Leto edges Hillsborough as Rivera strikes out 13

By Chuck Frye
Correspondent

TAMPA – When COVID-19 shut down baseball in his native Colombia, keeping him off the field for over a year, Anthony Montoya made a difficult choice.

Leaving his parents behind, the teenager returned to a country he spent his preschool years in, living with his grandparents in Tampa just for an opportunity to play again. Leto High gave him that shot and Montoya continues to be rewarded for his decision.

Bringing a new positive to Falcons coach JJ Pizzio’s lineup construction, the athletic outfielder was a perfect 2-for-2 with a walk from the No. 9 spot on Thursday, scoring what would be the winning run in the Falcons’ 2-0 victory over visiting Hillsborough.

“I was looking for some production at the bottom of the order and I took a gamble,” Pizzio explained. “Anthony was put there as a little secret weapon and, instead of driving in runs, he ended up being a rally starter for us.”

The junior led off the bottom of the fifth inning with a soft line drive to centerfield for a base hit and moved to second on an infield out. With two down, he hustled home on cleanup hitter Brayan Cruz’s hot roller into rightfield, using a popping up to pump his fist higher into the air.

“I was just waiting for the ball to be in my comfort zone, have confidence in my hands and my bat,” said a jubilant Montoya, who is now hitting .346 on the season. “Baseball is the only sport that’s going to give you that emotion. That’s why we play.”

 

“Anthony is a leader in the classroom and on the field,” Pizzio said. “He’s a big kid with a good arm … an amazing young man.”

After Cruz’s RBI hit, senior J.J. Barreto (walk, hit by pitch) followed with a line drive that was just taller than Terriers third baseman Ryan Arroyo’s desperate leap. The ball tumbled out of Arroyo’s glove, scoring starting pitcher B.J. Rivera (hit by pitch) with what seemed like a pressure release of an insurance run.

Except the right-handed strikeout machine wasn’t rattled by the tight battle.

“I feel like I’ve been dealing with that my whole life,” said Rivera, who with 83 punchouts leads all Florida pitchers and is in the top 30 nationwide. “I know how to slow down the game … just making my pitches, pitch my game and leave it all on the field.”

Owning the outside edge of the strike zone, and a shade more thanks to a generous home plate umpire, Rivera scattered four Hillsborough hits, fanning 13 and walking three. The junior fought off a pair of Terriers scoring opportunities early then didn’t allow a runner past second base in his last two innings of work.

“Our pitching coach is B.J.’s dad (Joel Rivera) and he obviously knows him very well,” Pizzio said. “B.J. has great command on the outer half of the plate and he can work inside. He did a good job with the curveball on their better hitters.”

Offensively, leadoff man Coltin Pizzio extended his hitting streak to nine games with a double and a single for Leto (now 12-6) while Kevin Rivera (single and hit batter) also reached base twice.

Cruz (three Ks) shook off a pair of seventh-inning base runners to earn the save for the Falcons.
Crafty right-hander Sal Urso suffered the hard-luck loss on the mound for Hillsborough (9-9),

scattering seven hits over 4 2/3 innings while striking out three. Donald Gorgei doubled and walked offensively before striking out three in relief of Urso.

Leto hopes to extend its three-game winning streak (five in its last seven) when it travels to take on Brooks DeBartolo on Monday. A Hillsborough squad mired in a five-game losing schneid looks to reverse its fortunes when it hosts Freedom, also on Monday.

Leto 2
Hillsborough 0

H 000|000|0 – |0|5|2
L  000|020|x – |2|5|0
W – Rivera (7-1); L – Urso (3-3); S – Cruz (2)
2B – Gorgei (H). Records – H (9-9); L (12-6).

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