Leto’s Duran collects four hits, Falcons top King
Leto junior Arley Duran takes a mighty swing to deliver an RBI double in the first inning, the winning tally in an 8-0 victory over King.
By Chuck Frye, Senior Staff Writer
TAMPA – Leto High has King High’s number, and recently that number has been zero.
The Falcons have won every meeting with the Lions over the last seven years, totaling 10 victories over that span. But the last four matchups have been especially dominant as Leto has authored consecutive shutouts including a late-game charge to an 8-0 whitewashing to wrap up the regular season on Friday night.
Veteran head coaches Jim Macaluso of King (second from right) and Leto’s J.J. Pizzio (right) chat post-game.
“This probably was because it was Senior Night,” said Falcons head coach J.J. Pizzio of the latest triumph. “The kids were excited and they played well for each other. When they play for each other, it works out pretty good.”
However, the biggest impact in the game came from juniors led by cleanup man Arley Duran. An unstoppable force, the left-handed hitter drove a pair of doubles and added two singles to raise his batting average 40 points to .379. He drove in two runs, increasing his team-high total to 22, while scoring a pair.
Leto’s Arley Duran (7) is all smiles as he celebrates his second RBI double of the game.
Of his breakthrough season, Duran said: “This year, I’ve been seeing the ball better and I’ve had more power than last year. I’ve been staying through the ball better. I guess I’m there.”
“Arley was sick earlier this week and he’s coming back strong,” Pizzio said. “I hope in districts (next week) he can continue to stay hot.”
Leto junior Isaiah Quinonez had a double and a single, scoring a run in a season finale victory over King.
Joining Duran with strong offensive nights against King (10-13) were classmates Isaiah Quinonez (double and single) and Fabian Torres (two base hits, one run scored) as the Falcons (now 11-13) erupted for three runs in the fourth inning and four more in the fifth.
And Leto’s pitching staff was just as dominant, preventing the Lions from getting a single runner into scoring position.
In a tune-up for Monday’s district playoff opener, Leto senior Demetri Passalaris threw three innings of one-hit ball, striking out five while facing just one batter over the minimum.
Preparing for a start against Tampa Bay Tech on Monday to start Class 6A-9 tourney play, senior Demetri Passalaris allowed just one hit over three innings with five strikeouts.
“Demetri wanted to get in a bullpen session (Friday night),” Pizzio said. “He’ll start (Monday) and our bullpen will be fresh, so he’ll have everybody available behind him.”
Flanked by centerfielder Anthony Lara (left) and second baseman Cooper Messinger (right), King rightfielder Jayden Hill busts in for stellar running catch to hold Leto’s Gerard Ortega at second base.
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Leto senior Adrian Tinoco worked a 1-2-3 seventh inning to close out a shutout victory over King.
Those arms include seniors Denzel Martinez (three innings of one-hit ball with two Ks) and Adrian Tinoco (a 1-2-3 seventh with a strikeout).
“Denzel’s the senior captain and part of a truly strong group that’s been together here for all four years,” Pizzio said. “They’ve been special.”
King third baseman Nico Brown looks to make another play as Leto base runner Fabian Torres (12) slides in safely in the fourth inning.
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Leto second baseman Erik Perez hops to throw out a King batter in the seventh inning.
“I wanted to be honest to the kids, so at the beginning of the year our goal was to shoot for a .500 record and, hopefully, play well in districts,” veteran King mentor Jim Macaluso said with Monday’s 4A-10 opener against Middleton looming. “We didn’t quite get there – our defense didn’t do well catching the ball and our pitchers threw well enough not to deserve that.”
King first baseman Kove Balentine hustles to catch Erik Perez’s fifth-inning foul popup as the Leto senior runs past.
And going into districts, Pizzio said: “Kids are always confident going into every game. But like every high school kid does, if they want to win, they’ll win and if they don’t, they’ll find a way to lose. We’re pretty even with TBT and if you want to win, you’ll do what a team has to do.”
And Duran’s key to success: “We’ve just got to work together and play for each other. We could definitely work on that. Other than that, we’re pretty solid.”
Leto rightfielder Chris Ortiz comes up just short of catching Nico Brown’s fly ball that fell in for a sixth-inning single.
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Leto 8, King 0
K 000|000|0 – |0|3|4
L 100|340|x – |8|9|1
W – Passalaris; L – Rivera (4-3)
2B – Duran, Quinonez (L). Records – K (10-13); L (11-13).
With Leto shortstop Denzel Martinez nearby, leftfielder Emilio Monje and centerfielder Isaiah Quinonez (24) embrace before the start of the seventh inning.
