Armwood halts two-game slide, rain runs down on Storm
Chamberlain shortstop Niko Bourdon moves for a short throw as Armwood’s Chase Conti (2) slides in for a first-inning stolen base. Conti would finish with a homer, two singles, four RBI, three runs scored and three stolen bases in the win.
By Chuck Frye, Staff Writer
TAMPA – In seven prior meetings, Armwood has had Chamberlain’s number. But in matchup number eight on Tuesday, that number was immensely bigger.
Putting on a massive display of offense and of team chemistry, the visiting Hawks were nearly flawless in a 27-2, four-inning beatdown of the Storm, impressively snapping a two-game losing streak in the process.
“It’s very important to do that because we should be able to put away teams like that with how talented we are,” said leadoff hitter and offensive mainstay Chase Conti. “Especially after last week, it’s what we need to do for the rest of the season.”
The sophomore speedster wasted little time kicking the offense of Armwood (8-4) into high gear, starting the contest with a single up the middle then stealing second and third base, before scoring on K.J. Leshko’s base hit.
“I set the tone and I’ve got to do my job getting the ball rolling and getting our dugout hyped,” Conti said.
But little did he know that that two-run first frame would only lead to much bigger and better things.
With No. 9 hitter Reem Jackson (single and two walks) on with a free pass to start the second inning, Conti launched an Eyxsen Herrera offering well over the leftfield fence for the first home run of his career.
Armwood’s Chase Conti (2) heads toward third base after hitting his first career home run.
When asked if he knew the ball was gone off his bat, Conti said: “No, not really. I just knew I hit it hard.”
Chamberlain starting pitcher Eyxsen Herrera.
And after the next eight Hawk hitters reached base, Conti came up again and deposited the first pitch he saw into centerfield for a two-run single and a daunting 12-0 lead.
“I knew they weren’t going to give me anything to hit — just throw some junk like off-speed curveballs — so I was just going to stay back,” the sophomore said.
“For the first half of the year, Chase was really hot with the bat but he had two games after the Saladino Tourney where he was kind of getting out of his swing,” Armwood head coach Ricardo Sanjurjo explained. “In practice, we were working back to the basics so he could be able to drive the baseball.”
The production was contagious:
- Antonio Rodriguez had two doubles, a single and two walks, driving in two runs and scoring four.
- Leshko finished with a double, single and two free passes for two RBI and two runs scored.
- Two-hit nights from freshman Rhys Brush (two RBI), juniors Matthew Hall (also hit by pitch, two RBI) and Christopher Hudge (hit by pitch twice, one RBI), as well as freshman sub Brady Xiong (two-run double).
“It was very exciting to see Brady get his first varsity hit,” Sanjurjo said. “(Junior) Henry (Ventura) as well … we expected them to make solid contact and they did so.”
As Chamberlain’s Jayden Knight walks by, Armwood freshman Brady Xiong celebrates his third-inning double, his first-ever varsity hit.
Hall pitched two innings of one-hit ball to get the win with junior Tyler Corns and sophomore Zalen Hicks getting an inning of work.
Chamberlain (now 7-6, with as many victories as were won the prior five seasons) chipped away for a pair in the third on junior Kenneth Madrid’s second single of the game, followed by Herrera’s run-scoring base hit.
Chamberlain’s Kenneth Madrid (4) hustles to third base in the first inning as Armwood’s Antonio Rodriguez approaches.
With a road date on Thursday against Hillsborough looming, first-year coach Sanjurjo knows what his squad must do to succeed.
“We made baserunning mistakes against Hillsborough in our second game of the year (a tight 6-5 setback),” he said. “We’re looking to bounce back, cut down on our errors and make sure everybody plays solid baseball from one through nine.”
Looking to end a three-game losing skein, the Storm will host a tough Alonso squad on Thursday.
Armwood shortstop K.J. Leshko exhibits an unusual arm angle in picking up a first-inning assist.
Armwood 27, Chamberlain 2 (4)
A 2(10)6|9xx|x – |27|20|0
C 002|0xx|x – |2|4|3
W – Hall; L – Herrera
2B – Xiong, Leshko, Rodriguez 2 (A); 3B – Rodriguez (A); HR – Conti (A). Records – A (8-4); C (7-6).
