Sophomore hurlers battle as Berkeley beats River Ridge
Berkeley Prep sophomore Rivers Kurland earned his second win with nine strikeouts in just shy of six innings, as the Buccaneers defeated River Ridge on Tuesday.
By Jarrett Guthrie, Editor
To view our full photo gallery from this game, click here.
TAMPA – A duel on the mound between a pair of sophomores gave a good glimpse of things to come for visiting River Ridge and host Berkeley Prep on Tuesday, as Bucs lefty Rivers Kurland and Royal Knights right-hander Darian Collins showed swing-and-miss stuff.The difference proved timely hitting for the Buccaneers, aggressive base running and capitalizing on the game’s only error to see Berkeley Prep hold off the Knights, 3-1.
It was Collins, not on the mound but at the plate, that started things off for River Ridge (2-2) with a single lined into center. A walk followed, before Cameron Kessell ground a single up-the-middle to plate a run.
Sophomore Cameron Kessell grounds a ball back up the middle to drive in a run for the Royal Knights in the first.
The lead was short-lived however, as Berkeley senior James Hankerson crushed his second homer of the season, out beyond the wall in centerfield.
“I was so excited to get up there,” Hankerson said. “Rivers is our guy and I knew if I got that one run back, we’d be fine.”
Bucs head coach Richie Warren congratulates James Hankerson as he rounds third base after his first-inning solo home run to center.
The reigning All-813Preps Class 2A-5A Hitter of the Year also added a screaming, groundball single into center in his second at-bat and talked about his offseason focus after finishing 2022 hitting .389, with 39 RBI and seven home runs.
“The offseason really helped me this year,” the Florida State signee said. “I didn’t play football, instead I took a ton of swings and a lot of live ABs in the fall. It really helped, especially on a pitch like that (his home run in the first), he hung a changeup and I have been really working on staying through the ball and keep my bat in the zone longer.”
Berkeley Prep (3-0) would open things up in the home-second with a leadoff single from Kurland and Justin Herman wearing a pitch to put two aboard, followed eventually by a two-out base hit by Agustin Barrido, who beat the pitcher to the bag for a single plating one run. The throw home saw the ball get away from the catcher allowing Herman to also be sent across by head coach Richie Warren in the third base coaching box.
Junior Nolan Metcalf avoids a collision at the plate, before scoring the deciding run in the second inning.
“This is a little different lineup than we’ve had in the past,” the veteran coach said. “We’re going to have to try and force some things here and there, and get the baseball moving.”
The Knights first-inning offense was about all Kurland was willing to yield on the night, as he allowed just two more hits over his next 4 2/3 innings, striking out nine – his final one pushing him up to 75 pitches and ending his night on the mound. Perhaps the biggest of those nine punchouts came after the Bucs took the lead, with Collins again singling to start the third inning and reaching third base, before Kurland ended the threat with two strikeouts and an exuberant yell.
“Rivers plays with that fire and emotion,” Warren said, “and for him that was probably the biggest pitch of the night. Well give him a pass on that, but maybe we’ll talk about him not doing that too, too often.”
“But it also shows the kind of energy he brings to this club and as long as it’s harnessed, he’s probably one of the best arms in Hillsborough County.”
Royal Knights sophomore Darian Collins struck out seven in his four innings of work.
Collins, for his part, worked through four innings on the mound, allowing two earned runs on four hits while striking out seven, but did hit three batters. River Ridge turned the final innings on the mound over to senior Chad Francis, who pitched two hitless innings and struck out 4-of-6 he faced.
“Collins came in against us last year in relief (a tough 10-6, extra-inning win for the Bucs) and was electric, to be honest,” Warren said of the opposing starter. “We knew when we were getting him tonight, we were going to be in a battle.”
River Ridge senior Chad Francis.
In opposition eighth-grader Jett Walters picked things up from Kurland with two outs in the sixth, yielding a single hit and striking out two to earn a save.
Berkeley Prep eighth-grader Jett Walters earned his second save of the season.
Senior catcher Troy Reader ended the game with a bullet to second on a tough read for the runner, as the Bucs backstop was able to keep a ball in the dirt close and put a strike on target to the bag.
Reader, who also played quarterback for the Buccaneers’ football team, said he has enjoyed stepping into the starting catching role for his team replacing last year’s All-813Preps first teamer and current FSU freshman Gunnett Carlson from the state runner-up team.
“Gunnett, that is my best friend and a great role model,” Reader said, “I seriously learned so much about what to do behind the plate for him. That made this a really easy transition.”
Buccaneers senior catcher Troy Reader.
On handling a younger pitching staff than previous Berkeley Prep teams, including Tuesday nights tandem of a sophomore and middle schooler, Reader said the future is maybe closer than expected with the Bucs hurlers.
“I think this is more of a reload, even though some people might think it’s a rebuild,” he said. “We have a bunch of young studs, a lot of guys who want to win – are hungry to win, and are willing to put this team first.”
River Ridge travels to Largo for a game on Friday, while the Buccaneers have three more games this week continuing with a visit from Northside Christian on Thursday.
⚾⚾⚾⚾
Berkeley Prep 3, River Ridge 1
RR 100|000|0 – |1|5|1
BP 120|000|0 – |3|4|0
W – Kurland (2-0); L – Collins (0-2); S – Walters (2)
HR – Hankerson (BP). Records – RR (2-2); BP (3-0).
