Duran K’s nine as Leto holds off East Bay in opener
By Jarrett Guthrie, Editor
For a few more photos from tonight’s game: click here.
TAMPA – Leto lefty Arley Duran was limited in the last week of the preseason with a nasty cold. But on the senior’s opening night start against East Bay, the only thing nastier than last week’s cold was Monday night’s curveball – which Duran used with frequency.
Duran cruised through five scoreless innings, and the Falcons capitalized on a first-inning Indians’ error, putting up a big enough cushion to hold on for a 5-3 victory.
“It was a pretty good (first start),” Duran said. “The first inning I was just trying to find the zone and not go too hard, and then work myself up from there. Work the hitters, see them once and then go get them again.”
East Bay shortstop Rowland Ruiz Jr. led off the game with a single.
Duran’s first batter, East Bay’s Rowland Ruiz Jr led off the game with a single lined into center, but quickly the Falcons hurler fielded a comebacker from the next batter, turned and fired to second starting a double play. Following that, as he did in four of his five innings, the Hillsborough Community College commit ended the inning with a strikeout. On the night, Duran punched out nine, allowing just the one hit and one walk. After the win, he talked about how quickly his curveball started getting over in the game.
“I was just trying to get the feel for it, more than getting a strike,” Duran said. “Same thing for the fastball, tonight I was just trying to get loose and work the hitters.”
Leto coach JJ Pizzio has a chat with Duran as he leaves the field from his fifth and final inning on the mound.
Duran worked at a fast clip and quickly he found his rhythm, which was no surprise to his teammates.
“Dude, Arley, my best friend since we were six years old,” Leto senior Caleb Rodriguez said. “He was amazing tonight. I was just happy to play defense for him. He really shoved today, throwing strikes and pounding the zone with good stuff.”
Falcons senior Caleb Rodriguez singled in a pair of runs in the first inning.
The home-half of the first spiraled quickly for East Bay as a dropped pop fly at first allowed a runner, followed by two walks to load the bases. Rodriguez made the error and walks hurt with a solid two-strike approach, sending a ground single skipping through the right side and driving in a pair. Leto again filled the bases and Daniel Gonzalez singled in two more runs before the dust settled.
“That’s what (coach JJ) Pizzio has trained me to do,” Rodriguez said. “I had to go in there and make contact, get on the board and cook with people on base.”
Daniel Gonzalez cushioned the Leto lead in the first with a pair of RBI on a bases-loaded, two-out, two-strike single.
Rodriguez led off the bottom third with the first of his two doubles in the game, before another error allowed him to move up, setting up his next run scored on a fielder’s choice to first by Chris Ortiz.
Falcons senior Chris Ortiz gets the job done with this RBI ground ball fielder’s choice in the third.
Caleb Rodriguez heads toward the plate to score his second run of the game.
The early errors and walks spoiled the start for Indians sophomore pitcher Connor Gavigan, who battled through three complete, allowing five runs (only one earned) on three hits and four walks. But Gavigan did strike out six and sparked his team’s three-run rally in the six with a two-run double roped out to centerfield, before later scampering home on a wild pitch for his team’s final run.
“My father has always said to ‘be the spark,’” Gavigan said. “Anything can start it – a single, obviously there it was a double – anything can kick off a rally.”
Connor Gavigan busts down the line after sending a double out to centerfield. Gavigan drove in a pair and scored his team’s final run on a wild pitch.
Gavigan put the opening night loss in quick perspective.
“It is the first game. We know we can do better than that,” he said. “Our boys are fine. We’ve got good pitching, good defense – this was just a little break in. We’ve got work to do.”
Indians junior JJ Groover was a steadying factor on the mound after entering in the fourth, giving East Bay three scoreless innings of relief, striking out four and allowing two hits and two walks, keeping his team in the game.
East Bay junior righty JJ Groover struck out four across three scoreless innings of relief.
East Bay’s sixth-inning scoring was also started with an error, as Rodriguez (who moved from third to the mound) was touched up for three hits and three unearned runs. His relief appearance was ended on a leadoff single in the seventh from Jeffrey Diab, as Pizzio turned to sophomore Alex Abreau in relief.
East Bay senior David Reyes singled and scored a run in the sixth.
The young righty picked up two strikeouts quickly, but East Bay made things interesting by loading the bags on a David Reyes single and a walk, before Abreau shut the door by getting a ground ball out to first and earning his first save.
“It’s just baseball, they’ve got to hit me and then I have to throw strikes,” Abreau said.
Alex Abreau struck out two before loading the bases and battling it out with East Bay’s offense to pick up his first save of the year.
Adding that after he loaded the bases: “I like high-pressure moments. I feel like I throw harder.”
Leto gets back to work on Thursday when Spoto comes to visit, while East Bay hosts King the same night.
Duran steps on the bag after fielding a groundball to end the game and clinch his first pitching win on opening night.
Leto 5
(14) East Bay 3
E 000|003|0 – |3|4|4
L 401|000|x – |5|5|1
W – Duran (1-0); L – Gavigan (0-1); S – Abreau (1)
2B – Gavigan (E); Rodriguez 2 (L). Records – E (0-1); L (1-0).
