Scores And Recaps From Tuesday Night's Action in Hillsborough County
BASEBALL
Riverview 11, East Bay 0 (five innings)
Riverview senior Manny Martinez said he managed to stay on his feet as his Sharks teammates mobbed him on the mound after finishing his five-inning perfect game over East Bay. “Honestly, I don’t have words for it right now,” Martinez said. “I was so relieved that I got through it … I managed to stay on my feet, but they definitely mobbed me.”
Martinez, a 6-foot-3 righty, struck out seven Indians’ batters – including a trio in the fifth, and final inning.
“I was feeling really good all game, staying down in the zone and my curveball was definitely working,” Martinez said. “There were some 3-0, 3-1 counts, so there was some pressure there, but once it was over and the whole team stormed me it was kind of surreal.”
Riverview head coach Bill Leiby said it was the first perfect game he’d ever been a part of and added special mention for third baseman Javier Rosario who made a big play on a bunt attempt in the second inning, and also senior catcher Josh Rulli who called the pitches for the game.
“That was awesome, the first perfect game I’ve ever been a part of,” Leiby said. “(Manny) was outstanding, the defense played great and everybody hit.”
Rulli is fresh off being named the Saladino Tournament’s Pop Cuesta Defensive Player of the Tournament after gunning down 6-of-6 runners attempting to steal.
Leiby said it was a team-effort on offense including multi-hit showings from Tyler Salomon, Garrett Thompson, Freddy Tarnok and Reagan Jorgensen. Salomon hit a triple to seal the mercy-rule win in the fifth.
Steinbrenner 2, Alonso 0
Always a hotly-contested matchup, the Warriors took advantage of two Ravens miscues to come away with a big, non-district win over Alonso (9-4). Steinbrenner ace and FSU signee CJ Van Eyk went the whole way striking out six, allowing just five hits. After a strong showing in Monday’s practice, Steinbrenner (9-3) coach John Crumbley said he gave the starting nod to junior varsity callup Justin Turk in left field. Turk responded at the plate with a 2-for-3 day, including a liner single in the fifth, followed by stealing second and eventually scoring from third on an error. Steinbrenner added an insurance run in the sixth as a walk to Noah Luke followed by a bunt single from Dalton Raeckers and a wild pitch allowed pinch runner Donovan Garcia to score. Jordan Lala had a pair of hits in the win for the Warriors and Nick Gonzalez had two hits for the Ravens.
Hillsborough 5, Gaither 1
A decisive fifth inning for the Terriers led Hillsborough (6-4, 3-2 in Class 7A-District 8) to a 5-1 win over district foe Gaither. Jose Cadenas got the Cowboys ahead first, blasting a solo home run over the right field wall in the third. Antonio Jenkins’ 1-out double to the right field corner got things started in the Terriers fifth, before an RBI sac bunt by Aaron Jensen erased the Cowboys lead. Hillsborough kept rolling adding hits from Ryan Romano, Jarrod Cande and Terence Doston, as well as a RBI sac fly from Tim Elko to the five-run frame. Cande, who came to the mound in the fifth after a solid start from Patrick Puentes (4.1 ip, 1 earned, four hits, four strikeouts), worked the final 2.2 innings striking out four, including a game-ender to strand a pair of Gaither runners in the seventh.
Jesuit 7, Jefferson 6
Jesuit jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the 1st on an RBI single by Joel Brewer and a couple of Jefferson defensive miscues. After McGuire Weaver came around to score his second run of the night in the 5th inning to make it 5-0. the Dragons came back in the 6th. Robby Martin led off the inning with a deep home run to right and then three straight bases loaded walks brought the Tigers lead to only 5-4. Martin came up again later in the inning, and with two strikes, he sliced a ball to left field that scored two to give Jefferson the 6-5 lead. Jesuit re-took the lead in the bottom half when Duncan Hunter and Garrett Sheppard scored on some more errors from the Dragons defense and that would be all the Tigers needed as they went on to win 7-6.
Cambridge Christian 12, Sarasota Gulf Coast HEAT 2 (five innings)
Jacob Krueger (2-for-2) and Duane Drummond (2-for-3) each chipped in three RBI in support of Lancers starting pitcher Alex Smith, who struck out four in the win. The win marks seven-in-a-row for Cambridge Christian (9-2).
Tampa Catholic 15, Tampa Prep 8
Mitchell Carter was 3-for-3 with a triple and three runs scored for Tampa Catholic, while Calvin Rucker (2 runs, 2 RBI) and Tommy Malouf (2 runs, RBI) each recorded four hits for the Crusaders. Senior and FSU signee Conor Grady doubled and drove in four in the win.
Chamberlain 6, Leto 4
Some solid pitching led the Chiefs to a district win over Leto on Tuesday. Senior Mo Hanley worked 5.2 innings striking out ten in a solid start, before turning things over the Ernesto Velasquez who worked out of a 2nd and 3rd jam in the sixth and tossed the final inning to earn the save.
Armwood 8, Tampa Bay Tech 0
Armwood junior Yadiel Cordova had a pair of hits and drove in two to lead the Hawks over TBT. Sebastian Monserrate doubled and was 3-for-4 scoring three times for Armwood as well. David Rodriguez allowed just two hits and struck out four in a complete game win.
Bell Creek Academy 5, Academy at the Lakes 0
Kavin Kroll struck out four, and allowed just three hits in a complete-game win for Bell Creek.
Bayshore Christian 5, Hernando Christian 3
Thomas Lake doubled and had two RBI for the Faith Warriors, while Keyshawn Royal struck out five and earned the win on the mound.
Durant 3, Plant City 0
Durant (5-5) lefty Jonah Scolaro allowed just two hits while spinning 11 strikeouts as the Cougars bested Plant City for the second time this season. Steven Witchoskey had two hits and an RBI in the win.
Brandon 13, Lennard 6
Nico Saladino had a pair of RBI hits, while run scoring hits Zach Pommier and Gage Young led Brandon’s offensive win over district foe Lennard.
Robinson 10, Blake 0 (five innings)
Eight Robinson hitters recorded hits led by a 3-for-3 night from Pete Feinman (double, RBI, two runs scored). Jake Granese (win) and Riley Shackowsky combined on the mound striking out seven and allowing just three hits.
Plant 3, Bloomingdale 2 (10 innings)
Plant junior Connor Scott pitched four innings of relief striking out nine in four innings of work and earning the win. Scott, a Florida commit, also had a triple and tied the game, senior AJ Hubbard came through with the walk-off game winner in the 10th.
King 3, Freedom 1
Sickles 4, Strawberry Crest 1
Miami Gulliver Prep 3, Carrollwood Day 2
Calvary Christian 10, Brooks DeBartolo 1
SOFTBALL
Plant City 7, Durant 3
Senior Edmilly Molina’s scalding hot season at the plate continued with a pair of hits, including a triple and three RBI for the Raiders. Beka Schute and Abbie DeWeese each drove in two in the win, while Ashley Blessin struck out eight and improved to 8-1 on the year.
Gaither 17, Hillsborough 2
Freedom 19, King 0 (three innings)
Bloomingdale 11, Plant 0
Steinbrenner 10, Alonso 1
Chamberlain 15, Leto 1
East Bay 10, Riverview 0 (five innings)
Strawberry Crest 9, Sickles 1
Academy of the Holy Names 20, Tampa Prep 0 (five innings)
Seffner Christian 2, Admiral Farragut 1
** AS ALWAYS A big shoutout to Jarrett Guthrie for his contributions to this article!! **