Wharton crosses off "circled" game with win over Chargers

Wharton crosses off “circled” game with win over Chargers

Wharton junior Daniel Duno fires in a pitch in the third inning. Duno pitched into the seventh inning, giving up just four singles and two walks, and struck out six before Chase Andress finished off the shutout win.

By Jarrett Guthrie, Editor

NEW TAMPA – Every team has a game on its schedule circled in red. THE game. The one that matters.

After back-to-back sub-.500 seasons, Wharton’s turnaround this year has been impressive, but the Wildcats players have been looking to prove themselves beyond a schedule, which through week seven, has had just two teams currently with a record above .500. The circled game for Wharton – Monday’s home tilt with Strawberry Crest.

“We’ve had this game circled on our schedule for quite a while,” senior captain Justis Meadows said. “We know they have a great team, we went out and watched the Saladino (Tournament) championship and studied them.”

Click here for a few more photos from this game.

That meticulous study, an all-out defensive play in the first inning and a lights-out performance on the mound from Daniel Duno all came together for the #7-ranked Wildcats, as Wharton turned away #2 Strawberry Crest, 2-0, in a tidy 1 hour, 46 minute game.

“This is a huge win for us,” Meadows said. “You could hear us in the dugout during the game, and in the locker room after the game, this is a great win.”

At the onset, it looked like Strawberry Crest (16-5) was poised to take an early lead as senior Chase Conti drew a one-out walk followed immediately by a Nico Cappucci single up the middle on the next pitch. However, Conti took off as Reuben Vasquez sent a tailing line drive toward the gap in shallow right-center, and was making the turn at third base as Wildcats rightfielder Drew Cobb dove and gloved the catch and ended the inning with a throw to second base.

Strawberry Crest’s Nico Cappucci delivered a single in the first inning.

The Chargers runner wasn’t the only one surprised by the catch.

“I didn’t know if I was going to get to it either,” Cobb said. “But it was a great feeling, a great way to start off the game, and gave us a lot of momentum.”

Duno, on the other hand, he never doubted his defender for a second.

“That play by Drew Cobb – props to him – I knew he could do that,” Duno said. “If I leave a little bit of my curveball on the plate, I know he is going to be right there to make an amazing play.

“It completely flipped the game over, because if we have a guy willing to put his body out there on the line like that, then we’ve all got to match that and be willing to get hit by a pitch, or stop a line drive right at us with our chest.”

Wharton senior Antonio Fawcett sneaks a peek back toward first after a throwing error gives him one base, then takes third on another error setting up the game’s deciding run.

Immediately, Wharton (17-3) took advantage of the momentum swing, Antonio Fawcett led off with a walk, then became a distraction at first drawing two pickoff throws, the second of which went to the fence and allowed him second base, drawing another bad throw to put the runner at third base. One out later, Cobb made those errors hurt with a routine groundball to shortstop to drive in the pivotal run.

“Baseball is all about momentum,” Cobb said. “They thought they had a chance to get something going, maybe put up two runs there. So, to take that away, get on them and immediately get that run I felt like they were playing on their heels all game long.”

Wharton senior Drew Cobb does his job with this groundball to short driving in Fawcett from third in the opening inning.

Strawberry Crest SS Nico Cappucci has no play at the plate, so he throws to first for the out on Cobb’s ground ball.

And on their heels is right where Duno kept the Chargers the rest of the night. The junior allowed just three more singles and one more walk the rest of the way, while striking out six.

He worked into the seventh inning before a Toby Highsmith leadoff single would chase him from the game.

“We know playing with Daniel for three years, if we get him a lead he’s very confident out there,” Meadows said. “A run, or a couple of runs up and we have no doubt he’ll compete and hold it.”

Meadows (2-for-3) did his part to help out in the fifth inning, with an RBI single through the left side to score Jeremiah Brown who had singled to left leading off the inning.

Junior shortstop Jeremiah Brown leads off Wharton’s fifth inning with a single into left field.

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Wildcats sophomore Chris Stroud does his job to put the runner in scoring position with a sac bunt.

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Then Justis Meadows finishes off the job, giving the Wildcats an insurance run with an RBI single, ground through the left side.

After Highsmith’s single in the seventh, Wharton turned the ball over to 6-foot-6 lefty Chase Andress, who fired in strikes fanning a pair and getting a groundball out to end the game all while Duno led a raucous dugout cheering section.

“It’s beautiful having this pitching staff,” Duno said. “I know when I go out, then there is someone coming in behind me that is better than me in that moment. I know, no matter what, they have my back. I could go out and walk four outs, and I know the next guy is going to go right in and deal.”