Christ School 5
Flagler Palm Coast 4
It took a couple of extra frames, but the Christ School Greenies were able to secure their first win of the 2019 FHSI with a 5-4 victory overt the Flagler Palm Coast Bulldogs on Wednesday afternoon.
The Greenies were the first on the board, thanks to Isaiah Lowe, who drove in Max Lecroy with a single in the bottom of the first. That was about it for excitement as starting pitchers Jace Wilson (FPC) and Porter Thompson (Christ) tossed six straight scoreless half innings.
The Bulldogs were able to come to life in the top of the fifth inning. With one out, three straight batters were walked by Thompson to load the bases. A Donnie Little single, followed by a walk to Matt Arnold, plated a pair of runs. After a pitching change, Flagler was able to get one more across when Christian Diaz drew a walk ... the fifth of the inning ... to make it 3-1.
The Greenies were quick to respond in the bottom of the inning. A Mickey Meguiar sac fly plated teammate Jack Sutton to make it 3-2. With two outs, Christ School caught a break when Jack Galbraith reached on an error. They made FPC pay as Andrew Grande singled to score Isaiah Lowe and tie the game.
The game remained knotted at 3, forcing extras. Per tournament rules, the international tiebreaker was in effect meaning each team would start the extra frame with a runner on second base. Both team successfully scored in the eighth, which led to an extra extra frame.
In the top half, catcher Chad Treadway picked off Noah Trawick to eliminate the courtesy runner for FPC. The Bulldogs failed to score in the inning, setting up a dramatic finish for Christ School. After an intentional walk and a base hit, the bases were loaded for Galbraith. HE chopped the first pitch he saw to third base, but the fielder couldn't get the ball out of his glove to make a throw, allowing Treadway to score and end the game.
Four Greenies recorded multiple hits led by Grande (3-4) and Lecroy (2-5, 3 SB). Donnie Little reached base three times for the Bulldogs.
Orangewood Christian 4
Second Baptist 0
The Orangewood Christian Rams took advantage of a tremendous start from Noah Weber to defeat the Second Baptist Eagles 4-0 on Wednesday night.
Brooks Rikeman scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the first. After laying down a perfect bunt, the ball got kicked ot the backstop, allowing the leadoff man to make it to second. After a groundout moved Rikeman to third, Troy McPeak slapped a grounder down the thrid base line to drive in the run.
The second and third innings were scoreless for both squads as JC Davis (SB) and Noah Weber battled on the mound. The Eagles had a chance in the third, loading the bases, but Weber was able to induce a popout to end the threat.
In the fourth, Orangewood broke the game open with a three run effort. A walk, steal and error allowed McPeak to score the first run of the inning. Then, with two on and the infield in, Zach Yousef flared a 1-0 pitch over the drawn in infield to score both Vance Wimberly and Jason Wert to make it 4-0.
Weber cruised through the fith and sixth, but made things interesting in the final frame. A walk, strikeout, and two singles put the Eagles in good position with the bases loaded and only one out. After a mound visit from Orangewood head coach Scott Hilinski, Weber was able to get the final batter to ground weakly back to the mound. He was able to turn the 1-2-3 double play to end the game. It was the third double play tuned by the Rams in the ballgame.
Weber's final line read 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K. McPeak scored and drove in one, while Yousef had two RBI.
All four teams in Pool B now sit at 1-1 on the week, making Thursday's games crucial for Friday's championship seeding. The tournament schedule for Thursday is as follows:
(All games played at Sanford Memorial Stadium)
11:15 am: Barron Collier (1-1) vs. South Fork (0-2)
1:45 pm: Second Baptist (1-1) vs. Flagler Palm Coast (1-1)
4:15 pm: Orangewood (1-1) vs. Christ School (1-1)
6:45 pm: University (1-1) vs. Calvary Christian (2-0)