Porter dominant in Bloomingdale’s semifinal opening win

Bloomingdale senior Hayden Porter pitched a complete-game shutout, allowing four hits and striking out 10 as the Bulls defeated Lake Minneola in the Class 3A-Region 2 semifinal series opening game.

By Jarrett Guthrie, Editor

VALRICO – Bloomingdale’s batters were patient and took advantage of the control struggles from Lake Minneola senior Brady Montrowl to score a pair of first-inning runs, and from there Bulls senior Hayden Porter just plain took over.

Porter worked a tidy, complete game shutout, allowing four hits and two walks while striking out 10, as Bloomingdale claimed a 7-0 victory in Game 1 of the Class 6A-Region 2 Semifinal series.

Click here for our full photo gallery from this game.

In the first, Montrowl picked up a quick out, but the Bulls made him work, laboring through the inning and walking a pair before picking up a strikeout for the second out. But he quickly loaded the bases by hitting Vaughn Osting, and back-to-back RBI walks to Payton Jennings and Mason Johnson in the 43-pitch inning gave Bloomingdale all it would need.

Lake Minneola LHP Brady Montrowl

⚾

Hawks junior RHP Dylan Montrowl

Montrowl walked the first batter of the second before the Hawks would go to junior Dylan Montrowl in relief, who struck out one, picked off another and got out of the inning clean. But the Bulls would get to the younger brother in the third, Luke Long leading off with a single up-the-middle, followed by an Osting walk, before Johnson brought both runners in with a double lined to centerfield.

“I was just looking heater down the middle,” Johnson said of the 3-1 fastball, “he gave it to me and I crushed it.”

Mason Johnson sends a two-run double to the left-center gap in the third inning.

Porter was pleased with the approach from his sophomore teammate, and said he returned to the mound with even more confidence.

“That was big,” Porter said of Johnson’s double. “It gave me a cushion so I didn’t have to worry too much, knowing if I gave up one it wasn’t as much of a big deal. It’s always great to have that kind of run support, it definitely makes it a whole lot easier to go back out there.”

Lake Minneola (22-9) got a pair aboard in the second, but Porter struck out two and senior catcher Vinny Dinzeo Jr. picked up the first of two caught-stealing throws to second base in the game.

Bulls senior catcher Vinny Dinzeo Jr. throws out a runner trying to steal second base.

Hawks senior Tyler Pierre pieced a one-out double down the line in left in the sixth and junior Maddux Bultema (2-for-3) followed with a single to right, but Bulls junior second baseman AJ Cruz kept Lake Minneola off the board, fielding a hard chopper, tagging an advancing runner and firing to first for a double-play, nipping the visitor’s biggest threat of the evening.

“He’s a dog,” Cruz said of Porter. “He’s a great leader, a great teammate who busts his butt every day for us. So, I went out there and even though I didn’t get a hit my first two ABs, I knew he needed me on the field, so that’s where I had his back.”

Bloomingdale 2B AJ Cruz applies a tag starting a double-play.

⚾

After turning an inning-ending double play, Bloomingdale junior AJ Cruz is fired up as he leaves the field followed by senior pitched Hayden Porter.

Porter was definitely thankful for the effort of his defensive support staff.

“We have a really good defense and I’m grateful for it,” Porter said. “That double play that AJ made was huge, and Vinny throwing out those two runners really took a lot out of (Lake Minneola) and allowed me to settle in and just throw strikes.”

Bulls junior Vaughn Osting rounds third base headed home in the third inning.

Bloomingdale (25-4) kept the pressure on in the home-half of the sixth with singles from Cesar Campos and John Ramos – both lined to centerfield to start off the inning. Both were swapped for pinch-runners Jack Grant and Trey Baker – and Cruz got his chance to come through at the plate driving in a run with an RBI single to center.

“We play seven innings of Bulls’ baseball and we don’t let up,” Cruz said. “If we get two runs, we want two more. We want more every single inning, it’s never enough for us.”

Lake Minneola 2B Brandon Rupsingh throw for an out.

The Bulls would add two more (Baker and Cruz scoring) on a Hawks’ error before the end of the sixth.

From there Porter found another gear, and though he did issue his second free pass of the game, he struck out three in the final inning to wrap up his 95-pitch outing, and earn his eighth win of the year and fourth-straight outing without an earned run.

“I was just throwing strikes. I knew they were at the back end of their lineup where they brought in two pinch-hitters,” Porter said. “I did walk a guy, but I just had to throw strikes, get it over with and not let them build any momentum.”

Hayden Porter delivers a pitch in the seventh inning, where the senior struck out three to finish off his 10-strikeout complete game.

Lake Minneola returns to Bloomingdale on Thursday for Game 2 of the region semifinal series at 7 pm, and if necessary a deciding Game 3 would take place in Minneola on Saturday.

⚾ 6A-Region 2 ⚾