TC makes walks hurt, Richards handles Seffner Christian
By Jarrett Guthrie
Editor
CLICK HERE for our full photo gallery from Monday evening’s game.
TAMPA – Senior Michael Richards’ curveball gave Seffner Christian fits all day as Tampa Catholic’s righty pitcher threw into the seventh inning, holding the visiting Crusaders to a single run while the home Crusaders took a 3-1 win in the first of four games for TC in Week 10.
Tampa Catholic (10-12) got a good look at Seffner Christian lefty starter Shay Dean and stretched the junior out in the second inning. Maddox King ran down a deep fly ball to end the top of the frame, before stepping in and wearing a pitch from Dean to start the home-half. From there the inning was a mixed bag for Dean who continued to struggle with his control, walking one more before fielding his position excellently for two outs at third base. But the walks continued to pile up and Danny Lazaro (1-for-3) got TC on the board with a bases loaded free pass. Lazaro then drew a throw to first that allowed courtesy runner Charlie Parker to scamper home and Anthony Petrillo scored on a passed ball as TC put up three runs without a hit.
“They out-hit us, we made more errors than they did, but we still found a way to get it done,” TC head coach Paul Russo, Jr. said. “Running bases well, taking some tight pitches, taking some walks – that was what proved the difference as we put a crooked number up in the third.”
“We’ve had a really tough schedule and haven’t seen a lot of walks in a row like that,” Richards said. “So, making him work, keep walking guys and manufacturing runs, that was huge for us.”
The bad inning proved too much to overcome, despite a solid effort from Dean for two more scoreless innings. Dean finished allowing all three runs on just one hit, but walked six to just a single strikeout.
“We were flat coming in,” Seffner Christian head coach Sal Giardina said. “We were flat on the bus, flat coming out and that’s what I just explained to the boys, we are a good team and after we got it straight in the second inning we shut them down.”
Richards cruised through a 1-2-3 third inning, worked around a Collin McNeal (2-for-3, double) hit and an error in the fourth, before Seffner Christian (14-6-1) got something going in the fifth. Sophomore Addy Scott lined a leadoff double into right, moved to third while TC picked up a pair of outs, and scored his team’s only run on a groundball single into right from senior captain Jake Foster.
McNeal’s sixth-inning double would be the sixth and final hit allowed by Richards, who would record one out in the seventh before being pulled after an error allowed a base runner in the final frame.
“His off-speed was hurting us and he pounded the strike zone,” Giardina said. “And all of a sudden we started thinking too much instead of seeing the ball, going after it and hitting the ball today.”
Richards finished with five strikeouts and no walks on the day and left six runners on base in the win.
“Mikey, when guys get on base, it seems like he picks it up – two, three, four miles-per-hour more on the fastball,” Russo said. “And when he can get breaking balls over early in the count for strikes, he’s been incredibly successful.”
Richards said coming into the game he expected to have to weather some Seffner Christian offensive output, but his focus was to rely on his defense and throw strikes.
“I knew this team could hit very well, so I just had to lock it down,” Richards said. “I knew I would give up some hits, but I had to lock it down when it mattered, our defense made some plays and kept me in it.”
Sophomore righty Ruben Ledo picked up the save inducing a pair of groundball outs to end it.
CLICK HERE for our full photo gallery from Monday evening’s game.
Tampa Catholic 3
Seffner Christian 1
SC 000|010|0 – |1|6|1
TC 030|000|x – |3|4|2
W – Richard; L – Dean; S – Ledo
2B – Scott, McNeal (SC). Records – SC (14-6-1); TC (10-12).
