3
After giving up a lead late in the game, the Calvary Christian Eagles were able to bounce back and earn a trip to the championship game with a 4-3 win on Thursday night.
It was a pitcher's duel to start as neither team could score in their first two tries. It seemed to be going that way again in the bottom of the third when Ty Hollandsworth struck out swinging. However, the ball got away from the catcher and Hollandsworth was able to make it to first. He promptly moved to second base on a wild pitch, and was then brought in on a Dante Girardi base hit to make it 1-0. Girardi then came through again an inning later, punching another single through the infield to score Jonathon Lane. The Eagles then added their third run in the fifth on a wild pitch that allowed Ryan Keenan to score.
In the top of the six, Calvary pulled starting pitcher Chase Cone who had pitched well for five innings. Unfortuantely for the Eagles, his relief help didn't keep the trend going. Three straight walks and a wild pitch put the first run across for University. Two batters later, Daniel Mosele singled to bring in Jack Feely to make it a one-run game. The next batter, Parker Mathieson, then completed the comeback with a sac fly to left that brought in Drew Ziebarth.
For the second straight time that day, seven innings wasn't enough to solve this one. Calvary tossed a scoreless frame in the eighth, and then stepped up to the plate in the bottom half. University elected to intentionally walk the leadoff hitter to create a force out. The next batter, Tyler Knierim, was then called on to bunt. University's third baseman struggled on the play, and his error allowed Chris Romero to score the winning run.
Girardi led the Eagles' offense with two hits and two RBI. The aforementioned Cone was also solid, throwing five innings of four-hit, shutout baseball with five strikeouts. Ryan Keenan took home the win with two innings of perfect relief. Parker Mathieson was a perfect 3-3 at the plate for University.
With the win, Calvary will face off against Orangewood Christian for the championship on Friday afternoon.
Schedule for Friday March 15
All games played at Sanford Memorial Stadium
8:45 am: Flagler Palm Coast vs. South Fork
11:15 am: Second Baptist vs. Barron Collier
1:45 pm: Christ School vs. University
Championship Game
4:15 pm: Orangewood Christian vs. Calvary