Bloomingdale holds off Lennard for 6A-11 crown

The 2023 Class 6A-District 11 Champion – Bloomingdale Bulls (photo B. Bellone)

By Bob Bellone, Senior Staff Writer

RUSKIN – Bloomingdale right-hander Jacob Magadan took a four-run advantage into the bottom of the seventh inning of the Class 6A-District 11 championship game at Lennard on Thursday night.

The senior also brought a mild case of jitters to the mound that soon had pulse rates up throughout the ballpark.

Last things first: The Bulls held on for a 4-1 victory. Here’s how:

Magadan was nearly untouchable through five innings, allowing only a base hit by Matthew Counts in the third. Trey Miranda and Logan Covey collected singles off him in the sixth, but they were left stranded.

Then came the home seventh.

Joseph Rivera led off with a single and reached third on a double by R.J. Torres. An infield error loaded the bases with none out.

With his 105th and final pitch of the night, Magadan notched his seventh strikeout before Bulls coach Kris Wilken summoned Johnny De La Rosa to the mound from his position in left field.

“I think in that last inning I was just worried about the dogpile at the end. I was just not playing in the moment,” said Magadan, who refocused and finished on a high note.

Bulls junior Johnny De La Rosa.

The shutout bid ended when Rivera scored on a fielder’s choice. A two-out walk then refilled the bases, but De La Rosa ended the drama with a strikeout.

“They could have easily packed it up and been done with it, but they fought to the end,” Lennard coach Victor Martinez said. “I’m extremely proud of them.”

De La Rosa also shared the offensive spotlight with a pair of singles, the latter driving in two runs in the third to make it 4-0.

“I wasn’t trying to do too much at the plate,” he said. “I was just sitting back. The next thing, I found a good pitch to hit and just let it roll.”

In that inning, the Bulls also capitalized on an infield error, a walk, a balk, and a Dawson Rankin single.

Bloomingdale (17-8) manufactured its initial run in the first. Longhorns right-hander Jackson Mueller issued a leadoff walk to Pierce Collins, who reached third when Cooper Hinson followed with a double and crossed on a sacrifice fly by Alex Vazquez.

Mueller worked five innings for Lennard (17-9), allowing two earned runs and eight hits. He fanned six batters and walked two before junior Zack Bird took over in the sixth. The left-hander was brilliant, striking out five of the six batters he faced in two perfect innings.

The teams met on the same field March 28, and Bloomingdale took home an 8-2 triumph that ultimately secured the regular-season league title.

Nonetheless, Lennard was awarded the top seed in the postseason tournament and the host role in district finale based on FHSAA power rankings.

Wilken was not offended.

“Not at all,” he said. “First of all, they’re a good team. I don’t care if we play them here, play them at our place, play them in the Trop. It doesn’t matter. They’re a good team. We have to play well no matter what.”

Hinson clearly enjoyed his two visits to Ruskin – he added a single to his early double and went 4-for-4 in the first contest – but he wasn’t overconfident entering the rematch.

“Every game is a new game,” he said, “and I like to come with a fresh mindset [after a] good or bad game.”

Both teams are scheduled to compete in region quarterfinal games Wednesday.

6A-11 Final 

T-#7 Bloomingdale 4, #10 Lennard 1

B 103|000|0 – |4|8|1
L 000|000|1 – |1|5|1
W – Magadan (5-3); L – Mueller (5-3); S – De La Rosa (4)
2B – Hinson (B); Torres (L). Records – B (16-8); L (18-8).

 

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