Kurland homers twice as Bucs rally, then pours it on
By Rick Cantor
Staff writer
February 26, 2022
TAMPA – It would have been easy to pack it in.
After all, falling behind three runs to a quality Lakeland team on a hot Saturday afternoon, the third game of the week, with a freshman pitcher making his first start, is not ideal.
Fortunately for head coach Richie Warren, his Berkeley Prep is not the type of team to just go through the motions.
The Buccaneers exploded for ten runs in the bottom of the second inning, keyed by a grand slam from Florida signee Cade Kurland en route to a 15-5, mercy-rule victory over the Dreadnaughts.
Lakeland started hot as Nolan Shamoun (3-3, 2 R) led off the game with a triple to left and scored on a single by Nic Partridge (2-3, 3 RBI). A fielder’s choice, followed by an RBI double from Jose Ramirez staked Lakeland(2-1) to the early lead.
After stranding the bases loaded in the first, Berkeley Prep (3-0) right fielder Troy Reader led off the bottom of the second with a hard grounder bad-hop single to short. He then advanced to second on an errant pickoff attempt and to third on a wild pitch, eventually scoring on a single by Wyatt Ewanowski.
Next up it was Drew Canody lacing a double to dead center and Anthony Castillo reaching on a hit by pitch to load the bases for Kurland. The senior lined a 1-1 pitch over the wall in left-center to give the Bucs a two-run lead and seize momentum.
Cade Kurland
“Our backs were against the wall early. It was important for us to try to stay in the game and chip away at the lead,” said Cade Kurland. “I was just trying to stay simple, stay within myself and not do too much. I got a good pitch to hit, and it worked out.”
While the big blast gave them a lead, the Bucs were far from finished. Gunnett Carlson and Owen McElfratrick drilled singles and Reader was hit by a pitch to load the bases as the lineup turned over. Next up was Ewandowski (2-for-4, four RBI, two R) clearing the bases with a double and crushing any thought the Dreadnaughts may have had for a rally.
Wyatt Ewanowski
“It really secured the momentum we had. We were up but we knew they could get back into the game with one good inning,” said Ewanowski. “I got to the 3-1 count, I was looking for the fastball and drove it against the fence.”
Incredibly, Berkeley was still not done.
Next up was senior Drew Canody (2-for-2, two RBI, three R) with a homer to dead center as a stunned Lakeland team found themselves down by seven.
The onslaught continued in the bottom of the third as Kurland notched his second dinger in as many innings with a shot to dead center close to where Canody’s landed the inning before.
The Bucs finished off the scoring as Carlson (3-for-4, two RBI) doubled in a pair, followed by McElfatrick (2-for-2, two RBI, R, BB) singling in a pair.
Berkeley is back in action Tuesday hosting Bradenton – Lakewood Ranch (1-1).
⚾⚾⚾⚾
Berkeley Prep 15
Lakeland 5 – five innings
L 300|20x|x – |5|8|1
BP 0(10)1|4x|x – |15|12|0
W – R. Kurland (1-0); L – Seymour (0-1).
2B – Shamoun, Ramierez (L); Canody, Ewanowski, Carlson (BP); 3B – Shamoun (L); HR – Partridge (L); C. Kurland 2, Canody (BP). Records – L (2-1); BP (3-0).
