Dragons stay energized, handles Rogers 10-0

Jefferson sophomore Elijah Benton tosses his helmet preparing to jump into his gathered teammates after blasting his first high school home run over the scoreboard in leftfield. Benton was 2-for-3, adding an RBI single to the Dragons tally as Jefferson downed Naples Aubrey Rogers via mercy-rule in five innings of Saturday’s 3A-3 region quarterfinal.

By Jarrett Guthrie, Editor

WEST TAMPA – Keep the energy up – a statement made by nearly every member of the Jefferson coaching staff throughout Saturday night’s Class 3A-Region 3 quarterfinal game against Naples Aubrey Rogers.

The Dragons took a two-run first-inning lead on the visiting Patriots, but Spencer Nunez and his staff stayed on their players to not get complacent – an issue for Jefferson in the second half of the regular season.

But the response was full-throated, as the Dragons continued to apply pressure, riding the arm of junior ace Ethan Savinon and pounding out 12 hits on offense, cruising to a five-inning, mercy-rule 10-0 win.

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“We lost each other there for a few weeks, but we’ve come back and our captains talked with the guys about trusting each other, trusting the coaches,” senior catcher Kaiden Johnson said. “We came in tonight knowing this could be our last game, we’ve got 2 ½ hours to give it everything we got. And that’s what we did.”

It was certainly what Johnson did.

Jefferson senior Kaiden Johnson had a night – going 4-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI in the win.

A hand injury cost the Florida A&M signee nearly two weeks at the start of March, but he picked the right time to have his biggest game. Johnson paced the Dragons with a four-hit, two-double night at the plate. The fiery senior was alive with energy, with fist pumps and screams and it fed his teammates all night.

“I like passion and he’s our battery,” Nunez said. “That’s true grit, right there … we missed him for a couple of games there, but he came back ready to go. And when he goes, we go.”

Junior Kaleb Cherry’s RBI sac fly in the first inning put up all the Dragons would need, but Cherry wasn’t finished adding a bases-loaded walk and a game-ending two-run double to drive in four and trigger the mercy-rule.

“Cherry is the cap – the captain of this team,” Nunez said. “He has the best way of getting motivated and that motivates others. He truly is a great teammate and guys like him, you get rewarded when you are that guy.”

Junior Kaleb Cherry had four RBI in the Dragons win.

Cherry said the in-game message from the coaching was the perfect reminder of what it takes to be a successful team.

“It’s the most important thing in baseball – consistency is everything,” Cherry said. “If you’re not consistent you won’t be a winning program … we came out and hit every single inning and this is a huge way for us to start the playoffs.”

Rogers senior Tristan DeGenova sent the first pitch of the game skipping into centerfield, but Johnson erased him two pitches later with a pickoff at first base.

Jefferson junior and FACA District 15 Class 3A Player of the Year Ethan Savinon struck out six in an abbreviated five-inning, complete-game shutout win.

Savinon maintained control en route to his fifth win of the year, scattering five hits and a walk, fielded his position for outs twice, and stranded runners in scoring position in two of his five innings.

“Ethan is just a dog,” Johnson said of his battery-mate. “He’s been so consistent the past two years and he trusts himself to get out of those situations. I feel like all of Hillsborough County knows he’s one of the best, if not the best, pitcher in all of the county.”

Sam Hyman (#18) greets Manny Baez (#7) after the latter scored the first of his three runs in the win.

After a scoreless second inning, Jefferson (16-8-1) quickly got two outs on offense in the third as Rogers junior David Amaya leaned heavily on his curveball. Dragons sophomore Elijah Benton was ready for the righty’s hook as he looked at a strike, then got his timing down with a pair of foul balls before blasting a mammoth home run over the scoreboard in left field – his first high school home run.

“I still can’t calm myself down,” Benton said after the game. “I’m still in the moment, my head is spinning. I almost blacked out going around the bases, but the whole team’s energy was up and that really is what made me hit it like that.”

Elijah Benton gives his third-inning home run to left field a little peak before bounding around the bases.

The real fun began for the Dragons in the fourth, as freshman Alex Adkins was hit by a pitch in the foot to lead off the inning and Jefferson batted around, scoring five runs including an RBI single by Adkins, an RBI double by Johnson and an RBI single from Sam Hyman.

“We went back to what we did early in the season, where we had a full week of practice – we went back to those practices,” Nunez said. “We gave them things to work on and they did it, and that is where this result came from.”

Jefferson freshman Alex Adkins is fired up after his second at-bat of the fourth inning resulted in an RBI single into leftfield.

Turning it around on defense in the fifth, Savinon needed just three pitches to get through the inning as twin Nathan Adkins fielded three ground balls and threw for outs in a tidy inning. Nathan Adkins, making his first varsity start at second base, also had an over the shoulder, running catch of a ball in shallow right field.

“I knew we had a long inning, so I just wanted to go out there and get my team back (on offense),” Savinon said. “I pounded the strike zone and they sent plays to my second baseman – first game in and he did his job well.”

Making his first start at second base, Jefferson freshman Nathan Adkins made plays for all three outs of the fifth inning.

Jefferson quickly loaded the bases in the home-fifth – Manny Baez (2-for-3, 3 runs) starting things off with his second hit of the game, Johnson’s second double and a walk from Savinon, before Cherry wrapped things up with a fly ball, two-run double to centerfield.

“We knew we had to keep applying pressure and keep that foot on the gas,” Savinon said. “We were prepared to win a ballgame, we did our thing and we are moving on.”

Moving on to the semifinals, where the Dragons will travel to Clearwater to take on No. 1 seed Calvary Christian – 3-1 winners against Dunedin.

Dragons senior Sam Hyman was one of four Jefferson batters with a multi-hit game. Hyman, a Barry University signee, was 2-for-3 with two RBI.