Rowland sets hit record, fans 14 as Durant beats Plant
Durant senior Blaine Rowland squares up a letter-high pitch in the first inning, collecting the first of his three hits and setting a new, single-season hit mark (40) for the Cougars.
By Jarrett Guthrie, Editor
PLANT CITY – Durant’s Blaine Rowland took a short, late hack on an elevated pitch in the first inning, sending a ground ball skipping into left field for the first of his three hits against Plant, which gave the senior the Cougars single-season hitting record.
“I definitely didn’t think I was coming into my senior year breaking a hitting record,” Rowland grinned. “Not too bad for a P.O. (pitcher-only).”
View more photos from this game here.
And about that “pitcher-only” label: Rowland showed off those skills, too. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound righty flat-out dealt, tossing a complete-game, four-hit shutout, finishing off visiting Plant with his 14th strikeout and locking up his team’s 20th victory in a 6-0 win.
“That’s just typical Blaine, right there,” Durant head coach Butch Valdes said. “… He wanted this start – his last regular-season game here – and he took it. He put the team at a 20-3 record, which we’ve never had before.”
Rowland, a University of Florida signee, struck out 14 in a complete-game effort and improves to 6-0 on the year.
Valdes said he was happy to reward his workhorse with his 35th career appearance on the mound, and due to his low pitch count (81 heading to the seventh) let him work out of a jam in the final frame.
“We knew he didn’t want to come off the hill, he was great on pitch count, so we let him ride,” Valdes said. “He’ll have plenty of rest with a week off, so we let him finish this one.”
Rowland said he wasn’t shy about his desire for the starting nod, and was committed to going the distance.
“I wanted to finish this one so bad,” Rowland said. “I mean, the last regular season game of my senior season, I knew this was going to be a tough one. They (Plant) were one of our three losses this season, so that lit the fire that much more.”
Cougars senior Chase Mobley sends this pitch into left field to give his team all the runs needed for Thursday’s win against Plant.
After Rowland worked a quick top of the first, fellow senior Nick April-Gath greeted Plant starting pitcher Rocco DeMarinis by lining the first pitch he saw into left. Rowland followed with a hit the same direction, and Chase Mobley got the Cougars on the board with a fly-ball single again to left field. An error in left on Mobley’s hit allowed a second run (Dylan Hotz, who scored twice as the speed-up for the pitcher).
Junior Dylan Hotz scored twice as the speed-up runner for the pitcher Blaine Rowland.
Rowland chewed through the Plant offense, giving up just four hits and absorbing two defensive errors and keeping the Panthers off the board during three separate chances with runners in scoring position.
His three offensive hits put Rowland at 40 for the regular season, eclipsing the previous Durant single-season mark of 37 held by 2013 alum Tyler Danish, a second round MLB draft pick by the Chicago White Sox who has pitched in parts of four seasons at the Major League level (with the White Sox and Boston Red Sox) and recently signed a Minor League deal with the Colorado Rockies.
Plant catcher James Leach had two of Plant’s four hits.
Plant (17-7) catcher James Leach was 2-for-3 in the loss, while Tanner Swank had a hit and stolen base, and Aleks Yarich singled and reached third on a Rowland throwing error.
Plant senior Tanner Swank sends a single to the left side in the seventh inning. Swank reached twice and stole a base for the Panthers.
Durant third baseman Jackson McClellan’s second-inning throw was off the mark allowing Swank to reach, but the sophomore redeemed the mistake in the final inning, diving to make a stop on Swank’s hit – keeping the Panthers to just one base for the hitter and Leach (whose second hit of the game went to right).
“Defensively, Jackson McClellan saving a double over here was big,” Valdes said. “This team is playing together like we were hoping they would be at the end of the season. It’s all coming together nicely.”
The diving knock-down allowed Rowland to wiggle out of the jam, with strikeout No. 73 on the year wrapping up the win.
Durant senior Nick April-Gath leaps to rob Plant’s Danny Cerelli of a hit as a hard shot caught the lip of the grass and the Cougars shortstop made a great adjustment.
⚾
Cerelli, in-turn, made two nice catches in foul territory for the Panthers defense.
Durant’s defense stood strong for its hurler, left fielder Brody Lissy covered a lot of ground to run down a fly ball at the line and prevent a run in the third, April-Gath made a great adjustment at shortstop on a hard-hit ball that caught the lip of the grass and jumped up on him. April-Gath made a leaping snag and fired a strike to first for an out in the fourth.
Durant left fielder Brody Lissy covered a lot of ground to run down this catch in the third innings.
“It’s always fun to have Blaine and Chase pitching for us,” McClellan said. “We know they are always going to keep us in it, so we just have to block everything up because you know, the next AB, they are going to keep it down and get an out for us.”
Sophomore Jackson McClellan made a great defensive stop to keep the Panthers off the board in the seventh, and collected two hits in the Cougars’ win.
Tyler Macpherson lined an RBI single to left to add to the Cougars lead in the first inning, scoring Mobley.
Cougars first base coach and Durant alum Jake Mimbs daps up Tyler Macpherson (2-for-4) after his RBI single in the first.
Noah Morales lined an RBI single to right in the second to score April-Gath (2-for-4), and Rowland singled in the sixth and went to third on a misplay on the ball in the outfield, before Hotz scored again in the pitcher’s stead on a passed ball.
Noah Morales watches as his RBI single flies to right in the second inning.
And the final Durant run scored on a second Panthers’ error in the sixth. McClellan went 2-for-4 in the win, and Devin Suero singled and was hit by a pitch for the Cougars.
Plant senior Rocco DeMarinis pitched five innings, allowing four runs and giving up 10 hits.
Both teams enter their respective Class 7A district tournaments next week and await opponents in the semifinals. On Tuesday, the No. 2-seeded Panthers will host the winner of Monday’s District 7 quarterfinal between (6) Riverview and (3) Sumner; while the Cougars, the No. 1 seed in District 6, await Monday’s decision between (5) Davenport Ridge Community and (4) Strawberry Crest, also hosting its semifinal on Tuesday.
Pete Oderio, who walked and stole a base, scores in the sixth.
⚾
#1 Durant 6, #6 Plant 0
P 000|000|0 – |0|4|5
D 000|000|0 – |6|11|2
W – Rowland (6-0); L – DeMarinis (3-4)
Records – P (17-7); D (20-3).
