Nimmala walks it off in Crest’s season opener
By Jarrett Guthrie, Editor
DOVER – Wednesday night’s season opener for Strawberry Crest’s baseball team started with a pregame celebration of 2023 grad and Major League Baseball first rounder Arjun Nimmala (drafted No. 20 overall by the Toronto Blue Jays), who was awarded a Rawlings Gold Glove for his senior season.
But by night’s end it was younger brother Akhil, who stole the show.
Click here to view our full photo gallery from the game between the Bulls and the Chargers.
After the Chargers lost a three-run lead in the sixth inning to visiting Bloomingdale, Nimmala stepped to the plate with the game on the line in the seventh and two men aboard. He fouled off the first offering, then crushed an off-speed pitch to the gap in left-center allowing the tying and winning run to cross nearly at the same time as Strawberry Crest rallied for a 5-4 victory.
Akhil Nimmala starts a swing on his two-run, walk-off double in Strawberry Crest’s come-from-behind win.
“You love the Nimmalas as people,” Crest coach Eric Beattie said. “They do everything the right way, work really hard, and they are so humble and it’s great to see both of them succeed.
“We’ve seen a really calm presence from Akhil this year. He’s matured, he’s been in a lot of big moments and they don’t always go your way. But having those moments, you learn from them and then, eventually, you get to have a moment like that.”
Prior to Wednesday’s home opener Chargers head coach Eric Beattie (right) presents 2023 Strawberry Crest alum and Toronto Blue Jays first round selection Arjun Nimmala with a Rawlings Gold Glove award for his senior season.
After three stellar innings from Bloomingdale (0-1) reliever Hayden Porter, the home-seventh saw tall righty lose his command a little, walking the first two hitters of the inning.
A mound visit followed the second walk as Akhil Nimmala slowly went to the plate – the momentary break gave the senior UCF signee a moment to think.
That thought: “The Chargers are about to win this game,” Nimmala said.
“Obviously, that was a big situation and I was just trying not to let it get too big,” he said. “I’ve been seeing a lot of sliders so far (this preseason), so I waited on it and was able to drive it the other way.”
Bloomingdale sophomore starting pitcher Javier Nahas-Hoyer.
Strawberry Crest (1-0) took a second-inning lead as walks hurt Bulls starter Javier Navas-Hoyer (3ip, two hits, five walks, four strikeouts). Three walks and a wild pitch had the bases loaded with one out, a passed ball brought in Toby Highsmith and an error on a bunt to the first base side allowed Nico Cappucci to cross. The Chargers built on to the lead the next inning with back-to-back doubles from Dillon Knight and Reuben Vasquez (RBI).
Sophomore Toby Highsmith slides into third base in the second inning. Highsmith would score the game’s first run on a passed ball.
The night cruised along smoothly for starting pitcher Brisen Tweedy, who worked through five innings, allowing just three hits and a walk while striking out six. But trouble came the Chargers direction once the team turned to the bullpen in the sixth.
Bloomingdale doubled its hit total with three hits in the frame, starting with a leadoff two-bagger smoked by senior Cooper Hinson that was lined halfway up the batter’s eye in center. Johnny De La Rosa followed with a single to drive in Hinson, took second on a missed cutoff, and went to third on a wild pitch.
Bloomingdale senior Cooper Hinson sends a leadoff double off the batter’s eye in center in the Bulls four-run rally in the sixth.
Vinny Dinzeo pushed a groundball toward second to bring in the second run, but things continued to spiral for the Chargers as an error allowed the Bulls’ catcher to hustle to first base. Dawson Rankin pulled his hands on an inside breaking pitch and flipped a double down the leftfield line to put two runners in scoring position and end the short relief outing for Chargers pitcher Landon Wood.
Crest senior Brayden DiCerb was called on in a tough spot, and he struck out the first batter he faced. But the bases loaded situation still favored the Bulls, who would tie the game on an Isaiah Perez (1-3, RBI) ground ball and take the lead when Matthew Cleveland lined a double down the line.
Strawberry Crest senior pitcher Brayden DiCerb.
DiCerb was able to get out of it with his team only down a run.
“When I came in I was just trying to do my job, throw strikes and get those outs,” DiCerb said. “I tried to minimize the damage, went in with a ‘do-it’ mentality and fought my way through it.”
Bulls junior Hayden Porter delivers a pitch.
Porter (L, two runs, three hits, two walks and six strikeouts), who entered for the Bulls to start the home-fourth and struck out a pair in each of his first three innings, yielded just two singles prior to Nimmala’s game-ender.
DiCerb walked one and hit one in the seventh, but also mixed in a sidearm sweeper for swing-and-miss stuff, picking up a pair of strikeouts.
“I spent all summer playing with Brayden, and he is our guy this year,” Nimmala, who was 2-for-3 with a walk in the win, said. “He has so much confidence in himself, that I can’t help but have that much confidence in him.”
Strawberry Crest junior Chase Conti is hot on the heels of Lance Highsmith as the duo scored in quick succession to tie, and then win the game for the Chargers.
DiCerb sent the praise right back to his fellow senior.
“(Akhil) was definitely the right guy in that moment. If there was just one on, I’m sure they’d have walked him,” DiCerb said. “But with two on, they had to pitch to him, and I knew what would happen. It was insane, an oppo-double, and I knew we had a fast runner on first. We just went crazy.”
Bloomingdale will have its home opener on Friday as the Bulls host Brandon; while the Chargers welcome Chamberlain, also on Friday.
⚾⚾
Strawberry Crest 5, Bloomingdale 4
B 000|004|0 – |4|7|1
S 021|000|2 – |5|5|1
W – DiCerb (1-0); L – Porter (0-1)
2B – Hinson, Rankin, Cleveland, Collins (B); Vasquez, Knight, Nimmala (S). Records – B (0-1); S (1-0).
