Sickles bats sizzle in 6-2 win at Durant
By Brandon Wright, Features Writer
PLANT CITY – A cold snap cut through Hillsborough County Thursday night, with temperatures dipping into the high 40s. And while the air was chilly, Sickles’ bats were not.
Four of the top five Gryphons in the order collected at least one hit while Jacob Taylor and Brandon Gonzales combined to hold Durant in check as visiting Sickles defeated the Cougars 6-2 last night.
“It’s kind of been a rough year, practice-wise, starting two weeks earlier,” Sickles coach Eric Luksis said. “We’ve had a couple cold days out there practicing. We were prepared for it.”
Sickles’ (3-2) top half of the order accounted for seven of the team’s eight total hits on the night. Jordan Yost picked up three, Jaden Nazar a pair and Emilio Salgado and Braden Ross chipped in with one apiece.
“Our top five is strong,” Nazar said. “I think we have one of the best Top 5s in the County, maybe even the larger area. But I have confidence in us one-through-nine. We barrel baseballs.”
Luksis said his top five are the key that turns the engine over.
“When they go, we go,” Luksis said. “That’s the part of the lineup we’re going to rely on heavily and when those guys have good nights, the outcome is we usually win the baseball game.”
And there is always a sure-fire way to put a smile on your coach’s face – two out hits. Four of the Gryphons’ runs on the night were driven in with two down.
“We preach approach more than anything else we do offensively,” Luksis said. “All three of those (two-out hits) were opposite field. Just trying to make hard contact and not overdo it.”
Sickles pounced early, scoring all of its runs in the first four innings off Durant (2-2) starter Jack Brooks. Nazar plated four on a pair of two-run singles while Yost and Salgado notched RBI singles.
“When we play our game, we hit,” Nazar said. “That’s how we win ballgames. We have a high-octane offense and I was proud of us tonight.”
Tayor went four strong to earn the victory. The junior lefty gave up one hit and struck out four, with his lone hiccup coming in the third when a hit batter to open the inning came around to score on a Brady Kelley fielder’s choice. Cooper Hughes picked up an RBI single in the sixth to round out Durant’s scoring.
“(Taylor) was on the mound for us twice last week so we wanted to lighten the workload this week,” Luksis said. “The plan was to have him go three or four and hand it off to Gonzo to shut the door.”
A bright spot, however, for the Cougars came in the form of some youngsters. Sophomores Tanner Gonser and Tristan Macpherson, along with freshman Haydn May each tossed a scoreless inning over the final three frames.
“The future looks good,” Durant coach Butch Valdes said.
⚾
Sickles 6
#15 Durant 2
S 210|300|0 – |6|8|2
D 001|001|0 – |2|1|2
W – Taylor (2-1); L – Brooks (0-1); S – Gonzales
Records – S (3-2); D (2-2).
