The Highland School Hawks (Warrenton, VA) rode good pitching, a stingy defense and timely hitting to their first Florida League High School Invitational Championship in three tries. Head Coach Micah Higgins led the Hawks to perfect 4-0 record on the week taking down Southwest Miami, Coral Reef and Killian before matching up with a fierce Braddock team in the Championship game.
Highland was led by George Rizzo and Garrett Pancione who combined to account for 21 of the 29 runs Highland scored on the week. On the mound, the Hawks leaned on Brennan Card who took the ball in each of their toughest matchups and finished 2-0 on the week.
TOURNAMENT MVPS
George Rizzo .778 (7 for 9), 9R, 3B, 2RBI, 8BB, 3SB, .882 OBP
Garrett Pancione .500 (6 for 12), R, 2B, HR, 12RBI, 3BB, 3SB
You can't win games if you don't score runs, and without George Rizzo and Garrett Pancione, the Hawks likely don't win a Championship.
Rizzo reached base an astounding 14 plate appearances in a row from his first at-bat in the tournament, to his second at-bat in the Championship game. A strikeout in his 15th at-bat of the tournament fired him up because in his next at-bat he launched a clutch 2 out RBI Triple to left-center which gave the Hawks a 2 run cushion. In the end, Rizzo was only retired twice in 17 plate appearances, scored 9 runs, batted in 2 and played a flawless center field in all 4 games played.
Pancione was an RBI machine for the Hawks plating 12 runs in 16 plate appearances. Half of his damage was done against Killian High School in a game that saw him go 2 for 2 with a Home Run and 6 RBI's in an 11-8 win for the Hawks. The night before, Pancione went 2 for 4 with 5 RBI's propelling Highland to a 6-3 win over a strong Coral Reef team. He caught all four games for the Hawks and his leadership behind the plate kept opposing offenses at bay all week.
TOURNAMENT MOST VALUABLE PITCHER
Brennan Card 2W, 9IP, 2ER, 9H, 2BB, 6K
Card led the Highland School on the mound by earning the win in two of their toughest matchups on the week (Southwest Miami and Braddock). In his first start, Card went 4 innings allowing just 1 earned run against Southwest Miami who was 8-1 coming into the week. He walked 1 and struck out 4 batters in that contest. On Friday in the Championship game, Card faced a high powered Braddock offense that was 11-2 coming into the game. This time he went 5 innings, allowed 1 earned run on 5 hits, walked 1 and struck out 2.
ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM
Highland School
George Rizzo .778 (7 for 9), 9R, 3B, 2RBI, 8BB, 3SB, .882 OBP
Garrett Pancione .500 (6 for 12), R, 2B, HR, 12RBI, 3BB, 3SB
Blagen Pado .455 (5 for 11) 4R, 2B, RBI, 4BB, SB
Brennan Card 2W, 9IP, 2ER, 9H, 2BB, 6K
Braddock
Adriel Benitez .556 (5 for 9) 5R, 2B, 3RBI, 3BB, 4SB
Ryan Valdez .462 (6 for 13) 6R, 2HR, 6RBI, BB
Manny Sanchez .462 (6 for 13) 2R, 2B, 4RBI, 3SB
Aiden Correa .333 (4 for 12) 3R, 2-2B, 3RBI, 5BB, 2SB
Mel Rubiera 10IP, 3ER, 14K
Killian
Robert Krawcyck .444 (4 for 9), 2R, RBI, 2BB, 2SB
Max Orbeta .500 (3 for 6) 2R, RBI, 2BB
Aiden Pinto 6IP, 0ER, 3H, BB, 10K
Southwest
Tyler Duarte .500 (4 for 8) 3R, 2B, 2RBI, 2BB, SB
Jesus Moreno CG, W, 7IP, ER, 6H, BB, 6K
SouthLake Christian
Nico Noto .375 (3 for 8) R, 2-2B, 3RBI, BB
Tyler Herkey 5IP, ER, 3H, 2BB, 8K
Palmetto
Blake Brookins .583 (7 for 12) 2R, 2B, 2-3B, 7RBI, SB
Max Borelli .556 (5 for 9) R, 2B, 2RBI, BB
Luis Sosa 4.2IP, ER, 3H, 6K
Grant Kavalir 6IP, 2ER, 2BB, 5K
Coral Reef
Jake Ogden .545 (6 for 11), 3R, 2B, 3B, 4RBI, SB
Anthony Florio CG, 6IP, 0ER, 2H, 8K, 3BB
Father Lopez
David Hickey .556 (5 for 9) 3B, 2RBI
Corvin Johnson .500 (5 for 10), 2R, 4-2B, 2RBI, SB
Isaiah Eberheart 4IP, 0ER, 10K,