Sotiropoulos, Ledo lead Crusaders to narrow victory
Tampa Catholic senior Ruben Ledo delivers the game’s final pitch.
By Lily Belcher, Staff Writer
TAMPA – Tampa Catholic relief pitcher Ruben Ledo loaded the bases with two outs and a full count in the seventh, just one pitch away from victory. He wasn’t thinking at all.
“And after that, I just blacked out,” Ledo said.
He dealt one down the middle, Alonso batter Samuel Fernandez swung and missed. Ledo jumped off the mound, beat his chest with his fist and celebrated with the Crusaders just outside the dugout.
Tampa Catholic Claimed a narrow 2-1 victory in the Saladino Tournament, improving to 2-0 in the tournament and locking up a semifinal berth.
Coach Paul Russo Jr. has been putting Ledo into these high-pressure situations all season. He said tonight’s game was “huge” for Ledo’s confidence.
The senior is recovering from Tommy John surgery he underwent last March. These short, tough outings are how Russo has been “testing” Ledo.
“He’s building me for all these moments coming up later in the season,” Ledo said.
Russo said the decision to put Ledo in for the final out of the game was to prepare his pitching for the rest of the week and the rest of the season. While it was a close outing that nearly lost the game for the Crusaders, it was enough to hold the one-run lead for a Monday night victory.
Tampa Catholic scored its pair of runs off wild pitches. Putting runners on and smart base running put the Crusaders on top, but the limited offensive production meant the Crusaders relied on strong pitching.
Senior starting pitcher Alex Sotiropoulos pitched five innings, picking up ten strikeouts and giving up only three hits on 92 pitches.
“I knew I could just go out there, play my game and have my guys behind me,” he said.
This is Sotiropoulos’ third Saladino Tournament. Still, he said it’s a lot of pressure.
“It’s cool that we get to go out there and we get to face these teams that we never get to see,” Sotiropoulos said.
Lucas Cinnante pitched in-between Sotiropoulos and Ledo, recording five outs, with two strikeouts and just one hit allowed.
Preparation for playing new schools began for the Crusaders as soon as they got the schedule. For pitchers, Sotiropoulos said the approach can always be the same: throw strikes, throw breaking balls and “hit all your spots.”
“No matter who it is, we always have an approach ready,” he said.
Russo said the Columbia University commit has become the Crusaders’ ace with three pitches and dominance on the mound.
The Saladino Tournament isn’t new to Russo. He played in the tournament once during his high school career in 2011. His dad and cousins have played in the tournament. And, his uncle, Pat Russo, was a head coach in the tournament while at Hillsborough. What is new is that this is the first time Tampa Catholic has hosted.
“It’s a very historic tournament here,” the coach said. “…It’s a special tournament for me and my family that I want to continue to play in year-in and year-out.”
Tampa Catholic will face Steinbrenner tomorrow night, while Alonso faces Durant at 4.
#T4 Tampa Catholic 2, Alonso 1
A 100|000|0 – |1|5|1
T 101|000|x – |2|5|0
W – Sotiropoulos; L – Antuna; S – Ledo
Records – A (4-4); T (6-2).
