Cougars take round two of catfight with Wildcats
By Lily Belcher
Correspondent
PLANT CITY – Durant battled its way to a 12-10 victory over Wharton with a strong offensive performance and base running, led by catcher Dylan LaPointe.
Just over a week removed from a one-run loss to Wharton in the Saladino Tournament, LaPointe opened the Cougar’s scoring on Saturday with a first-inning, two-run home run over the fence in left-center to give Durant (8-5) an early lead. An ability to capitalize on fielding errors, paired with aggressive base running allowed the Cougars to tack on seven additional runs in the following two innings against Wildcats’ starting pitcher Evan Chrest.
“[In practice] we focused on hitting the ball on the ground and moving runners and making sure everyone could get their approach in,” said LaPointe. “We [practiced] key situations, which helped today.”
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The batting drills coach Butch Valdes and his team focused on in practice certainly paid off as they managed to outscore the competitive Wildcats’ bats.
Senior Avery Cherry went 2-for-4 with two singles and scored twice on errors with the smart baserunning that was showcased in the game. Aidan Welsh picked up two hits and two runs as well, that contributed to Durant’s early lead.
Before the game, Valdes said he was hoping the 1-2 punch of pitchers Torin Byrnes and Gavin Florio would, “hold [Wharton] down and the bats will come alive.”
Durant’s starter, senior Torin Byrnes, pitched four innings, giving up nine hits with five strikeouts in his fifth start of the season. Sophomore relief pitcher Gavin Florio took over for Byrnes three batters into the fifth to secure a Cougars’ victory.
“Florio is that quiet one. He’s been really productive for us,” said Valdes. “He’s just that gem in rough right now and I’m excited to see how he keeps growing and getting better.”
Florio battled with the Wharton (8-3) hitters, who closed the gap with nine runs in the last four innings. However, the Cougars’ reliever came back after falling behind in the count multiple times and got the final strikeout to end the game.
“[I was] just trying to go after them,” said Florio. “When you put batters on, you can’t let it get to your head. You just have to keep going after them.”
Wharton had 11 hits, including a solo home run by senior Elijah Dukes, while Quentin Meadows, Billy Eich (double), Dukes, and Jake Turer had two-hit games.
3 homers so far (all to centerfield) @SJGator_BB @sanjacgator43 @Whartonbaseball @CoachLikeMike @813Preps @PBRFlorida @Florida_PG @JSully12 @CoachBarnes904 pic.twitter.com/rJvckwM6Pi
— Elijah Dukes (@ElijahDukes4) March 26, 2022
Durant will host Chamberlain on Tuesday, March 29 at 7 pm and Wharton will travel to Ruskin to face Lennard on Monday, March 28 at 7 pm.
⚾⚾⚾⚾
Durant 12
(6) Wharton 10
W 010|340|2 – |10|11|0
D 243|201|x – |12|9|0
W – Byrnes; L – Chrest (2-1)
2B – Eich (W); HR – Dukes (W); LaPointe (D). Records – W (9-3); D (8-5).