New arms carry Durant past Hillsborough

By Bob Bellone
Senior Staff Writer

PLANT CITY – A pair of newcomers to the Durant mound combined for a dozen strikeouts in a 6-2 non-district victory against Hillsborough in the season opener for both teams Tuesday night.

Torin Byrnes, a senior transfer from Wisconsin, fanned eight Terriers and walked only the last batter he faced before turning the ball over to fellow right-hander Gavin Florio with one out in the sixth inning. Florio retired all five batters he faced, striking out four of them.

“My first time pitching on a varsity-level mound. Going in and picking him up, it felt great,” said Florio, who also chipped in a two-out RBI single in the home sixth.

Designated hitter Carlos Morales sparked No. 5 Durant offensively with three hits in four plate appearances in the cleanup role and scored twice. The sophomore delivered two runs with a first-inning double and came around on a wild pitch and a passed ball to make it 3-1. He added a single in the third inning and another double in the sixth.

“Definitely a good start,” Morales said. “Makes me nice and comfortable in the box for the future. Hope to keep on doing it.”

Devin Suero, another sophomore, contributed a pair of singles, drove in a run, and stole a base for the Cougars.

Byrnes allowed a run and three hits in both the first and third innings, but he set down eight consecutive batters before finally issuing the base on balls that punctuated his debut. The 6-foot-6 University of Tampa commit is excited to join a team coming off a 22-6 season and a trip to the Class 7A state semifinals.

“It’s a great team,” he said. “The environment here is great. The team just meshes so well together. I’m glad to be here.”

Durant coach Butch Valdes expects even more from Byrnes down the road.

“It wasn’t his best night tonight,” Valdes said. “He wasn’t hitting his spots, but he still pushed through it.”

Adrian Arroyo and Sal Urso each had two singles for Hillsborough, which has dropped nine of 11 games since racing to a 14-2 start last season that included a Saladino Tournament Silver Division championship.

⚾⚾⚾⚾

Durant 6
Hillsborough 2

H 101|000|0 – |2|6|2
D 300|021|x – |6|7|0
W – Byrnes (1-0); L – Urso (0-1)
2B – Jones (H); Morales 2, Suero (D). Records – H (0-1); D (1-0).