Calvary edges TC in Maroudis and Peterson combined no-no
By Chuck Frye, Staff Writer
CLEARWATER – There aren’t many holes in Calvary Christian’s game, but one has been losing playoff games to teams it had beaten earlier in the season.
Last year, the Warriors beat Berkeley Prep three times including a district tourney victory but dropped a heartbreaking verdict in the Class 3A regional semifinals.
For a few more photos from this one, click here.
On Tuesday night against visiting Tampa Catholic, with a berth in the 3A final four on the line, the script appeared to be repeating. Calvary left the bases loaded in the first two innings, had a runner round third base too aggressively and was erased in a first-inning rundown, and had a second-inning runner retired at the plate on an infield grounder.
“You watch high school, college, and even Major League Baseball, it’s hard to continue to beat good teams,” Warriors head coach Greg Olsen said. “I’m glad we only played Tampa Catholic once during the regular season.”
The door seemingly was open for a Crusaders upset but the pitching tandem of seniors Landen Maroudis and Liam Peterson definitively slammed it shut without giving up a hit. From there, the Warriors got just enough production to eke out a 1-0 victory and book a trip to Fort Myers Friday to face Jacksonville Providence School.
Calvary Christian head coach Greg Olsen rolled the dice, removing starting pitcher Landen Maroudis after 5 2/3 no-hit innings to have him available for a potential Class 3A state championship game.
Maroudis, a 6-foot-5 North Carolina State commit who hadn’t pitched since the district title game, came out firing BB’s from pitch one and was unhittable. He retired 17 of the 18 batters he faced, yielding a lone fifth-inning walk to Danny Lazaro, and struck out nine batters including a string of four straight Ks. Seven of his strikeouts came against the bottom four batters in the Tampa Catholic lineup.
“My mindset stayed the same the whole game, just throw strikes,” Maroudis said. “Throw strike one, strike two … be aggressive, fill up the (strike) zone and trust that my teammates have my back.”
Tampa Catholic pitcher Roman Corinti yells to his teammates after squelching Calvary Christian’s bases-loaded, second-inning threat.
However, Crusader starter Roman Corinti was finding an alternative way to put zeroes on the scoreboard and keep his squad in the game. In 3 2/3 innings of work, the junior gave up six hits, walked five batters and hit another. He also was drilled with a game-opening line drive off the bat of Andrew Tess that he shook off to continue.
“He’s been his best with guys on base all year,” explained Tampa Catholic head coach Paul Russo, Jr. “I think that reflects in the numbers that he put up. He gave us four solid innings after, first pitch of the game, getting squared up in the back. He’s been that bulldog all year and the guy we wanted to give the ball to (Tuesday). He did exactly what we expected him to do.”
Calvary Christian centerfielder Blake Opie tracks down a fourth-inning fly ball. Opie drove in the game’s lone run with his third-inning base hit.
Corinti was only touched up for a lone third-inning run as DH Liam Peterson (two hits on the night) led off with a double down the leftfield line, moved to third on a Justin Mayes single and scored on Blake Opie’s base hit.
“I was able to work the count to 3-and-2 and I was sitting fastball, waiting to drive something,” Opie said. “It was a really big hit for me and the team.”
Calvary Christian senior Liam Peterson is all smiles after scoring the game’s only run in the third inning.
After Corinti’s stint, lefty St. John’s River commit Danny Lazaro stepped to the hill and was, in a word, commanding. The senior opened with three-straight strikeouts and finished by retiring all seven batters he faced.
“Danny was bringing some hard stuff,” Russo said. “In big games, we wanted Roman, Danny and Alex (Sotiropoulos) working for us. Alex and Roman are returning next year so our future is bright in getting back to this spot.”
Danny Lazaro kept Tampa Catholic in the game, retiring all seven batters he faced with three strikeouts.
But as good as Lazaro was, Maroudis was his equal until Olsen made the gutsy move to go to his bullpen and Peterson with two outs in the sixth.
“If he threw over 75 pitches, (Landen) wouldn’t have been able to throw in Fort Myers at all,” Olsen said of his potential starter in a Saturday state final. “(Maroudis is) a senior, and considering how hard he’s worked, that was the driving force behind the decision. He’s earned that.”
Tampa Catholic shortstop Brian Canasi turns a sixth-inning grounder into an out.
Peterson saw his first pitch lined inches foul down the rightfield line and that ironically settled the senior down. Lazaro coaxed a two-out, seventh-inning free pass but that would be all the 6-foot-5 Florida commit would allow, fanning the other four batters he faced to complete the combined no-no.
“I was just trying to throw strikes, that’s kind of been my problem all year,” said Peterson. “(Tuesday) I was able to get ahead of counts, work my curveball low in the dirt that (the Crusaders) were swinging at. It worked out good.”
“They’ve got three of the top guys in America (including Arkansas commit Hunter Dietz) and it showed,” Russo said of a Warriors staff that held TC to just two hits over two losses this year and a mere five hits in four games over the past three seasons. “We put a couple of hard balls in play but you can’t win games if you can’t score runs.”
Tampa Catholic centerfielder Maddox King makes a soaring second-inning catch against the fence to rob Calvary’s Tad Brooks of an extra base hit.
“These kids did something that no one thought they could do,” Russo said of a 22-8 squad that registered the program’s first winning season since 2015. “They played with the same mindset that the coaching staff had and there was nothing that would stop them this year.”
And with a third state title dangling in front of the now 26-4 Warriors, Olsen had a simple recipe for success: “For our team to be at its best, we need all 22 guys battling every pitch. Our commitment to play is important and these kids are committed every game.”
The Calvary Christian bench lines up to greet Landen Maroudis (16) after the senior threw 5 2/3 no-hit innings.
⚾ Class 3A-Region 2 Final ⚾
Calvary Christian 1, Tampa Catholic 0
T 000|000|0 – |0|0|0
C 001|000|x – |1|6|0
W – Maroudis; L – Corinti; S – Peterson
2B – Peterson (C). Records – T (22-8); C (26-4).
