Seffner Christian continues roll against Cambridge Christian

By Bob Bellone, Senior Staff Writer

SEFFNER – Seffner Christian took advantage of every break that came its way during an 8-0 victory against Cambridge Christian on Thursday afternoon.

The offense benefitted from three errors and a couple of bad-hop singles, but those gifts were no match for what the Crusaders received in the bottom of the first inning.

One-out singles by Ethan Duncan and Shay Dean put runners on the corners for Garrett Morgan, who opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly.

Then it happened.

Lancers starting pitcher Ethan Goebert fanned Collin McNeal for the apparent third out, but the ball eluded sophomore catcher Brody Bellomo and McNeal reached first safely.

Addy Scott came up next and redirected a Goebert offering over the left-field fence to make it 4-0.

“They made that mistake and I capitalized on it. It got us up nice and early,” said Scott, who finished with four runs batted in.

The Crusaders doubled their lead with runs in their last three turns at bat, highlighted by C.J. Koenck’s solo homer in the fourth. They totaled a dozen hits, including three each by Scott and McNeal. Duncan and Colin Patten added two apiece.

Seffner (2-1) needed no strokes of luck defensively in the Class 2A-District 10 matchup, getting 15 strikeouts in a combined three-hitter by a trio of right-handed pitchers.

CJ Koenck connects on his home run (photo courtesy of Heather Gray).

Starter Ian Bast allowed only a Bellomo single in four innings against Cambridge (3-1), which outscored its first three opponents by a 31-3 margin. The senior struck out nine batters and walked three before turning the ball over to Austin Trimble, a junior.

Bast, who was tagged with the season-opening loss at Lakeland Christian, explained the difference in this outing.

“Really, it was just getting the confidence back,” he said. “That was a major thing, just letting everything work; staying back, just letting my mechanics do their job.”

Trimble promptly struck out three Lancers in the fifth and another in the sixth. Sophomore Cyrus Shokrani finished the job with two strikeouts in a perfect seventh.

Seffner has won six consecutive games in the all-time series, outscoring Cambridge 34-3 in the last three.

“Everything’s going good right now,” said Crusaders coach Sal Giardina, whose team gave up only one hit in a 13-0 home victory against Bradenton Christian on Monday.

“The game of baseball,” he said. “Enjoy today for today, and we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”

⚾⚾⚾⚾

Seffner Christian 8, Cambridge Christian 0

C 000|000|0 – |0|3|3
S 400|000|0 – |8|12|2
W – Bast (1-1); L – Goebert (0-1)
HR – Scott, Koenck (S). Records – C (3-1); S (2-1).

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