Mirza, Linares lift Gaither to comeback win at Sickles
Gaither senior Anthony Linares went the distance against Sickles, allowing two earned runs and striking out six to earn his fourth win of the season.
By Mike Camunas, Creative Director
CITRUS PARK — It seems, for now, the Cowboys have put a saddle on the Gryphons.
Gaither (17-7) and Sickles (17-7) had circles on their schedules, traded barbs all season and were more than ready to face off as nearby rivals playing twice in the span of five days. But it was the Cowboys that prevailed both times.
Click here for more photos from this game.
On Tuesday evening, Gaither used a four-run seventh inning for a comeback 5-3 win at Sickles, again just a week after the Cowboys also took Round 1, 6-3, on April 3 and snapped a 12-game losing streak to the Gryphons.
Powered by a three-RBI night from senior centerfielder Jackson Mirza and a complete game pitching performance from senior Anthony Linares, Gaither has poised itself ahead of Sickles, with a potential Class 6A regional rematch on the horizon.
“We have a team that hits and can be very aggressive,” Mirza said. “We’re scrappy … but I would love to be able to take a game from them in the playoffs, when it matters more. It’s great to get a pair of wins against them and (end that 12-game losing streak), but the main goal is a state championship and getting there.”
Cowboys captain Jackson Mirza heads toward third after belting his leadoff home run to start the game. Mirza, was 3-for-4, taking part in all of Gaither’s scoring (three RBI, two runs scored).
Mirza, a USF signee, started the rivalry rematch with a bang, taking his team-leading third home run of the season deep on the second pitch of the game from Sickles starter, senior Brandon Gonzales (4-1, 3.65 ERA).
Sickles senior Brandon Gonzales held Gaither to one run across 4 2/3 innings, allowing four hits and striking out two.
However, with Linares (4-2, 0.82) on the mound, the Gryphons would pounce right back, with the help of Linares’ early-game shakiness. He allowed back-to-back singles by Jake Taylor and Jordan Yost, then hit Braden Ross to load the bases. A fielder’s choice RBI by Emilio Salgado and a sac fly by Jaden Nazar gave Sickles the 2-1 lead.
And then, for a long time nothing happened — sort of.
Both pitchers settled in and matched each other on the mound.
Gonzales would last 4 ⅔ innings, giving up four hits and striking out two. In fact, Gonzales and Linares would have matching second, third and fourth innings, in which each had a 1-2-3 innings, gave up a 2-out single and then gave up a 1-out single, respectively.
Despite a solid effort by Sickles 2B Charlie Martz, this Anthony Linares fly ball fell for a single in the fourth inning.
Sickles coach Eric Luksis said it was always the game plan to pull Gonzales once he could get a lefty pitcher — in this case, Jake Taylor — to face senior David Pina and his .373 avg. and team-high eight doubles. However, following his second hit of the game, Mirza was caught stealing after Pina saw one pitch.
Sickles SS Jordan Yost applies the tag on Jackson Mirza trying to swipe second, but Gryphons C Emilio Salgado was having none of it.
“That was part of that strategy and it worked out in that situation,” Luksis said. “We knew Mirza was going to steal there and we were hoping to get the pick off, which we did that as well, so the plan was to do what we did: get Gonzo the start and hopefully (get) us four, four-plus (innings), which he did and he was very good tonight and then pass it off to the pen, which has been very good for us all season.
“Unfortunately, the storybook ending didn’t happen for us tonight.”
Gaither SS Ryan Deak makes a tag well in front of second base of a stealing runner after a strong throw from Cowboys catcher Ryder Warriner.
The story most definitely did not go the Gryphons way, who just couldn’t seem to push insurance runs over before the top for the seventh, despite Braden Ross singling and pinch-runner Jordan Ortiz reaching second with one out in the sixth.
In the seventh, Zach Dial took over on the mound, and got the first two outs, but a hit by pitch to Ryan Deak and back-to-back walks to Jeffrey Cavicchi and Eddy Rojo set the stage for Mirza again.
To cap off a 3-for-4 night, Mirza hit a bloop single to score two, while the next batter, Pina, would hit a double off the top of the leftfield wall to drive home two more and extend Gaither’s late lead.
“The whole night,” Mirza said, “they were throwing me off(speed pitches), so I was just looking for something in the zone and I didn’t barrel it, but it dropped in and that’s all we needed.”
Jackson Mirza connects on one of his three hits in the game.
For Linares, he expected no less from Mirza.
“That’s what your leadoff hitter does,” said Linares, who struck out six on the night. “He sets the tone every night, and I expect that from Jack and that little bloop into center — I love that, man, because then everyone was hyped, so I’m just let’s go and finish this (game).”
Indeed, Linares was given the chance to complete his start, and was off and running, getting two quick outs before an error, a Taylor single and another error allowed Charlie Martz to score.
Linares would walk Ross before getting Salgado to ground out for the 1-3 putout.
“(Coach Nelson North) said, ‘You want this (win), right?’ and I said, ‘I do.’ I wanted to finish the game,” Linares said referring to the two-out mound visit from North in the seventh. “I absolutely didn’t want to give up that ball. … I was a little shaky in the first inning, but also in the seventh and I just had to keep my composure and we’d get out of it.”
Linares underhands a toss to Gaither first baseman Jeffery Cavicchi for the final out.
North agreed.
“He’s a bulldog, a great pitcher,” he said. “He’s definitely not afraid, and I wasn’t going to take (the ball) from him, unless he gave up another run, so then we might have a little fight over it.”
Gaither head coach Nelson North visits the mound after Sickles gets two men aboard in the seventh inning.
Luksis said the team knew what Linares would be bringing on the mound.
“We’ve seen him several times over the last three years,” he added. “He was just keeping us off balance and attacking us because he does a good job of throwing a lot of strikes — on three pitches — and he’s a competitor and a good pitcher that they have.
“I thought we might (face) him last week, so we’ve been talking about him since last week and were hoping to get some better at bats from the offense, too. … But we’re very familiar with seeing these guys in the postseason, so maybe we’ll see him again.”
Sickles CF Jake Taylor runs down a ball.
With the district tournaments kicking off next week, both Sickles and Gaither are well aware yet another regional matchup could be in the works. It would mark the third-straight year the two would meet in regions: with a 13-inning marathon in 2024 that saw the Gryphons prevail 2-1, as well as Sickles defeating the Cowboys 7-1 in the region final, en route to the 2023 state championship.
“I doubt we were looking to face them twice (in one season),” Linares said, “but we also saw it as a challenge. It’s great to beat them twice, but the third time, when it’ll be in the postseason, that’s when it matters, man.
“(I) hope to see them in regionals.”
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#2 Gaither 5
#6 Sickles 3
G 100|000|4 – |5|6|2
S 200|000|1 – |3|7|0
W – Linares (4-2); L – Dial
2B – Pina (G); HR – Mirza (G). Records – G (17-7); S (17-7).
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Gryphons senior Jordan Yost scores a run in the first inning.
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Anthony Linares needed just 98 pitches to work a complete-game win.
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Sickles senior Brandon Gonzales tossed 4 2/3 innings, not allowing a run after a leadoff homer in the first.
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Gaither 2B Angel Hernandez
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David Pina (2-for-4) helped seal the Cowboys win with a two-run double in the seventh.
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Sickles rightfielder Zach Dial settles under a pop fly.
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Gaither 1B Jeffery Cavicchi takes a throw over.
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Sickles RHP Zach Dial
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Gaither’s Eddy Rojo
