Madueno homers, doubles twice as Ravens top Raiders
Ravens catcher Mikey Madueno (15) “lobs the grenade” after his second-inning double – one of four hits (including a homer and another double) as Alonso defeated Plant City at home on Friday night.
By Chuck Frye, Senior Staff Writer
TAMPA – So many contradictions, so many twists and turns.
In a key late-season district contest Friday night, at first Plant City’s pitching struggled to find the plate only to pull together an impressive level of success. Host Alonso had issues making throws across the diamond then turned in some truly dazzling displays of defense. The two squads took turns impressing on offense, the Ravens early on and then the visiting Raiders during a run to try and take the lead.
But during this roller-coaster of an evening, there was only one constant standard of success: Alonso senior Mikey Madueno. An enthusiastic but calming voice from behind the plate as catcher, an unstoppable force in the batter’s box despite being in a new spot in the order, Madueno did it all in the Ravens’ 8-3 victory.
“He’s having a great year. Overall, he has nice stats this year,” Alonso head coach Landy Faedo understated of Madueno’s .400-plus batting average to date.
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But with top-of-the-order bats like Raymond Llanes (surgery) and Joshua Abrahante out of the lineup, Faedo had to make some adjustments.
“This is the first time that I had (Mikey) hitting in the two-hole this year,” Faedo said.
Alonso starter Marcelo Diaz allowed just one hit over his first four shutout innings before Plant City’s offense came alive.
Madueno certainly seemed to thrive in the new role, going a perfect 4-for-4 with a solo home run and two doubles, scoring four times and driving in three runs.
When asked how big the baseball was looking during this run, Madueno smiled and said: “Huge, it was looking good.”
Alonso courtesy runner Tommy Cross beats the tag of Plant City shortstop Alex Rodriguez to advance on a first-inning passed ball.
It was big in the very first inning when, among three walks and an Ihonathan Perez base hit, he singled. It grew to “beach ball” size according to Madueno in the second when he drove a double up the left-centerfield gap and scored on Yohan Cintron’s single, and couldn’t be missed when he pounded a solo homer in the fourth to help Alonso (now 10-8 and 3-0 in 7A-7 play) jump out to a four-run lead.
“I took the first pitch down the middle and I was like, OK, I saw one,” Madueno said about the bomb launched off of Raiders relief pitcher Merrick Smith. “I saw the second one and I didn’t think twice … swing, barreled it, and it felt great.”
An amped-up Mikey Madueno (third from left) joins with his Alonso teammates after hitting a fourth-inning solo home run.
The dinger took on more importance as Plant City (12-8, 1-3 in the district) pulled its game together. Smith got his first nine outs via strikeouts and the Raiders’ offense rewarded him in the fifth. Two-out hits from the top of the order, Alex Rodriguez (single), Drew Cothren (RBI base hit), and Max Cieslo (two-run double) lifted Plant City to within a run.
But the sixth inning was defining.
Alonso second baseman Johnny Rodriguez (5) elevates to keep this third-inning throw from heading to the outfield as Plant City’s Alex Rodriguez slides past him. The effort was for naught as a strikeout ended the inning.
After Keegan Wilkerson delivered a deep one-out double to left, Alonso ace Julian Batista came on in relief with a strikeout but opened the door for Plant City with a wild pitch and two walks. Loading the bases for leadoff man Alex Rodriguez, Batista managed to keep the hot-hitting sophomore (five homers, 15 runs batted in) in the ballpark as Jordan Brautigam backtracked to haul in the ball in deep leftfield.
And when Alonso rallied in the bottom of the frame, Madueno made sure it wouldn’t come up empty.
Plant City DH James Marinez eludes the tag of catcher Mikey Madueno to score a fifth-inning run.
With pinch hitters David Hernandez (leadoff single) and Jaylin Campos (walk) along with Johnny Rodriguez (free pass) loading the bases, Madueno drove a hot grounder down the leftfield line for a game-clinching two-run double.
“Honestly, I was trying to put something in play, something in the air,” Madueno said. “(Smith) hung a curve ball and I just reached out in front a little bit. Luckily it went down the third base line and we got two more runs for the team.”
Plant City reliever Merrick Smith used an effective curve ball to strike out nine over his three-plus inning stint before Alonso broke through in the sixth inning.
Perez added an RBI sacrifice fly with a balk wrapping up the Ravens’ scoring, and Batista yielded a harmless single in a scoreless seventh to earn the save, and the win for starter Marcelo Diaz (4 2/3 innings, three runs, five hits, three strikeouts, two walks).
Before the offense saved the day, stellar defense held Plant City at arm’s length. Perez hustled to right-centerfield to make a diving catch that wrapped up the first inning. Third baseman Cintron dove to his right to turn a sizzling grounder into the final out of the second inning. Centerfielder Cristian Lozano came up aces twice, breaking back to the gap in right-center for a fine third-inning grab and charging in hard and going down to his knees for a highlight-reel catch in the fifth.
“(Lozano) hasn’t been a starter for us at all because we had Llanes, who’s a phenomenal player,” said Faedo of the .500 hitter who is now lost for the season. “It’s nice that (Lozano) stepped up and played some great defense for us the past couple of games.”
After the final out of the game, Alonso catcher Mikey Madueno and pitcher Julian Batista come together to celebrate victory over Plant City.
After getting a break and working out of the pen following the Saladino Tournament, Batista will return to his starting role on Tuesday as the Ravens host Durant. Plant City also returns to action on Tuesday, traveling to Armwood.
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Alonso 8
Plant City 3
P 000|030|0 – |3|7|1
A 210|104|x – |8|7|3
W – Diaz Villalon (3-0); L – H. Carbaugh (3-2); S – Batista (1)
2B – Wilkerson, Cieslo (P); Madueno 2 (A); HR – Madueno (A). Records – P (12-8); A (10-8).
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Raiders starter Hunter Carbaugh battled early control issues, walking three and hitting a batter through two-plus innings of work.
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Mikey Madueno had a career night for Alonso, going a perfect 4-for-4 with two doubles and a home run, driving in three runs and scoring four, as well as throwing out a Plant City runner trying to steal.
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Raiders junior Keegan Wilkerson gestures to his dugout after delivering a sixth-inning double.
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Plant City assistant coach JJ Pizzio gathers his troops to talk strategy during a bases-loaded opportunity in the sixth inning. Ravens reliever Julian Batista stepped up and thwarted the Raiders’ threat.
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Senior Aldin West worked the seventh inning for Plant City, allowing a walk, a balk, and a run-scoring sacrifice fly.
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Ravens catcher Mikey Madueno greets Julian Batista after the senior fought off Plant City’s bases-loaded threat in the sixth inning. Batista worked 1 2/3 innings of shutout ball to earn the save.
