Oppo approach and Biemiller’s gem puts Jesuit over TC
Jesuit senior McCall Biemiller struck out a dozen in six, scoreless innings on the mound, earning his second win against Tampa Catholic this season.
By Jarrett Guthrie, Editor
TAMPA – Jesuit senior Noah Sheffield said that the Tigers recent practice sessions have focused on an opposite-field hitting, and the team was hoping this approach would spark the offense.
In an early evening tilt with historic rival Tampa Catholic on Friday, the Tigers implemented the strategy with exactness, spraying eight-of-twelve hits to either centerfield or the opposite direction, including back-to-back hits from Cannon Murtagh (double) and Sheffield in the first as Jesuit left Peter J. Mulry Field with a 4-0 victory.
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“We’ve been working in practice on an approach to right field,” Sheffield said. “And you saw tonight, I think eight of our hits went that way, so it was great to take what we worked on in practice and work it into the game.”
Jesuit senior Noah Sheffield picks up one of his three hits in the win.
And though the first-inning run courtesy of the FSU-signed senior’s hopping groundball into right would prove enough for the win, it was just the start as both Sheffield and Murtagh stacked three hits apiece, pacing the offense in the win.
Cannon Murtagh connects on his first-inning double. He’d go on to collect three hits and scored three of Jesuit’s runs.
The sophomore Murtagh, who scored three times for Jesuit (12-4), was excited to get his first start in the generations-long Tampa rivalry.
“Obviously, this is a rivalry game that dates back a long time,” Murtagh said. “The emotions are high. Everyone wants to win, and it’s usually a tight game. And when those emotions get high, you need to settle down, trust your instincts, trust your preparation, go out and have fun.”
Jose Carrero makes a catch in deep right field for the Crusaders.
The early lead allowed senior McCall Biemiller to focus on his attack from the mound, as the Florida commit put on a clinic, scattering three Crusaders singles and three walks in his six innings and striking out 12.
“We had to get some runs on the board early, to make (Biemiller) a little more comfortable,” Sheffield said. “I knew he was going to dominate already, so I just wanted to make sure we got that first run for him.”
Tigers catcher Vince DeCarlo and starting pitcher McCall Biemiller after an inning-ending punch-out.
Biemiller, who also earned the 2-1 win over the Crusaders on March 1st, admitted Friday’s win on the road was extra-sweet.
“Doing it here at their place was just unbelievable,” Biemiller said. “It’s always great, this is a great atmosphere. There’s always that bit of a grudge between us – it just makes for a fun game.”
Tampa Catholic and Columbia signee Alex Sotiropoulos struck out nine in five innings.
And though the Tigers swung the bat effectively with a dozen hits, Tampa Catholic senior Alex Sotiropoulos did his part to keep Tampa Catholic (11-6) in the game, tossing five innings and striking out nine.
Tampa Catholic second baseman Hershey Sanchez applies a tag after a perfect throw from catcher Ethan Frame to catch a stealing runner.
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Crusaders senior catcher Ethan Frame picks a ball out of the dirt on a swinging, strike three and throws to first for an out.
Murtagh and Sheffield singled to start the third inning, before the Crusaders defense would pick up two outs. But Jesuit would put the game out of reach when senior Jacob Lozano (2-for-3) sent a ground ball up the middle to drive in two more runs.
Jesuit’s Jack Clark rounds third on his way to the plate on Jacob Lozano’s two-run single.
Lozano, who has made 12 starts at shortstop for the Tigers this season, has moved across the middle infield starting Jesuit’s last two wins at second base. A team-player attitude as the Tigers tinker with things a bit made for a smooth transition, but the skill and instincts of a shortstop don’t go away no matter where Lozano may be positioned. Lozano turned in the defensive play of the game to close out the fourth inning, hard-charging a softly-hit ground ball from Carson Arnold, bear-handing the ball and just beating Arnold to the bag.
“Off the bat, I knew the barehand was going to be my only play,” he said. “We practice it a little bit. We mess around with it, so it was just a moment to have fun with it … it was a do-or-die moment, just had to go get it.”
Senior Jacob Lozano wings a throw to first base after barehanding a ground ball.
The play’s precision, though seemingly expected from Lozano, was not lost on Biemiller.
“That was an outstanding play from Jacob, like always,” Biemiller said. “I trust him. I trust the whole infield, really.”
McCall Biemiller is fired up after his 12th strikeout to end the sixth inning.
The Crusaders would turn to senior Ruben Ledo out of the bullpen for the sixth, and he struck out a pair working around a walk. But Ledo would fall into a little bit of trouble when he returned to the mound in the seventh, giving up a single to Murtagh before getting an out on a warning-track fly ball to right field from Sheffield.
Tigers catcher Vince DeCarlo sends an RBI single up the middle.
Vince DeCarlo would great TC reliever Dominic Woodward by stinging his second single of the game into centerfield to plate the Tigers final run.
Sophomore Kaden Waechter finished out the win for Jesuit.
Kaden Waechter finished off the win for the Tigers, despite allowing a Jose Carrero single. On the next at-bat Carrero was ruled to have interfered at second base by not sliding and the umpire called an automatic double-play to end the game.
Tampa Catholic’s leftfielder Lucas Cinnante runs down a ball in the gap.
Hershey Sanchez, Lucas Cinnante, and Sotiropolous would account for the Crusaders other three singles, and senior Ethan Frame threw out a runner trying to swipe second in the fifth inning.
Jesuit returns to action next Tuesday with a trip to Bradenton to face MaxPreps’ Florida No. 1-ranked IMG Academy (non-FHSAA team); while Tampa Catholic has a district game at Berkeley Prep, also on Tuesday.
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#4 Jesuit 4, #5 Tampa Catholic 0
J 102|000|1 – |4|12|0
T 000|000|0 – |0|4|0
W – Biemiller (4-1); L – Sotiropoulos
2B – Murtagh (J). Records – J (12-4); T (11-6).
