Ravens offense snowballs in rally win at Jefferson

Alonso’s Joshua Abrahante is fired up after driving in a pair in the Ravens four-run sixth on Tuesday.

By Jarrett Guthrie, Editor

TAMPA – After heavy rains soaked baseball fields across the county on Monday, Alonso’s players danced, leapt and skirted the edge in attempts to avoid the messy, muddy patch of earth in front of the visitor’s dugout at Jefferson on Tuesday. But after falling behind early to the Dragons, the weather metaphor adopted by the Ravens was not rain-related – their thoughts turned to snow.

“The snowball effect,” Alonso junior Maikol Madueno said, “we love to say it over here.”

After the Ravens scratched back a few of the runs the team spotted Jefferson in the first two innings, the momentum built for Alonso in a four-run sixth, where hitters rewarded Alonso’s strong relievers and left West Tampa with a 7-4 victory.

Click here to see our full photo gallery from this game.

“Our coaches challenged us to stop the bleeding,” sophomore Joshua Abrahante said. “So, we just kept holding them, and holding them, putting up zeros. Our pitchers did a great job and the bullpen was amazing.”

Ravens junior Raymond Llanes breaks out of the box for a bunt single as Alonso started its late rally. Llanes was 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI and a run scored in the win.

Trailing by a run to start the sixth, Alonso (4-1) piggybacked on top of a one-out walk, a beautifully placed bunt single from Raymond Llanes, then tied the game on a line drive from Bryan Alonso, and took the lead when Madueno lined an RBI single to center. Abrahante padded the lead ripping a first-pitch fastball down the left field line to plate a pair.

“It just snowballed. We needed to keep building, we couldn’t let it stay close,” Abrahante said. “My strategy always is if that first pitch is down the middle, I’ve got to swing, I’m going to be aggressive.

“I want to stay away from all that nasty stuff, the breaking balls, so if he wants to give me a fastball first, I’m going to try and kill it.”

Senior Bryan Alonso lined this single to left to tie the game in the sixth for the Ravens.

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Maikol Madueno drove a single to left to give Alonso the decisive run.

The downhill roll was an energy boost for the Ravens, according to the junior who gave his team the decisive lead.

“Bryan comes up with a clutch hit to tie it,” Madueno said, “and I follow that up with the base-knock up the middle that gives us the lead.”

After an unrelenting day of rain on Monday, the Jefferson coaching staff put in nearly a whole day’s work Tuesday, getting the field in excellent playing shape and moving all the standing water to the fence line. After that work was done, the Dragons players started the game aggressively and got the better of some early Ravens’ errors to put up three runs in the first.

Jefferson senior Isiah Fernandez scores the Dragons first run in the first inning. Fernandez was 2-for-4 in the loss.

Isiah Fernandez hustled to beat out a slow chopper to lead off the home-first, before a walk put two aboard. A pair of errors on the same play allowed Fernandez and Ja’Marques Benton to score, and a wild pitch in the next at-bat spotted the Dragons a third run.

Dragons senior Ja’Marques Benton claps his way down the first base line after sending a single into center allowing his brother Elijah to score from third.

Jefferson (3-2) got two aboard the next inning (walk to Elijah Benton and another hit from Fernandez), and Ja’Marques Benton lined a single to right to bring his brother in for the score.

Elijah Benton slides across the plate scoring on a single from older brother Ja’Marques in the second inning.

Ravens starting pitcher Julian Batista held the Dragons to one hit in his third and final inning, and though he was charged with two earned runs, he had six strikeouts.

Alonso starting pitcher Julian Batista tossed three innings, allowed two earned runs and struck out six.

Dragons starting pitcher Ethan Savinon worked around some trouble in the first two innings, and pitched a 1-2-3 third, before the Ravens touched him up for some runs in the fourth. Abrahante got it going with the first of his first-pitch hits, followed by a pair of walks, but it looked like things were going to go Savinon’s way again, as third baseman KJ Sampson threw home for a force for the first out.

Ethan Savinon struck out a pair in a no-decision.

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Dragons catcher Nate Brewer stretches out for a catch making a force out at the plate.

But the Ravens would not be denied scoring one on an Elier Velazquez single through short and a double smoked to centerfield by Llanes to cut the deficit to one. Savinon, who finished the fourth with the lead, allowed five hits and struck out a pair in a no-decision.

From there the Ravens bullpen was stingy, as four relievers pitched an inning apiece, holding Jefferson to one walk and one runner reaching on an error the rest of the way.

Alonso RHP Christopher Padilla struck out three in his scoreless inning of relief.

Senior Christopher Padilla was the first of that quartet to take the ball in the fourth, allowing one walk, but striking out three.

“I knew it was crucial to keep up my end of things,” Padilla said. “Not letting people on base or any more runs and give us a chance to get back in this (game). I worried about throwing strikes, working all my pitches and attacking the zone.”

Ravens junior Freddie Sanchez

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Alonso sophomore Andy Aduriz

Freddie Sanchez (Win; one K) and Andy Aduriz worked up-and-down innings for Alonso, before Marcelo Diaz shook off a two-base error behind him to close out the save with a scoreless seventh.

Alonso junior reliever Marcelo Diaz

Jefferson got a 1-2-3 seventh inning on the mound from Logan Galban (two strikeouts).

Jefferson relief pitcher Logan Galban

The Ravens have two district games this week, hosting Palm Harbor on Thursday and traveling to Newsome on Saturday; while the Dragons welcome Middleton (Thursday) and Lennard (Saturday).

#13 Alonso 7
#7 Jefferson 4

A 000|304|0 – |7|9|4
J 310|000|0 – |4|4|1
W – Sanchez (1-0); L – Benton (1-1); S – Diaz (1)
2B – Brautigam, Llanes (A); Galban (J). Records – A (4-1); J (3-2).