Navas-Hoyer 10-K gem moves Bulls to Saladino Final
After earning Saladino Tournament Co-MVP honors a year ago, Bloomingdale senior Javier Navas-Hoyer pushed the Bulls to a return trip to the championship game with a 10-strikeout win over Gaither in the semifinals.
By Jarrett Guthrie, Editor
PLANT CITY – The Saladino playing career of Bloomingdale senior Javier Navas-Hoyer is just two games deep. But the righty hurler sure has made those appearances count.
Last year, Navas-Hoyer pitched for 6 2/3 innings in the Saladino championship game, earning the victory, allowing one hit and striking out 12.
This season, he was handed the ball to get the Bulls back to the title game in a semifinal showdown with 813Preps T-No. 1 Gaither Cowboys. He weathered some deep early water before shoving for five scoreless as Bloomingdale booked a return trip to the University of Tampa and the Saladino title game with a 2-0 victory.
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“You just know when you’re throwing it’s for a reason,” Navas-Hoyer said. “Last year, not throwing until the last game, I learned that everything has a purpose. And especially this year, being the first year without Mr. Tony (tournament founder Tony Saladino, who passed away in August of last year) this means a lot to us.
“So, I just did what I had to do when it was my turn.”
Navas-Hoyer was challenged in the first inning as an error and a walk put two aboard, a wild pitch moved them up and the Cowboys had bases loaded after an intentional walk to try and setup the force at any base. And the Bulls defense was there to support their pitcher as a fly ball went to rightfielder Evan Plusquellic, who fired a bullet home to catcher Braxton Wilken who swiped at a tagged-up runner, then followed him behind the plate where he put a glove on runner Ryan Deak who was called out by the home plate ump.
“I think that was a huge play that set the tone early that we were not going down,” Plusquellic said. “We are here to fight. Honestly, it wasn’t a great read off the bat, but it worked out.”
Gaither’s Ryan Deak was ruled to have missed the plate in the first inning as Bloomingdale RF Evan Plusquellic caught a fly ball and fired home for an inning-ending double-play after C Braxton Wilken applied a tag.
Hoyer said he wasn’t too rattled by the elevated pitch-count in the first inning, instead focusing on the job he wanted to do for his team.
“I just kept pushing,” the Florida Southern signee said. “(Gaither) came out early fouling pitches off, grinding, but I had to do this for my team. I know how hard we’ve worked all year and I wanted to put us in the best position to get to (the tournament championship) tomorrow.”
Fellow Bulls senior Isaiah Perez marveled at Navas-Hoyer’s Saladino accomplishments over his two-year, two-start stretch.
“He’s a beast,” Perez said of Navas-Hoyer. “He’s one of my best friends and I love showing up to the field with him every day. Seeing him compete to this level (in his two games of the Saladino in two years) and do his job is just awesome.”
The 30-pitch inning was challenging, but Navas-Hoyer met the moment, working five complete, allowing just three hits, two more walks and struck out 10.
Bulls 2B Cesar Campos slaps a tag on Martin Galo after a pickoff move from Javi Navas-Hoyer in the fifth.
Countering Navas-Hoyer, was Cowboys senior and Pasco Hernando signee Noah Lockler, who was equally impressive on the night. The right-hander limited the Bulls to just four hits, while striking out seven in his five innings.
“Noah was phenomenal tonight,” Cowboys head coach Nelson North said. “This was probably the best game I’ve seen him pitch for Gaither. He’s worked really hard and it’s the positive of this whole tournament. Those guys (Bloomingdale) swing the bat really well.”
Gaither’s Noah Lockler had seven strikeouts and allowed one earned run in his five innings.
Unfortunately for Lockler, a two-out walk and an error proved costly in the fourth as Perez chopped a ball over Gaither’s leaping third baseman Martin Galo for an RBI single.
Bloomingdale’s Izzy Perez chopped a ball over the defenders glove for an RBI single in the fourth.
Mason Johnson led off the home-fifth with a single into center where the ball was overran which allowed him to advance to second, and Vaughn Osting drove home the insurance run with a single on the ground into left.
Vaughn Osting lets his dugout hear it after his RBI single in the fifth..
Lockler picked up the pool-play win on Saturday against East Bay, going four innings and striking out four in a 13-5 victory.
“I got off to a slow start early in the season, so I’ve just been trying to work through it and figure my stuff out,” Lockler said. “I’m doing that and I’m trying to help my team the best I can.”
He said that Cowboys (13-3), which previously beat Bloomingdale 3-2 on March 7th, have learned some things about themselves this week, and said he feels like the team now knows what they need to focus on moving forward.
“We’re really good,” he said. “So, the thing now is not trying to do too much. Everyone is trying to live up to those expectations, but I think if we are just ourselves and do our thing we’ll be fine.”
Bloomingdale’s Saul Aponte heads around third to score the deciding run of the game.
After showing off his arm from the outfield in the first inning, the Bulls called on Plusquellic in relief and he worked around a pair of singles, while striking out four in two scoreless inning to pick up the save.
Plusquellic has had a monster tournament, despite a 0-for-2 night at the plate on Wednesday, going 5-for-11 with three homers, 12 RBI and five runs in Bloomingdale’s four games so far.
“Evan transferring here (from Newsome) has been a huge part for us this year,” Perez said. “He’s such an asset and we all love having him on our team.”
Adam Smolka pitched one scoreless inning of relief for the Cowboys and allowed two hits.
The Bulls’ win sets up a showdown with Wednesday’s other semifinal winner and 813Preps other T-No. 1 team Tampa Catholic, which won its fourth tight ball game of the tourney with a 5-4 victory over Sickles.
Earlier in the day in four-way coaches conference call between the semifinalists, Tampa Cathoic won the number draw and will be the home team when the Saladino Championship returns to the University of Tampa Baseball Field on Thursday night at 7 p.m.
Evan Plusquellic celebrates his game ending fourth strikeout.
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Bloomindale 2
Gaither 0
G 000|000|0 – |0|5|4
B 000|110|x – |2|6|2
W – Navas-Hoyer (3-0); L – Lockler (3-1); S – Plusquellic (2)
2B – Deak (G). Records – G (13-3); B (13-2).
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The officiating crew for the Saladino Semifinal
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Ryan Deak pulls into third base in the opening frame after reaching on an error.
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Mason Johnson lined a single to leftfield for the game’s first hit.
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Gaither SP Noah Lockler
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Albert Antinori led off the second with a single.
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Bloomingdale 1B Vaughn Osting runs down a pop fly in foul territory in the fourth
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Vaughn Osting drove in a run with this single in the fifth.
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Mason Johnson (2-for-4) scores an insurance run in the fifth.
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Bloomingdale reliever Evan Plusquellic
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Gaither’s Jose Gutierrez singles in the sixth.
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Cowboys reliever Adam Smolka
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