The Hurricanes of Coral Shores traveled to Archbishop Carroll on March 24, where the Bulldogs took an early lead, scoring one run each in innings two and three. But a patient, steady Hurricane team managed to pull ahead by inning five. They maintained and stretched their lead for the duration of the game, making it 12 wins in a row with the 8-5 victory.
Donovan Thiery got the start on the mound, striking out seven, walking three and surrendering seven hits over five frames. Riley O’Berry earned the win for the ’Canes and Campbell Lavoie was credited with the save. The team was error-free in the field, giving the Bulldogs little hope.
Offensively, Thiery dominated at the plate, going 4-4 while AJ Putetti homered for one of his two hits. Derek Ramos registered three hits including a double as part of the Hurricanes’ dozen hits.
Then, on March 28, the ’Canes made it a lucky 13 in a row, winning against Westminster Academy at home. Lavoie and O’Berry combined for six innings on the mound for six strikeouts, two walks and three hits to effectively shut down the Lions. Putetti’s bat was busy, with four hits and four RBIs for Coral Shores. Maykol Bonito, Lavoie, Ramos, O’Berry and Mason Clark had two hits each and Eddie Holly added one for a total of 15.
The Hurricanes have been all but invincible thus far this season. Putetti and Thiery are both hitting over .500 and the team dominates the district leaderboard. Putetti is currently in first in all of FHSAA’s 2A in runs scored with 33. Their only loss came back on Feb. 18 when district rival Keys Gate beat them by a single run, setting the team up for solid postseason prospects.
Key West
The Spartans outpaced the Conchs on March 27 when Key West traveled to their old-school rivals Monsignor Pace for a battle between two of the top-ranked teams in the state. Key West struck first, taking advantage of a Spartan error to score one in their first at-bat. The Spartans did the same in inning two when an error and a walk put two runners on to set the stage for a three-run homer to make it 3-1. Monsignor Pace added four more in the third to take a hefty lead, then the Conchs did what they do best: nibbling away at that lead to make what often amounts to a fantastic comeback. By the final frame, Key West narrowed the gap, but ultimately lost to the Spartans 8-5. Nelson Ong and Sam Holland had a pair of hits each and Roman Garcia and Jackie Niles accounted for one apiece for a total of six.
On March 28 and 29, the Spartans of Sports Leadership & Management, best known as SLAM, sent their Tampa branch’s best to Key West for a two-game series. Jon Carlos Lampas-Gormley went the distance for the Conchs, striking out eight, walking two and surrendering 10 hits. But the game would require more than Lampas-Gormley’s 100-plus pitches and seven innings of service.
At the end of seven, the game was tied up and freshman Kade Maltz stepped in, shutting out the Spartans in the eighth. In inning nine, a single run would score on a sacrifice fly and Key West could not get their bats to cooperate, ending the game 6-5 in favor of the Spartans. Ong and Caden Pichardo registered two hits each and Jackson Bernhard and Holland had one each for six total Conch hits.
The following night, Key West wasted no time exacting revenge. They piled on five runs in the first and kept the pain train coming for the Spartans, sending them back to Tampa in five innings via a mercy-rule win. Roman Garcia drove in five runs off three hits to lead the charge. Maltz tore a triple and a single for two RBIs and Xavier Perez logged a single and double. Darreld Tremino and Jackie Niles each drove in two runs off one hit each and Auggie Davila scored four runs off one hit. Davila and Garcia were both perfect at the plate for the Conchs. Cruz Holmes started on the mound for Key West, pitching three and two-thirds innings. Davila stepped in for one and one-third innings of shutout baseball, closing the door on the Spartans. The win brought the Conchs to 12-8 on the season with some strong competition on the horizon for the final week and a half of the regular season.
Marathon
In the Middle Keys, Gabe Leal pitched the game of his life on March 24, striking out 11 batters in six strong innings against Somerset Silver Palms. Leal walked one and gave up five hits to keep the Fins in the game until the end. Mason Thornton gave one inning of relief and despite their combined craftsmanship, three unearned runs would score, fueled by four errors, which cost the Dolphins the ballgame. Marathon’s bats were unusually quiet with just four hits logged, two of which came from Thornton. Leal and Leo Mendez accounted for the other two.
The 3-2 loss showed a marked improvement from the teams’ first go-round earlier this season, but was especially hard to swallow as the Fins teeter on the brink of a rankings war in which they could secure an at-large bid to the playoffs. The loss sank their ranking for the week and put the Dolphins in an uphill climb for their first appearance in FHSAA’s Rural 1A classification.
Their district counterpart, the Miners of Fort Meade, hosted the Fins March 27 in a game which gauged the Fins’ abilities against a top-ranked team in their class. Though Marathon lost 6-3, the outing made it clear that the team has what it takes to hang with the best their division has to offer and gives them hope in a possible future matchup with the Miners in the playoffs.
Fort Meade kept the Dolphins off the board for six innings, scoring six of their own runs for a decisive lead. Marathon then went to work in the final inning, where they would log two of their six hits along with a walk and a fielder’s choice to put three runs on the board and narrow the gap. The comeback was too little too late for a Fins win, but Leal and Williams showed their bats could handle the heat with two hits each.
On March 29, the Fins were back on top, beating the Lions in four and a half innings before the rain would put an end to the action. The Dolphins put together two hits and six walks to put their points on the board before the game was called, and Gabe Leal had another great showing on the mound. The senior hurler struck out three, walked one and gave up just one hit to blank the Lions. A perfect defensive showing put an end to any hopes for Westminster. Leal doubled and drove in two runs to lead offensively. Roco Piscetello accounted for the Fins’ other hit and Jason Stubblefield drove in the final run for Marathon.
