Mallo, Marroquin help Dragons edge Wharton, 3-2
Jefferson starter Mikey Marroquin started hot, retiring nine of the first 10 batters he faced, and finished his five-inning effort with eight strikeouts while giving up just three hits. The win improved his pitching record to 8-1 this season.
By Chuck Frye, Senior Staff Writer
TAMPA – The first three innings weren’t pretty for either Wharton or Jefferson on Thursday, but the last three frames showed exactly the type of team the host Dragons want to be come playoff team – aggressive on the basepaths and flawless on defense.
That aggression turned into outs in the early going, but Jefferson righted the ship behind textbook offense led by newly-installed leadoff batter Cameron Mallo to hold off the Wildcats for a 3-2 victory.
Borne from a recent off-field ankle injury that held him out of a few games and has since limited Mallo to DH duties, the senior may not have coveted the new role, but he has embraced the challenge, going 5-for-7 with four RBI in the past three games.
“I don’t even know if he loves being up there, but we changed some things round,” Dragons head coach Spencer Nunez explained. “We told him, you may have a ‘not-a-Cam-Mallo’ game every now and then, but all we need you to do is get on first base because if you go, we go.”
Jefferson leadoff man Cameron Mallo talks strategy with the Dragons’ third base coach Casey Nunez after advancing due to a first-inning throwing error. Mallo, who later scored, was a perfect 3-for-3 against Wharton, driving in the game-winning tally.
And Mallo went, especially against Wharton (10-14 with a Monday opening round 6A-9 matchup against Hillsborough looming) where he was a perfect 3-for-3, scoring the game’s first run and driving in the game-winner.
“It’s changed my mindset a little bit,” Mallo said of the move. “From the three spot (in the lineup), I was worried about driving runners in and working with two outs. As the leadoff hitter, I have one goal: get on base. It happened in the first inning …”
Suffering from lack of support, Wildcat junior Aaron Wonderley was touched up for two unearned runs and three hits over two innings of work.
After rolling a single up the middle, the Dragons’ ever-present threat to run forced an errant pickoff throw that allowed Mallo to sprint to third. He later scored on a double-play grounder that gave the hosts a lead they would not lose.
“We like to get on and put some pressure on. It leads to runs,” Mallo said. “We like to be aggressive on the bases. With one out, none out, two outs … we’ll try to steal a base and create chaos.”
An errant toss to Wharton pitcher Aaron Wonderley (6) covering first base allowed Jefferson’s Alliuq Troupe (23) to move to second after his infield single. First baseman Danny Munoz (7) watched the play unfold.
Jefferson (16-8) experienced the wrong kind of chaos in the early going, having two players get picked off and another caught stealing in the opening three innings, none of which will alter Nunez’s approach.
“We missed some opportunities offensively and on the bases, but we are born to be aggressive. Everybody in the county knows that,” he said. “We’re not going to change that just because someone gets picked off.”
Jefferson’s Ja’Marques Benton makes contact in action against Wharton. Benton had a single and stolen base in the victory.
The Wildcats also had their issues early on, allowing Alliuq Troupe to move to second after a bad throw on his second-inning infield single, to third on a wild pitch, and home on another wild pickoff toss.
Tightening up its defense held Wharton in the contest, allowing the ‘Cats to finally chip away against persistent Dragons starter Mikey Marroquin, who retired nine in a row after a game-opening walk.
Wharton courtesy runner Anthony Arroyo (52) slides past the late tag of Jefferson catcher C.J. Padilla to score the Wildcats’ first run of the game in the fifth inning.
No. 9 batter Jeremiah Brown did the job with two outs in the fifth inning, driving a single that brought home courtesy runner Anthony Arroyo (catcher Chase Anello had walked) to make the score 2-1. But as he did with a two-on threat in the fourth, Marroquin thwarted the rally with a strikeout, part of the eight he authored during his five-inning stint.
“Mikey went out there and battled,” Nunez said. “He’s the type of pitcher where if one of his pitches isn’t working, something else will be. We had him on a pitch count to get him ready for districts, and he’s going to be big for us down the stretch, for sure.”
Wildcat catcher Chase Anello has thoughts of throwing to third base during fifth inning action.
Mallo agreed, saying: “Mikey’s our guy. We’ve seen it multiple times last year (during a run to the Class 4A state semifinals) and this year. He can perform in big games, and if he’s on the mound, we know we’ve got a real good shot.”
Mallo delivered another good shot as well against Wharton as his two-out, fifth-inning base hit brought home K.J. Sampson (infield single and two bunts) for the eventual game-winner.
Dragons lefty James Van Meter worked two innings of no-hit relief, walking two and striking out a pair to earn the save in a win against Wharton.
Lefty reliever James Van Meter was touched up for a sixth-inning run when a successful Wildcat first-and-third rundown play allowed Justis Meadows (walk) to cross the plate, but the senior closer earned the save by retiring the final five batters he faced.
“This was probably our best week of practice and our best week on the field this year … They’re locked in right now,” Nunez concluded. “(For the playoffs,) we had a big talk about the little things – bunting, hitting the ball through the middle of the field. The little things will take us where we want to go if we focus and get to do them.”
Jefferson – the top seed in the 4A-10 playoffs – will host the winner of Chamberlain and Blake’s (Monday) quarterfinal tilt on Tuesday.
Jefferson centerfielder Hayden Sekanick (6) gestures to his bench after a third-inning base hit.
⚾
Jefferson 3, Wharton 2
W 000|011|0 – |2|3|3
J 110|010|x – |3|9|0
W – Marroquin (8-1); L – Wonderley (0-2); S – Van Meter
Records – W (10-14); J (16-8).
