By Caroline Smith
The Key West Conchs started their spring break with a pair of wins and a weekend sweep against a tough Bishop Verot Vikings team from Fort Myers. The wins lifted the Conchs to a 6-2 start on the young season. The Vikings came into Key West with only one loss, but left with two more. They headed home with a 7-3 record. The Conchs continued their spring break by traveling to Miami on March 21 to take on St. Thomas Aquinas. They’ll be home for the Key West Invitational Tournament Thursday through Saturday, March 24-26 at Rex Weech Field.
Friday Night, March 18
The Conchs came out on top with a 3-1 win against the Bishop Verot Vikings.
Key West’s 3rd and 4th hitters led the way for the Conchs. To start things off, three-hole hitter Trevor Zuelch nailed a double to center field in the bottom of the first inning. He was knocked in by a line drive double from clean-up hitter Preston Herce, putting the Conchs on top 1-0 in the bottom of the first.
Anthony Lariz, who walked in his earlier at-bat and advanced to third on a single to right field by Noah Burnham, scored on a balk by Vikings pitcher Aidan Knaak in the bottom of the third. Herce went 2-2 during the game, knocking in 2 of the 3 runs for the Conchs. He put the game out of reach by tripling in the bottom of the 5th inning on a beautiful line drive to deep right-center field that scored Zuelch again with the third and final run of the game for the Conchs. Zuelch went 2-3 with two doubles, touching home twice for the Conchs. Wyatt Kuhn also had a multi-hit game, hitting two singles, including an impressive bunt down the third base line. Sam Holland closed out the offense for the Conchs with a pinch-hit single in the bottom of the 6th inning.
Key West played a solid and error-free defense while turning one double play in the top of the second inning. Catcher Noah Burnham also interrupted a steal in the first inning. The Conchs’ pitching was strong. Starting pitcher Andris Barroso took the win. He allowed 4 hits with one run, striking out two, and walking none in five innings of work. Jacob Burnham threw two innings of relief, earning the save. He struck out 3 and allowed 1 hit and 3 walks.
The Key West Conchs had a winning weekend, defeating the Bishop Verot team from Ft. Myers on Friday and Saturday nights, March 18 and 19. CAROLINE SMITH/Keys Weekly
Saturday Night, March 19
The Conchs capped off their winning weekend with a thrilling two-out, come-from-behind victory against the Vikings with a 4-3 win. Hits were tough to come by on Saturday night for the Conchs. The top three batters in Key West’s lineup accounted for four of the Conchs’ six hits. Kai Smith, N. Burnham, and Zuelch all singled, while N. Burnham did it twice. Jack Haggard and Barroso also singled for the Conchs.
Key West was down 3-1 heading into the bottom of the final inning. A leadoff walk to Noah Burnham set the tone as Viking pitchers would walk a total of six Conch hitters in the inning. With two outs and runners on first and second, the Vikings walked four straight Key West hitters. The winning run scored when Barroso took ball four on a 3-1 count, bringing Anden Rady home for the victory.
Felix Ong was strong on the hill, getting the start for the Conchs. He scattered four hits over five frames while striking out nine Viking batters. Marlin Takovich got the win, tossing two innings in relief. He struck out four batters and yielded only one hit. Ong and Takovich combined to give up only one earned run in leading Key West to the winning result.
Following the games, Conch head coach Ralph Henriquez said, “We took two games from a highly talented Bishop Verot team. Our pitching was outstanding and the team’s desire to win was very special.”
Caroline Smith is a junior at Key West High School and a softball player for the Lady Conchs.
