Gaither takes Round 1 against Sickles, 6-3

His Cowboys teammates wait to celebrate him as senior David Pina (#22) steps on the plate after his two-run home run in the sixth added some insurance to Gaither’s lead in a 6-3 win against rival Sickles.

By Jarrett Guthrie, Editor

NORTHDALE – When the late doldrums of the regular season sets in, teams are tested to earn a spot in state postseason play. But when it comes to Sickles in recent history, the test has not gone well for Gaither.

At Frank Permuy Park on Thursday, after the Cowboys had dropped 12-straight to the Gryphons on the field (save for an overturned loss due to an ineligible Sickles player in 2019) Gaither aced the first of at least two exams this season with a 6-3 win against its nearby rivals.

“They (Sickles) have been a really good team for the last 10 years,” Gaither captain Jackson Mirza said. “We knew this wouldn’t be any easy game, and we knew we weren’t going to let it be an easy game for them. But we played it like any other game, we battled and played the best we can.”

For more than 100 photos from this game, click here.

Gaither starting pitcher Carter Kindberg pitched two innings, giving up one unearned run on three hits and one walk.

Gaither (15-7) entered play this week ranked No. 10 in THE 8-1-3List and took down No. 9 Plant on Tuesday. The Cowboys played an outstanding game of baseball against the visiting No. 5 Gryphons, but that wasn’t without some pregame adjustments.

Planned starting pitcher Anthony Linares was unable to make his start due to an illness, forcing Gaither skipper Nelson North to rely on a bullpen day against a potent Sickles (16-6) lineup.

The Gryphons got on the board quickly, scoring a first-inning run when county runs leader Jordan Yost singled, drew a bad pickoff throw, then scored on a groundball from Emilio Salgado.

Sickles senior Jordan Yost connects on a first-inning single, and moved up two bases on an error on a pickoff attempt …

⚾

… and is pushed across the plate on a groundout by Emilio Salgado

But that throw in the dirt, allowing Yost two free bases, was about the lone mistake the Cowboys would make as the defense was a Top 10 highlight reel package throughout. Third baseman David Pina saved a run with a leaping snag on a sailed throw from the catcher trying to nab a stealing runner, then made a tremendous running catch at the fence on a foul pop, first baseman Jeffrey Cavicci made a foul catch the other direction early in the game, second baseman Angel Hernandez squashed a Sickles comeback rally turning two by catching a rocketed line drive and then getting a runner off of first base, and Eddy Rojo made two nice diving plays in right field.

Cowboys 2B Angel Hernandez was among the standouts on defense for Gaither in the win.

⚾

Gaither 1B Jeffrey Cavicci covered some ground to make this catch in the second inning.

⚾

About halfway up his accent you can see the lower half of David Pina as he goes up after a high throw with Charlie Martz (double) stealing third.

“Pina is a talented guy and has been for four years, I expect him to make plays like that,” North said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen him jump quite as high as he did on that throw, but I’ve seen him go get balls like he did at the fence before. He’s a competitor. And that is what Eddy is, too. He competes … he’s consistent, every day.”

With two aboard Ryan Deak dropped this bunt down the third base line and reached on a single to load them up in the fourth.

Unfortunately for the Gryphons, defensive woes proved costly in the fourth inning as two errors put men aboard, then Ryan Deak dropped down a picture-perfect bunt to load the bases and Nate Greico walked to tie things.

Eddy Rojo gave the Cowboys the lead with an RBI single sent chopping through the right side.

Rojo singled a groundball into right to give the Cowboys the lead for good, and Jackson Mirza put the game out of reach, splitting the second baseman and centerfielder with a shallow-pop, two-run double.

“It was big to score those runs, it took pressure off our pitchers and it set the tone,” Mirza said. “We really felt like from there, we owned the game.”

Cowboys senior Jackson Mirza sneaks a peek as his fly ball sails into no-man’s land in shallow centerfield and gets in between two defenders for a two-run double.

⚾

Despite a tremendous effort from Sickles 2B Charlie Martz, Mirza’s hit falls for a two-run double.

“Unfortunately, we’ve seen that a few times so far this season,” Gryphons coach Eric Luksis said. “We are capable of playing really good baseball, but that one bad inning has killed us in a few games this season.”

Sickles starting pitcher Jake Taylor was tagged with a loss, allowing four unearned in four innings.

Sickles battled back, nipping the rally there with a strikeout from starting pitcher Jake Taylor to end his night on the mound (4ip, 5 H, 2 BB, 3 K). Taylor then led off the top of the fifth with a double and scored on a double from Yost. Yost would move up on a walk and steal third (his 19th), and Gaither would turn to its fourth pitcher of the night, Matt Altman.

Jake Taylor led off the fifth with a double …

⚾

… and scored when Jordan Yost traded places with him two pitches later.

The junior righty, who played at Bishop McLaughlin last season, hit the first batter he faced and saw Yost score his 33rd run on a JJ Nazar sac fly. But he steadied himself and threw strikes getting a helping hand from Hernandez’s snag-and-throw double play, and was fired up heading back to the dugout after preserving the Cowboys lead.

“I love pressure, and how you deal with that pressure is the main key to this game,” Altman said. “Coach North told me to calm it down, save the energy for after the outs.

“That’s why I love it here. I came here for a big reason, because of Coach North.”

Matt Altman got out of a jam in the fifth and worked 1 1/3 innings for the Cowboys.

Altman would strikeout the first of sixth and issue a walk, before North would call on Mirza from centerfield.

North, admitted Linares’ illness was a definite curveball, and credited his bullpen catchers for their all-night effort.

“It started with Linares not being able to make his start,” North said. “The bullpen catchers are the MVPs, they worked all night. We had people ready and I had a quick hook. They have had our number, Sickles is a really good team, and were a really good team tonight.”

Junior RHP Noah Locklear pitched two-plus innings of relief, allowing one earned run on two hits and two walks and earned the win.

Rojo, who gave his team the lead in the fourth inning, repeated his actions with another groundball single on the first pitch he saw in the home-sixth and scored when Pina clobbered a baseball that sailed over the wall just right of centerfield – his first homer of the season.

“It was rough for me at the beginning, those first couple at bats I really wasn’t seeing it well,” Pina said. “But I really dialed in and got it going. It felt good, trusting my approach and I was able to hit something hard.”

David Pina connects on his two-run homer in the sixth inning.

Sickles tested Mirza in the seventh, getting two-out singles from Braden Ross and Nazar, but the University of South Florida commit got the better of a 10-pitch battle with Brandon Gonzales, ending the game with a strikeout.

JJ Nazar had one of two, two-out singles in the seventh inning …

⚾

… but Jackson Mirza slammed the door shut, ending the game with a strikeout on a 10-pitch battle to earn his fourth save of the year.

The two teams run it back on Tuesday, this time at Sickles.

“These guys (Gaither) had a little more juice than us tonight, hopefully we can match that on Tuesday,” Luksis said. “… They may have taken Round 1, hopefully we take Round 2, and this very well could go to Round 3, 4 & 5 in the postseason. It’s a team we are very familiar with, a team we’re going to get Tuesday and a team we could get in the regions.”

And though the win breaks a tough run for Cowboys in the rivalry, Pina joined Mirza in his perspective on the win.

“It feels good for sure, but at the end of the day this is just a game,” Pina said, “and we’ve got another game tomorrow that we’ve got to get ready for.”

Gaither travels to Freedom tonight; and the Gryphons will face Dunedin at TD Ballpark on Monday.

⚾

#10 Gaither 6
#5 Sickles 3

S 100|020|0 – |3|8|2
G 000|402|x – |6|9|1
W – Locklear (4-3); L – Taylor; S – Mirza (4)
2B – Martz, Taylor, Yost (S); Mirza (G); HR – Pina (G). Records – S (16-6); G (15-7).

⚾