Despite late rally, Berkeley Prep falls in state semifinal
The Berkeley Prep Buccaneers wait to take the field prior to Monday’s FHSAA Class 2A State Semifinal game against Miami True North Classical.
By Jarrett Guthrie, Editor
FORT MYERS – The bottom of Berkeley Prep’s lineup produced in the final inning, turning the order over and battled to the end in the FHSAA Class 2A state semifinal, but the hole that was dug in the prior six-and-a-half innings was too deep as the Buccaneers fell to Miami True North Classical, 9-4 in a lightning-elongated five-hour affair.
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In just its fifth season of baseball, True North attacked from the very beginning – top-to-bottom aggression of bunts and hit-and-run action and taking every extra opportunity afforded.
Berkeley Prep starting pitcher Nolan Parmer allowed four runs over 3 1/3 innings.
The Titans (22-7) made soft-contact on three-straight singles produce the first run before a blooped two-run double down the leftfield line by Carlos Victorero put the Titans in control early.
And with that lead, senior righty William Foss went to work, holding the Buccaneers hitless for two-plus innings, and limiting Berkeley Prep to one run over the first four frames.
The Titans scored another run in the fourth after three singles loaded the bases and Kash Ojeda (2-for-3, run, two RBI) sacrificed in a run.
Buccaneers senior catcher Carson Binder throws out a runner to end the top of the third inning.
Berkeley Prep (27-7) responded in the home-half as senior Carson Binder hit a stand-up triple to the deepest part of the field and scored with ease on a Ben O’Brien (2-for-3) double to left.
But two-straight strikeouts ended the chance for the Bucs to trim the lead any more.
“I ran into a pitch I could hit with two strikes,” Binder said. “Hit it well and Ben got me in, and we hoped it would be the start of a rally, but it didn’t work out.”
Senior Ben O’Brien doubled in a run on this swing in the fourth inning.
After reliever Owen Schmitt ended the top of the fifth with a strikeout, and despite a primarily blue sky, lightning within 10 miles halted the game for more than two hours.
It appeared the Buccaneers might have caught a break with Foss bumping up against 60 pitches, that a new pitcher might give Berkeley a chance to come back in the game they trailed by three runs.
But Foss had different plans.
Titans senior RHP Will Foss struck out five over 6 1/3 innings to pick up the win.
Every 15 minutes during the delay, the Travecca Nazarene signee found a throwing partner in the bowels of Hammond Stadium, met with the team’s trainer, mixed in plyo-ball work, and stayed ready.
“I just kept telling (my coaches), I have to go back out there,” Foss said. “… I told (True North head coach Adrian) Nieto I promise you, I’m going to go back out there and get it done. Thankfully he trusted in me and we got the job done.”
True North sophomore catcher Evan Alexander lets out a yell after an inning-ending strikeout in the fourth. Alexander was 2-for-4 in the win, with an RBI and two runs scored.
“He was in my ear, ‘I’m not done yet. I’m not done,’” Nieto said. “… big props to Willie here, for wanting the ball in his last high school start and telling me he wasn’t coming out that easily.”
He returned to the mound and set the Bucs down in order in the home-fifth, and wiggled out of a two-hit jam in the sixth, where Berkeley Prep made a base running error which ended the inning with an out at third base.
Berkeley Prep junior RHP Lucas Farrar
O’Brien, a senior signed to play next year at Wofford, said the Buccaneers used the delay to focus and were confident returning to the field.
“We all believed in each other, we’ve been in these situations before and we felt like we were just a couple swings away from taking control of this game,” O’Brien said. “Honestly, if you saw us (during the delay) you’d have never guessed we weren’t in control.”
Berkeley 1B Ben O’Brien tracks down a foul ball.
The Bucs finally got to Foss in the seventh as George Cook singled with one out to the left side, pinch-hitter JD Haughey lined a single to left and Riley Zinober (2-for-3) plated the first of three runs for Berkeley Prep with a double to centerfield, followed by an RBI single by Jett Walters and a run-scoring groundout from Lucas Farrar.
Bucs junior JD Haughey flared a pinch-hit single to left in the seventh inning.
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Riley Zinober doubled in a pair shortly after.
Foss was finally chased from the game after 6 1/3 innings, allowing four runs on nine hits, with six strikeouts. Alex Diaz worked the final two outs, ending the game with a strikeout.
“That’s just heart right there,” Berkeley Prep senior Parker Mitzel said of the Titans starting pitcher. “(Foss) put his team on his back. I’m sure it was a tough decision to bring him back, it was crazy what he did when he came back in.”
Jett Walters beats out an RBI infield single.
The ending stung for the Buccaneers, whose incredible season included a tournament win against a number of national powerhouses in the Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) Spring Break Invitational, and district and region titles.
“That’s our team,” Warren said, “we’re gritty, a nasty bunch in a good way, and we play the game the right way. We never give up. Down eight runs, somehow it felt like we were just one hit away from being right back in it.”
Berkeley Prep veteran head coach Richie Warren.
Warren chose to focus on the fortitude of his team, which struggled with injuries from the preseason to the final game, talking about how the adversity bonded his Buccaneers program and produced one of his more enjoyable teams in his 20-year coaching career.
“They gave us everything they had all year long,” Warren said. “If people outside of our locker room only knew what the guys inside our locker room were going through, they would understand how special a group this is.
“These guys made it fun this year. I thank them for the community they helped create, that made me want to come out every day. How could I fold it in when these guys went out every day and gave so much?”
⚾ Class 2A State Semifinal ⚾
Miami True North 9
Berkeley Prep 4
T 300|100|5 – |9|15|1
B 000|100|3 – |4|9|1
W – Foss; L – Parmer (8-3)
2B – Victorero, Bossano, Gamboa (T); O’Brien, Zinober (X); 3B – Binder (B). Records – T (22-7); B (27-7).
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Buccaneers players (L to R) Ben O’Brien, Nolan Parmer, Carson Binder and George Cook stand for the National Anthem.
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Titans leadoff man Kash Ojeda steals second base in the opening inning.
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Evan Alexander drives in the first run of the game with a single to shortstop.
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Carlos Victorero sneaks a peek at a blooped two-run double to no-man’s land behind third base.
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Bucs CF Jett Walters charges a fly ball in the first inning.
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SS Lucas Farrar tags out a stealing runner.
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Berkeley Prep SP Nolan Parmer
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True North SP William Foss delivers a pitch during a light rain.
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Titans SS Matias Fisher throws across his body for an out.
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Riley Zinober collects a single in the third for the Bucs first hit of the game.
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Carson Binder lets out a big breath after burning the centerfielder for a stand-up triple.
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Then Binder lets the home dugout hear it.
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Speed-up runner Briggs Tibbals heads home in the background as Ben O’Brien breaks down the first base line on his fourth-inning RBI double.
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But a pair of strikeouts from Will Foss mutes a Berkeley Prep rally in the fourth.
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Berkeley Prep RHP Owen Schmitt worked 1 2/3 innings, allowing just one hit before a two-hour rain delay ended his day on the mound.
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Leftfielder Riley Zinober squeezes the ball for an out.
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Lucas Farrar throws over to a waiting 1B Ben O’Brien as a Titans runner dives back to the bag.
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Lucas Farrar started the home-sixth with a single to shortstop.
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Ben O’Brien singled to right-center …
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… but a Berkeley opportunity stalled as Farrar was tagged out on a relay throw to third base.
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Bucs C Carson Binder tags out a runner in-between third and home after he and 3B George Cook (at right) worked a pickle successfully.
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Danilo Bossano celebrates toward his dugout after his RBI double in the seventh.
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Berkeley Prep senior reliever Briggs Tibbals delivers a pitch.
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Pinch-runner Trey Hyatt heads around third base and would score a run in the seventh.
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True North SP Will Foss hands the ball off to reliever Alex Diaz.
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Alex Diaz worked the final two outs, ending the game on a strikeout.
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A nice dig by Titans 1B Mikey Cuenca just nips a tremendous effort on the part of Bucs batter Jett Walters, who drove in a run on this groundout.
