Gaither bounces back, takes pool with win over Jefferson

Second baseman Yenier Chirinos throws over a sliding A.J. Cruz to complete a first-inning double play.

By Chuck Frye, Senior Staff Writer

TAMPA – That was one heck of a bounce-back.

A series of poor pitching performances threw Gaither into a four-way tie in its Saladino Gold Division pool midway through Tuesday’s baseball marathon. So, it was fitting that stellar pitching not only set the stage for a convincing 5-1 victory over host Jefferson in the nightcap, but allowed it to continue its quest for a tournament title.

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Tied with East Bay at the end of round-robin play, the Cowboys (13-2) took the first tiebreaker with Saturday’s win over the Indians and will now travel to Plant City tomorrow night to face Bloomingdale in the tournament semifinal.

“We beat (Bloomingdale) once (this season) and it took a three-run homer from S.J. Branham to do it,” said Gaither head coach Nelson North. “They’re a tough, tough team. We’ll be ready but I give them a lot of respect.”

Dragons starting pitcher Bobby Edwards battled through five innings, giving up five runs on six hits with seven strikeouts.

Gaither earned its own level of respect with its rebound from a 10-3 Game 1 setback to Plant, one in which six Cowboy hurlers issued 13 walks.

Stepping up and turning things around on the mound was senior Mathew Altman, who chilled the Dragons’ bats more than the breezy, mid-50-degree game-time temperatures. Battling through five innings, the Florida A&M commit scattered seven hits and issued no free passes, surrendering his lone run in the bottom of the fourth inning when Elijah Benton’s two-out single brought home Sam Hyman, who doubled.

“I tried to create swings and bad looks,” said Altman, ironic since all seven Jefferson batters that fanned watched strike three sail across the plate. “I was working my off-speed off of my fastball and my slider was really biting (Tuesday). I’m always pounding the zone, letting my defense do their job and giving us a chance to win.”

Mathew Altman was a bulldog on the mound for Gaither, scattering seven hits over five innings while throwing seven called third strikes.

The defense wasted little time making an impact.

After DH Jacob Butler was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the top of the first for the game’s first inning, the Dragons (now 10-4) responded by getting lead-off singles from Kaiden Johnson (two hits and a walk on the night) and A.J. Cruz (two hits).

Jefferson third baseman Ethan Savinon hustles to the bag for a force-out to end the first inning.

That’s where Altman’s support system kicked into gear sparked by sophomore second baseman Yenier Chirinos. First, Chirinos made a perfect pivot from shortstop Ryan Deak’s feed and nipped Ethan Savinon at first for the double play. Then, with the tying run 90 feet from the plate, he hustled into shallow centerfield and deftly tracked down a Kaleb Cherry popup to end the inning.

“I just try to be aggressive, try to get to the ball and help the team win,” said the sophomore, who also contributed two hits from the nine-hole. “Coach North gives me confidence.”

Yenier Chirinos gets a friendly helmet tap from Gaither’s first base coach after hit second hit of the game.

“Chi-Chi (Chirinos’ nickname) gives us two lead-off hitters,” said North. “He’s an explosive No. 9 hitter that makes things happen, a talented athlete and a real good baseball player. He’s young but he’s got what it takes. It’ll be fun to watch (how he develops).”

And as usually happens with good teams, quality defense immediately rolls over into offensive production. The top of the second saw Chirinos slide a one-out single down the leftfield line and move to third on Martin Galo’s base hit. Galo stole second with no throw and a wild pitch scored Chirinos. Deak (two hits) walked and executed a perfect double-steal to bring home Galo and give Gaither all the runs it would need for victory.

A smiling S.J Branham nearly collides with Jefferson pitcher Isaak Cummins (33) after apparently scoring on a sacrifice fly, but Branham was called out on appeal instead for the third out of the seventh inning.

Branham put the game out of reach in the fourth when his two-out single delivered Chirinos (single) and Ivan Vasquez (hit by pitch).

“Our at-bats were aggressive but I thought we missed some good pitches,” said North of a seven-hit effort that stranded four runners in scoring position. “I’m waiting for them to really start hitting. They’re kids and their problem is trying to do too much, to want it too much. If they can relax and just be the hitters they are, it will come.”

Gaither catcher Jose Gutierrez is the first to congratulate Adam Smolka after the senior completed his two innings of hitless relief in the Cowboys’ Saladino Tourney win over Jefferson.

But with pitchers like Altman and closer Adam Smolka (two hitless innings with one walk), the offense has time to pull together.

“I transferred here (from Bishop McLaughlin) for a reason,” Altman said. “The program’s a huge thing and I’m thankful for Coach North. I love it here.”

Cowboys shortstop Ryan Deak charged hard on Kaiden Johnson’s slow grounder but the Jefferson leadoff man beat the throw for a base hit.

With consolation play to conclude its Saladino play, Jefferson will be looking to pull out of its offensive malaise.

“We didn’t hit in either game,” said Dragons head coach Spencer Nunez after scoring just one run in 14 innings. “We’ve won 10 games because of our offense.”

Jefferson head coach Spencer Nunez (center) talks Gaither mentor Nelson North (second from right) and the umpiring crew through pre-game ground rules.

A bright spot for Jefferson was freshman reliever Isaak Cummins, who allowed one hit that was erased on batter’s interference during a sixth-inning steal attempt, and two walks with one runner called out on appeal trying to score on a seventh-inning fly ball.

“We’ve got some different guy that can give us innings,” Nunez concluded. “Isaak did a great job and (junior) Kaleb Cherry has thrown well. Our pitching staff did (well) on a tough day offensively.”

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Gaither 5
Jefferson 1

G 120|200|0 – |5|7|2
J  000|100|0 – |1|7|1
W – Altman (7-0); L – Edwards
2B – Antinori (G); Benton, Hyman (J). Records – G (13-2); J (10-4).

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Jefferson second baseman A.J. Cruz couldn’t come up with the handle on the ball as Gaither pulled off a successful second-inning double steal.

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Jefferson sophomore Elijah Benton (15) just beats Yenier Chirinos’ tag on a fourth-inning stolen base.

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Dragons freshman reliever Isaak Cummins shined in his three scoreless innings of work, striking out three.

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Ryan Deak appeared to slide past a soaring A.J. Cruz for a sixth-inning stolen base but the Gaither batter was called out for interference on the play, ending the sixth inning.

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Attempting to score all the way from first after an errant seventh-inning Gaither pickoff throw, Dragons runner E.J. Pelaez was tagged out by catcher Jose Gutierrez.