Chargers rally for Saladino semi win over Plant
By Chuck Frye, Senior Staff Writer
TAMPA – It was unnoticed by many, but not by Eric Beattie.
The Strawberry Crest head coach saw starting pitcher Dillon Knight get lit up by the top of Plant’s batting order to start Wednesday’s Saladino Tourney Gold Division semifinal.
Urban Ellis earned a one-out walk, Danny Cerelli singled before DH and cleanup hitter Jordan Olivia lived up to his role, rocketing a home run over the right-centerfield fence. Jackson Cucchi then followed with another base hit.
Plant sophomore DH Jordan Olivia crushed a Strawberry Crest offering over the right-centerfield fence for a first-inning home run and an early 3-0 lead. They would be the only runs scored by the Panthers all night.
But Knight pulled himself together and struck out the next two batters to end the inning, and that set the stage for what would follow, namely an 8-3 comeback victory that surprised everyone but Beattie and the Chargers fans in attendance at Jefferson High.
“I give a lot of credit to Dillon for what he did there,” Beattie explained. “You give up three runs to a very good hitting team and he stopped the bleeding right there, which is something that I think every coach preaches: just focus on the next pitch. I think his ability to get three outs with no (additional) runs scored, it gave our team hope.”
With teammate Saxon Shah (6) backing up the play, Strawberry Crest shortstop Nico Cappucci couldn’t come up with the throw as Plant’s Jackson Cucchi (27) successfully completed a first-inning stolen base.
The offense embraced the hope in the bottom of the first led by Knight, who drove a deep fly ball that scored leadoff man Brisen Tweedy, who had singled. Aggressive base running from Nico Cappucci (first of two base hits) amplified the hope as he advanced to third base on an infield ground out and drew an errant Panthers throw that allowed him to score.
“(Dillon) hit the ball hard and drove in a run five minutes after (giving up those runs),” Beattie said. “I credit his ability to get past a rough start and keep us in the game.”
Plant’s Bo Allen collides with Chargers first baseman Brisen Tweedy trying to catch a teammate’s throw during third-inning action. The umpire ruled that Allen interfered with Tweedy and called him out, taking two potential Panther runs off the scoreboard and ending the inning.
The momentum continued to build when Yusvanny Parra took the hill for Crest (now 12-3). The slow-throwing sophomore worked every extreme of the strike zone, keeping the bats of the once-hot Panthers (now 12-4) well chilled.
“We were just going with knowing that there were a bunch of lefties,” Parra explained of the five in Plant’s starting lineup. “We needed to pitch going away from them because it would be harder for them to hit. They just kept trying to pull the ball and kept getting popups. Just as simple as that.”
Plant starter Bo Allen retired six Strawberry Crest batters in a row before being replaced in the third inning.
Going the final six innings, Parra did induce a lot of fly ball outs, 12 in all including a dazzling sixth-inning grab from – who else – Knight in leftfield as he sprinted to his right to snag Cucchi’s line drive attempt for extra bases.
Parra did catch a break in the third inning. After back-to-back two-out singles from Cucchi and Wyatt Patterson, a collision between Chargers first baseman Tweedy and Plant’s Bo Allen caused the ball to fly into foul ground and allow both runners to score. But home plate umpire ruled that Allen was running inside the foul line before he collided with Tweedy and called him out for interference which removed the runs from the scoreboard.
After snagging a second-inning grounder, Plant pitcher Bo Allen made sure it was safely delivered to first baseman Danny Cerelli for the out.
Plant would not get another runner into scoring position the rest of the night thanks to Parra, who retired the next 11 batters he faced, yielding only a two-out single to Cash Strayer in the seventh.
“We had planned on using three or four pitchers,” Beattie explained, “but when we saw Yusvanny and how he was commanding his pitches – he had those guys off-balance – we just decided to let him keep going as long as he could until we saw (Plant’s batters) consistently barreling balls up. We never saw it.”
Plant pitcher Bo Allen stretches high but Strawberry Crest runner Reuben Vasquez slides in low to score on a third-inning rundown play.
Conversely, Crest’s offensive pressure was causing the Panthers’ defense to crack during a game-changing third inning.
Cappucci’s fine sacrifice bunt drew another wild throw that scored Saxon Shah (leadoff single). After Knight scorched a single through the shortstop hole to plate Tweedy (base hit), Chase Conti then dropped down a perfect run-scoring safety squeeze bunt, while Reuben Vasquez kept the line moving by reaching on an error.
Sophomore Yusvanny Parra baffled Plant batters for six shutout innings, scattering three hits while walking one and striking out three.
With a first-and-third situation set up by a wild pitch and a Matt Hall single, Vasquez was caught in a rundown but broke perfectly to the plate and beat the return throw home to cap the Chargers’ five-run frame.
“The key for us this year has been putting the ball in play with two strikes,” Beattie said. “Sometimes you get a hit, sometimes they make a mistake, but at the end of the day, you’re going to have the chance for something good to happen.”
Chargers’ Reuben Vasquez strikes a pose to celebrate his fifth-inning double, later scoring his team’s eighth and final run.
The Chargers wrapped up their scoring in the fifth when Vasquez lashed a double just under centerfielder Cash Strayer’s dive, moved to third on a balk and scored on Hall’s infield ground out.
The Chargers will now face Bloomingdale (winners 10-1 over Carrollwood Day) in the championship. With the goal of winning the program’s first-ever Saladino title still unfilled, Beattie knew what would need to happen to break the ice Thursday at the University of Tampa.
“We’ve got to play good baseball,” he said. “We’ve got to throw strikes with a few different pitches, we’ve got to square up good pitches, swing at good pitches, secure the baseball (on defense), and play catch. If we do that, we’ll live with the result whatever it is.”
Strawberry Crest reliever Yusvanny Parra deals in the seventh inning, looking to close out the Chargers’ Saladino Gold semifinal victory.
⚾
#8 Strawberry Crest 8
#1 Plant 3
P 300|000|0 – |3|6|2
S 205|010|x – |8|9|0
W – Parra (2-0); L – Sawdy (1-1)
2B – Vazquez (S); HR – Olivia (P). Records – P (12-4); S (12-3).
