Kurland, Bucs edge Nguyen, Wesley Capel in lefty duel
Senior lefty Rivers Kurland held Wesley Chapel to just three singles in his six shutout innings on Friday.
By Jarrett Guthrie, Editor
TAMPA – Friday’s showdown of two talented lefty pitchers most certainly delivered, as Berkeley Prep senior Rivers Kurland (a week removed from fanning 14 in a no-decision and eclipsing the 300-strikeout mark for his career) toed the rubber against Wesley Chapel junior Aiden Nguyen (who tossed a perfect game in his last start as the Wildcats defeated Sunlake, 2-0).
Kurland had some minor location issues, hitting one and walking four, but spun his changeup well, held the Wildcats off the board for six innings and was rewarded with a pair of runs in the home-sixth to earn a 2-1 victory.
We have 130 photos from this game in our extended gallery (click here).
Even with the six-scoreless, and battling for outs with threatening runners, Kurland was somewhat critical of his outing while praising his defense behind him.
“I never really felt like I got my rhythm and got all my things going the right way,” Kurland said. “But I have complete trust in the guys. I knew (with runners on) second and third, throw strikes, put a ball over the plate and we are going to make things happen.”
Buccaneers sophomore Jett Walters catches a shallow pop fly in the second.
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Zorre Wright after sliding into second with a stolen base early in the game.
Buccaneers head coach Richie Warren, who with Friday’s win reached the 400-win mark for his career (check back for more on this tomorrow), said he never felt Kurland put himself in a situation where he couldn’t find his way out.
“He’s earned every right to stay out on that mound and work himself out of those positions,” Warren said. “I don’t know if there is another guy in the state you’d want in that position – and he has been doing it consistently since his freshman year.”
Wesley Chapel junior Aiden Nguyen had 11 strikeouts in six innings on the mound.
In counter, Nguyen was impressive in his six innings, striking out 11 and not walking a hitter all night, before finally falling victim to three hits in the deciding inning.
“This was kind of a replica of his last outing,” Wesley Chapel head coach Tripp Merrell said. “He is getting more locked-in before the game, his routine is the same every time out and he is performing.
“Everyone knows what Rivers can do, so I think on their end they saw what Aiden can do.”
Bucs SP Rivers Kurland
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Wildcats junior SP Aiden Nguyen struts off the mound after ending the second inning with a strikeout and stranding a runner at third base.
Kurland saw Wesley Chapel (8-5) get a runner into scoring position in the first three innings, before working a 1-2-3 fourth inning. The Florida State signee scattered three singles, while striking out seven and allowed his defense to do it’s work behind him.
A big part of that was junior catcher Carson Binder, who kept himself in front of balls in the dirt all night, threw out two would-be base stealers (and came darn close on two other attempts), and made a nice tag at the plate on a great catch-and-throw from rightfielder Parker Mitzel.
“Binder caught one hell of a game,” Kurland said. “He’s the equalizer. He keeps me calm, gets me excited when I need to be, helps me out when I make a mistake.”
Junior catcher Carson Binder tags out Conner Franklin after Parker Mitzel fires a throw home from right.
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RF Parker Mitzel is greeted with a hero’s welcome after his catch-and-throw double play.
Warren concurred: “He leads by example, is a really hard practice player and I think we saw tonight, he just refuses to lose. Anything his team needs to win he’s going to do, whether it’s busting his butt down the line to beat out a throw, or eating pitches that bounce in the dirt with his throat, he finds a way to keep us in the game.”
For Binder, Friday’s defensive showing was a big confidence boost moving forward, and hopes he’s found his rhythm against opposing runners.
“I haven’t had a throw-out all year, and I really thought I’ve had some good throws,” he said. “So, I just stuck with my gameplan, the throws were on the bag and I got them.”
Buccaneers C Carson Binder
And on Mitzel, Kurland credited him with the play of the game with his catch-and-throw.
“We’ve had a younger team (the last two seasons), but now Parker is the big dog,” Kurland said. “We gave him the three-hole and he’s a scary hitter, but that amazing play in right probably won the game.”
Parker Mitzel watches his double fly to the wall.
Mitzel opened the bottom of the first with a double smoked to the wall in center, and moved up a bag on a Ben O’Brien sac bunt, but Berkeley Prep (10-3) couldn’t capitalize on the early opportunity, as Nguyen ended the threat with a pair of strikeouts.
Two innings later it was Josh Herrmann’s double that got a runner into scoring positing, but Nguyen caught the Bucs junior napping with a pickoff to second baseman Dylan Pabon (2-for-4).
Berkeley’s Josh Herrmann celebrates on second after his fourth-inning double.
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Lucas Farrar chops this two-out single in the sixth inning for Berkeley Prep.
After Nguyen picked up two quick outs in the sixth, one of which came on a great diving catch by Pabon, the Bucs finally found some success as Lucas Farrar hit an infield single that chopped over the pitcher’s mound and died just under the glove of SS Nolan Hartley.
Carson Binder starts his swing on an infield single to third base.
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Wesley Chapel 3B Nick Walters makes a great play and throw on Binder’s hit, but is just a split-second late on his throw.
Binder hustled out his own infield single to third to put runners on the corners, and Herrmann’s second double of the night deep to center finally broke the stalemate as Farrar and speed-up runner Riley Zinober scored.
“It was really crucial to come through there,” Herrmann said. “We had people on base all night and were making mistakes on the base path. When we finally got people on base (in the sixth) I was able to deliver on a good pitch.
“I knew it wasn’t gone, but I knew I hit it hard.”
Josh Herrmann watches his two-run double sail to the centerfield wall.
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Lucas Farrar claps his way home on Herrmann’s double …
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… and Riley Zinober slides safely scoring the Bucs second run behind Wesley Chapel C Cole Ranchel.
On top of his work in the battery, Kurland was equally grateful to Binder’s hustle on the nubber single to third base.
“He has really been the story of our team – the backbone,” Kurland said of his teammate. “I give him all the credit, and I think the rest of the world should give him more. He’s the best and I love him.”
Buccaneers 3B Mason Warren comes pretty close to earning Carson Binder his third caught runner of the game, but Cole Ranchel is ruled under the tag for his second stolen base.
An error greeted Mitzel on in relief for the final inning, allowing Cole Ranchel to reach and go on to steal second, before scoring on a single up the middle from Nick Walters.
But the Bucs defense stood tall in the end after Pabon’s second hit of the night was negated by too much aggression on the bases, when Berkeley caught Waters with a rundown between second and third, with Mitzel applying the game-ending tag.
Berkeley Prep junior Parker Mitzel finished off the game and earned his first save of the season.
Spring break puts a pause on Wesley Chapel’s season, as the Wildcats next game is 10 days out against South Sumter (3/24/25).
“The thing that stinks about it being spring break is that I think we are starting to swing the bat pretty well,” Merrell said of his Wildcats. “We just didn’t get the key hit tonight and they did. We had one, but then it turned into bad baserunning, tonight we stole some bases, but we ran into a few too many outs trying to be too aggressive.”
The Bucs get right back to action north on Saturday for a game at Ocala Trinity Catholic, then welcome Fort Pierce John Carroll next Thursday and Miami Dade Christian on Friday.
#8 Berkeley Prep 2
Wesley Chapel 1
W 000|000|1 – |1|5|0
B 000|002|x – |2|5|1
W – Kurland (2-1); L – Nguyen (2-2); S – Mitzel (1)
2B – Mitzel, Herrmann 2 (B). Records – W (8-5); B (10-3).
