Allen, Dixson hold Jesuit hitless; Plant wins sixth-straight
Plant junior reliever Bo Allen was stellar against Jesuit, working 5 1/3 innings where only one Tiger batter reached on an error. Allen struck out four to combine with freshman Rhett Dixson for a no-hitter.
By Chuck Frye, Senior Staff Writer
TAMPA – Teams that are successful in the jam-packed, intense atmosphere of the Saladino Tournament have, more often than not, been able to keep the good times rolling when regular season play resumes. But no one could have expected Plant to exceed that lofty standard.
After all, the Panthers had a brutal gauntlet of opponents to face post-Saladino, even with the high of a three-game win streak to buoy them. Strawberry Crest was first last Tuesday with Plant eking out a tight victory, while Thursday’s road took it to No. 3 Jefferson and emerging with a shutout win.
With Jesuit’s Jack Clark sliding in, Plant shortstop Cash Strayer gets out of the way to allow second baseman Tanner Swank’s seventh-inning throw to first. Swank’s throw was late after forcing out Clark.
And on a rainy, windy Friday night, it was top-ranked Jesuit that had its hands full. Pairing some gutsy aggressive offensive moves with a defense so solid that it allowed reliever Bo Allen to relax and deal, the No. 4 Panthers dealt the Tigers a no-hitter and a 3-1 setback.
“I said coming in to the week that if we went 2-1, I’d be happy, so 3-0 is a pretty good week for us,” Plant head coach Dennis Braun said. “I think we’re heading in the right direction.”
Jesuit third baseman Dean Spoto drops down the tag to catch Plant’s Desan DeCamp in his fifth-inning steal attempt.
Knowing that runs would be hard to come by with Jesuit left-hander McCall Biemiller on the bump, Braun wasted no time in torqueing up the pressure. With two outs in the top of the second inning, the Tigers (now 9-3) cracked.
Jesuit senior lefty McCall Biemiller fought through shaky early defense to work 4 1/3 innings, yielding no earned runs and striking out seven.
With two runners on, courtesy runner Desan DeCamp got the signal to steal third and forced a throw that skittered into the outfield, allowing the sophomore to scamper home. Tanner Swank didn’t mail in his run to first on a dropped third strike, causing an air-mailed throw that plated Matthew Midyett (hit by pitch, two stolen bases). Then three straight free passes during the worst of Friday’s weather forced in Swank for a 3-0 advantage.
“We had a plan. We knew we just couldn’t do nothing,” Braun explained. “You get in these games and you’ve got to find a way to put pressure on these teams. We were able to do that and it got us a few runs so we’re happy with it.”
Earning his first-ever start after a strong Saladino outing against Durant, freshman Rhett Dixson ran into trouble in the bottom of the second, walking three batters and committing a balk that allowed a Jacob Lozano sacrifice fly to bring home clean-up hitter Jack Clark.
As Plant catcher James Leach fields a throw up the third base line, Jesuit clean-up hitter Jack Clark veers past him to score the Tigers’ lone run on a second-inning Jacob Lozano sacrifice fly.
But Braun had a short leash and an effective Plan B in Allen, who was fully aware that he would be the first bullpen option for the Panthers (10-3).
“It’s harder for high school kids to come into games and pitch, and Bo’s done a good job for us,” Braun said. “We rely on him to be that guy.”
“We were going to ride (Dixson) out pretty far but we came and got him when there was a little bit of trouble,” the junior righty said. “The game plan worked out great.”
Plant catcher James Leach looks to settle down freshman starter Rhett Dixson during second-inning play.
Allen simply dominated in his 5 1/3 innings on the mound as a seventh-inning miscue allowed Jesuit’s only base runner. Allen retired the first 13 Tigers he faced, struck out four, and only allowed two batted balls from the 17 batters he faced to leave the infield in closing out the shared no-hitter.
“The change-up just felt great,” Allen explained. “Flicking it off the fingers … it just felt comfortable.
“That’s a really good lineup – (Jesuit) should be ranked in the nation – but I was just trying to give them something and let my defense work.”
Plant third baseman Rocco Demarinis rifles a throw to first for a third-inning out.
After his second-inning struggles, Biemiller settled in and was commanding as well, ringing up four of his seven Ks before being relieved by Kaden Waechter, who shook off three hits and a walk to work 2 1/3 scoreless frames with three strikeouts.
Jesuit head coach Miguel Menendez takes the ball from starter McCall Biemiller, ending his mound stint in the fifth inning.
“Kaden’s going to be a superstar here,” Jesuit head coach Miguel Menendez said. “He’s only a sophomore and the moment’s never too big for him. He doesn’t panic, he just goes out and executes pitches. He gave us a shot and, unfortunately, we picked a bad night not to swing the bat.”
Jesuit sophomore reliever Kaden Waechter is animated after a strikeout that ended the Plant half of the seventh inning.
“It’s probably a good thing we’re playing (Saturday afternoon at Lake Wales),” Menendez continued, “so we don’t have a lot of time to sit around and throw a pity party,”
Plant’s Tanner Swank gestures to his teammates after his fourth-inning double.
Menendez concluded. “This team is good enough to win a state championship but we’ve got to show up and play like it every day. (Plant) played a cleaner game than we played and obviously deserved to win, but we didn’t play our best game by any stretch.”
Braun said: “I’ve been really happy with our pitching and defense. If that continues, then I think we’ve got a good chance to go on a good run at the end. We’ve just got to keep getting better at the plate, grinding out one pitch at a time.”
Plant returns to action on Tuesday as its five-game road trip continues at Robinson.
⚾
#4 Plant 3, #1 Jesuit 1
P 030|000|0 – |3|5|1
J 010|000|0 – |1|0|2
W – Allen (1-0); L – M. Biemiller (3-1)
2B – Swank (P). Records – P (10-3); J (9-3).
