Water Genius of Tampa GotW:
Spano cruises, Freedom offense clicks in 9-1 win
Freedom junior David Simpkins shouts back toward his dugout after his three-run home run in the sixth pushed the game out of reach in a 9-1 Patriots win at Riverview.
By Jarrett Guthrie, Editor
RIVERVIEW – Freedom junior Gaige Spano admitted things got a little mixed up early in his outing against Riverview on Thursday night.
The Sharks’ top of the order hitters Justin Edwards and Peyton Newman each pounced on the first pitches they saw for singles in opposite direction, and a pair of passed balls moved them up before a Yadiel Rivera-Morales ground ball brought in a run to give Riverview an early lead.
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Riverview senior Justin Edwards watches his first-inning single go through the right side of the infield. Edwards would score the Sharks lone run
Then Spano got going forward, or maybe more accurately, started working backward. Aside from a pair of walks and two errors, Spano baffled the Sharks batters, going six innings, striking out five and not allowing another run.
“From (innings) two to six it was really just trusting my teammates and knowing they’ve got my back and I have their backs,” Spano said. “… In the first inning it was a little struggle because we had a little miscommunication between signs, but after that we got down. I worked in my offspeed earlier, I knew where I needed to put and when I needed to put it there. And it worked out well.”
Gaige Spano allowed hits to the first two batters he faced, then didn’t give up another hit across his six innings of work.
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In that span, Freedom’s offense came alive in support, answering right back and applying pressure throughout to head home with a 9-1 win, as seven Patriots had hits in the win.
“Their hitting was amazing, as always,” Spano said of the support. “When they have those kinds of at-bats in the game it gives us so much spirit in the dugout – it really gets us going.”
A pair of walks to start the second inning, an error and a stolen base, junior Luke Ledford lined a two-run single into left to give Freedom (3-1) the lead for good. Ledford, a transfer from Tampa Catholic, was one of three Patriots batter with a multi-hit game adding to his night with an RBI single in the fifth.
“I was really seeing the ball out of his (starting pitcher Parker Burt’s) hand really well,” Ledford said of his early production. “I saw he was throwing a lot of changeups, and when I got down 1-2, I kind of expected a fastball, but made the adjustment on the change and brought in those two runs.”
Luke Ledford sends a liner into left field to give Freedom a 2-1 lead in the second inning.
Aside from an error, Spano retired nine of the next 10 he faced, and his offense rewarded his efforts with a three-spot in the fifth as Devon Acord (3-for-4, two runs) singled in a run to center, Diego Puente-Marquez got a job done with an RBI sac fly, before Ledford added his second productive hit.
Devon Acord drives în a run on one of his three hits in the win.
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Diego Puente-Marquez gets the job done with a sac fly to right to drive in a run.
Patriots junior David Simpkins, who struck out six in Tuesday’s five-inning shutout win at Hillsborough, put the game way out of reach connecting on a second-pitch slider and sending it over the wall in left-center for his first homer of the season.
“I took a big hack at the first pitch,” Simpkins said of his sixth-inning at bat. “Then I just kind of told myself, ‘no, just stay easy. You have a 5-1 lead, so a good hit brings in two.’
“So, I was just feeling my swing and hit it, and that was really big because once you get that kind of lead on a team the energy just pushes us through.”
Gavin Tarr worked a 1-2-3 seventh inning and struck out a pair to wrap up Freedom’s win.
Gavin Tarr joined in on the action with an RBI groundout, then struck out a pair in relief to close out the game.
Sharks lefty Parker Burt struck out three in four-plus innings.
Riverview (2-2) senior lefty Parker Burt took the loss, allowing two runs over 4 1/3 innings, on four hits and two walks, while striking out three.
Freedom rounds out a three-game week with its home opener tonight against Sumner (2-1); and Riverview will host Plant (2-2) Saturday morning.
Freedom RF Logan Handville makes an inning-ending sliding catch on a tailing line drive in the fifth to strand a pair of runners aboard.
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Freedom 9
Riverview 1
F 020|034|0 – |9|11|2
R 100|000|0 – |1|2|2
W – Spano (2-0); L – Burt (0-1)
HR – Simpkins (F). Records – F (3-1); R (2-2).
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Yadiel Rivera-Morales smashes a pitch into the dirt in front of home plate toward the shortstop to drive in the game’s first run.
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Speed-up runner for the catcher Dominick Commiso slides safely into third on a two-base throwing error.
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Riverview C Jordan Shultz throws to second trying to get a base stealer in the second inning.
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Freedom’s Brady Hall moves around the bases. He was 1-for-4 in the win and scored two runs.
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Sharks 2B Driston Marino takes it himself to the bag for an out at second.
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Patriots 1B Parker Crafton takes a throw after a dropped strike three to complete a strikeout.
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RHP Gaige Spano had five strikeouts in his win on the mound.
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Freedom SS Luke Ledford
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Sharks senior KD Hess takes a throw at 1B for an out.
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Riverview SS Peyton Newman tags out a sliding Parker Crafton, trying to steal second.
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Riverview LHP Parker Burt
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Logan Handville followed up his sliding catch to end the fifth with a leadoff single to right in the top of the sixth.
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Freedom’s Brady Hall takes a pitch off the hand.
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David Simpkins sent this elevated pitch over the wall in left-center for his first homer of the year.
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Freedom head coach and Patriots alum Dane Moore congratulates Simpkins on his three-run homer.
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Dane Moore talks to his team in the postgame.
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First year Sharks head coach and Riverview alum Matthew Yates hits infield-outfield prior to Thursday’s home game.
