Durant avenges its last loss, with 3-1 win over Newsome
Durant junior Blaine Rowland held Newsome to a single run in a complete-game effort (813Preps file photo).
By Brandon Wright, Features Writer
PLANT CITY – Major League Baseball adopted a pitch clock this season in order to speed up game flow. No such rule exists currently in high school baseball.
But Durant’s Blaine Rowland pitched Friday like he was double parked.
“I’ve always worked as fast as I could,” Rowland said. “Try to keep the hitter’s moving and off balance.”
In a battle of aces, Rowland outdueled Newsome’s Evan Dempsey and the Cougars scratched across enough runs as Durant defeated the visiting Wolves 3-1 in a tidy game completed a shade under one-and-a-half hours.
“Blaine is a battler,” Durant coach Butch Valdes said. “He’s that guy we throw out there when we need that ‘W’.”
The win extended Durant’s winning-streak to four while snapping Newsome’s at eight. The Wolves beat the Cougars 9-4 March 28, the last time Durant lost.
“Coming off the loss against them a couple weeks ago, we wanted to beat them as bad as we could,” Rowland said. “And we fought tonight. Everyone did their job.”
Rowland admittedly didn’t have his best stuff and knew it from the jump.
“I felt it in the pen,” Rowland said. “I was just looking for weak contact and to stay low in the zone. I had to get the job done.”
The Florida-commit struck out just four in the complete-game win, but managed to elude much hard contact, relying on a solid Durant (14-3) defense to shoulder the load.
“He didn’t have his greatest stuff tonight but it shows you what type of kid he is,” Valdes said. “He was pitching and not throwing. That’s the maturity level. Now you see the change. He’s not just up there trying to throw it by you. Letting the defense work and he has a lot of faith in the guy’s behind him.”
Nicholas Blasko’s (2-for-2) chopper through the hole gave the Wolves (12-6) a one-run lead in the third but Durant answered in the bottom of the frame. Nick April-Gath singled to lead off the inning, moved to third on a Dylan LaPointe (1-for-2) double and eventually came around to score on a wild pitch.
“I think we wanted it more than them,” April-Gath said. “We just have to keep grinding and going to work at practice. Do the little things.”
April-Gath then scored on an error in the fifth and Rowland (1-for-2) plated the final run with a cue shot off the end of the bat between first and second that could easily been a trick shot out of a billiard’s tournament.
“Yep, it was just funky English,” Valdes joked. “I can’t give away all my secrets. We’ll just call that home-field advantage.”
Dempsey was strong, scattering five hits while fanning 10. The senior righty struck out a pair in four of the six innings he threw and walked just two. Newsome’s Wade Walton doubled and scored the lone run.
⚾⚾⚾⚾
#4 Durant 3, #6 Newsome 1
N 001|000|0 – |1|3|2
D 001|020|0 – |3|5|1
W – Rowland; L – Dempsey (5-3)
2B – Walton (N); LaPointe (D). Records – N (12-6); D (14-3).
