Patriots’ versatility leads to 1-0 region quarter win

Carrollwood Day junior Logan Mazur is fired up walking off the mound during Wednesday’s 2A-Region 3 quarterfinal win against Fort Myers Southwest Florida Christian. Mazur pitched 3 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball, allowing three hits and earning the save as the CDS won its first region playoff game since 2018.

By Mike Camunas, Creative Director

CARROLLWOOD — The Patriots took care of business six years in the making in less than two hours.

It had been a long time since Carrollwood Day (24-5) had won a regional playoff game, dating back to May 2018, well before current coach Tony Brewington took over and injected new life, culture and excitement into the team.

“It’s been a while since the program has had a regional win,” junior infielder and reliever Logan Mazur said, “but the boys have worked really hard to keep playing baseball this season.”

CDS senior third baseman Nick Bonollo barehands a dribbler.

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That hard work paid off for the Patriots’ first regional playoff win, fighting out a 1-0 win over Fort Myers Southwest Florida Christian in a briskly-played Class 2A-Region 3 quarterfinal at Wagner Athletic Complex on Wednesday evening.

“Winning a 1-0 ballgame,” Brewington said, barely being able to control his excitement, “really shows the definition of your team. If you give in or don’t play to the end, it can be a simple play that decides the game. I liked the way we kept the 1-0 pressure of not buckling to the situation of the game — we just played a very competitive game.

“I am so proud of the program, just three years in, to get to where they are, when no one believed that we could, and I’m just so glad that I got to show that we could.”

After setting a new school stolen base record with his 24th, Steven Vargo would score the game’s deciding run in the second inning.

While the scoring chances, on both sides, were limited, the game’s lone run came with one out in the second inning. Junior Steven Vargo was hit by a pitch, and on the very next pitch, took off for second base for his 24th stolen base of the season.

That swipe set the new CDS record.

“Nah,” Vargo said with a sly smile, “we don’t wait to go. We just go. We apply pressure and we just go, like we did tonight.”

“Steven is a dog,” Mazur added with a laugh. “He plays centerfield, he runs, he wreaks havoc on the basepaths and he swipes bags. That’s the running joke of the team: he’s a dog who swipes bags.”

Southwest Florida pitcher Cole Ingole pitched six innings allowing one run on five hits, and finished with six strikeouts.

Vargo would move over to third on a fielder’s choice by J.D. Howard and then score on a wild pitch by Kings ace Cole Ingole — who entered the game with a 1.80 ERA and 93 strikeouts. The senior righty would pitch a complete game loss, allow five hits and strike out six.

Patriots junior righty Nick Riedel held the Miners scoreless across 3 2/3 innings, striking out four, giving up two hits and walking one to earn the win.

On the other side of the mound, the Patriots turned to junior ace Nick Riedel, who would throw 55 pitches over 3 ⅔ innings, strike out four, allow two hits and a walk. After that, Brewington turned to Mazur, who would pitch 3 ⅓ innings of stellar relief, allowing just three hits and striking out two.

Mazur was even more clutch, with a quick seven-pitch fifth inning, but then came up with a huge strikeout with two outs and Kings’ runners on second and third in the sixth inning.

“Listen,” Brewington said, “that guy there is a guy I will put in any situation that (I know) he will be able to get out of. He’s a guy who runs to the light — he doesn’t steer away from any pressure, and I think the guys see that and they rally behind him and give him the best defense in the world.”

Which is exactly what Mazur got.

Patriots junior Julian Earle (back) jogs in between innings. Earle paced the CDS offense, going 3-for-3 with a double in the win.

In the top of the fourth, Julian Earle, who went 3-for-3 in the game, tracked down a long fly ball in centerfield. In the sixth, third baseman Nick Bonollo made a web gem running down the line, and to end the game, Vargo executed a 4-3 double play.

“Our identity all year has been defense,” Vargo said, “base running and manufacturing runs and that’s what we did tonight.”

“It’s huge, the trust we have in Logan,” he added. “He’s been a horse for us all year, and he’s come in and gotten some huge outs and shut them out tonight.”

Logan Mazur delivers a pitch for the Patriots.

Brewington said he was proud of his players, who are able to switch positions, either from the outfield to the infield (Vargo) to relief pitching (Mazur) or even back to the outfield (Riedel).

“The guys are ready to be plugged in to do their jobs,” Brewington said. “I think everyone buys into having two roles and doing their job and then giving it to the next guy when the moment arrives. It’s really cool and a proud thing to see.”

“I was told that I would be first in relief, and got the call,” said Mazur, adding he felt he could duplicate his performance in a 2-0 win over Palm Harbor University on March 21, when he went 4 ¼ innings in relief, allowed just one hit, struck out three and gave up two walks. “I wanted to repeat that and I was just feeling every pitch tonight.”

Mazur, Brewington and the rest of the Patriots are looking to repeat even more from the past, including that run the 2018 squad that finished 24-4 and with a Class 3A final four berth. It’s already been a historic year for Carrollwood Day, that includes winning the Bronze Division of the Saladino Tournament, but the Patriots are hungry for more.

So, next up, the Patriots travel down to No. 1-seeded Naples Neumann, facing the 22-6 Celtics on Saturday night at 7.

“For this program to win its first regional game since 2018, that’s great,” Vargo said. “That team went to the state semis, so it’s a big deal for this team. We just want to keep doing what we’ve been doing all season.”

Carrollwood Day players keep it loose in the pregame before a 1-0 victory in the 2A-Region 3 Quarterfinal.

⚾ Class 2A-Region 3 ⚾

Carrollwood Day 1, Ft. Myers SW Florida Christian 0

S 000|000|0 – |0|5|0
C 010|000|0 – |1|5|1
W – Riedel (6-1); L – Ingole; S – L. Mazur (2)
2B – Matyas, Moore (S); Earle (C). Records – S (18-6); C (24-5).

 

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