Wagner dominant in second-straight one-hitter
Lennard starter Myles Wagner dealt five innings of perfection against Hillsborough before finishing with his second-straight one-hit shutout.
By Chuck Frye, Senior Staff Writer
TAMPA – After a rough Saladino Tournament, Victor Martinez knew he needed to turn the tide.
“We all sat down as a staff and talked about what the plan was,” the Lennard head coach said after dropping all four games in the school vacation tourney. “Really, all we were trying to do is get some confidence and build off it.”
Behind seniors Myles Wagner and Mikie Locke, the tide has turned as the Longhorns have extended their win streak to four via a six-inning, 11-0 victory over host Hillsborough.
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Leading the way on the mound has been Wagner as the right-hander authored his second straight one-hit effort. After yielding a third-inning walk and a single with two outs in the sixth the week before against Spoto, Wagner threw five perfect innings with seven strikeouts against the Terriers before being touched up by Geisel Perez for an infield single to start the sixth. An error and hit batter gave Hillsborough its only scoring threat but Wagner stepped up, fielding an easy grounder and flipping to first to wrap up the shutout.
On the key to his recent success, Wagner said: “It’s just relaxing, doing what I do, go out there and do my very best.”
Junior starter Rocco Sabella kept Hillsborough in the game against Lennard before tiring in the fifth inning.
“We struggled on the pitching side the first half of the year,” Martinez explained. “The guys knew they were a lot better than they’ve shown. They took it personally to give this team a shot to go on a run and they’re doing just that.”
“I’ve been catching Myles for three years now,” catcher Locke said. “We have a good friendship so it helps a lot back there. I talk him through things and just let him go, let him be him.”
Mikie Locke asks the base umpire for time after his first-inning run-scoring double. Locke set a Lennard school record with the hit, his 17th career two-bagger (breaking a mark he previously held with 2024 alum Mattie Counts).
And Locke has also commanded the right-hand batter’s box recently, driving in the only run in the very first inning that the Longhorns (now 8-10) would need as part of a three-hit night.
“My approach (at the plate) has changed, looking first-pitch fastball, swinging early,” Locke explained. “It’s been working the past few games, being more aggressive.”
“The double in his first at-bat broke the school’s career record (with his 17th two-bagger),” Martinez said. “Mikie definitely sets the table and gets everybody going. When Mikie’s having a good game, everybody’s having a good game.”
Leadoff man Julian Ware dashes home in the first inning to score Lennard’s first run of the night and the only run needed for victory. Ware finished 3-for-4 with a hit by pitch, scoring twice and driving in a run.
And everybody certainly had a good game against the Terriers (now 7-13) right from the top of the order.
Sophomore lead-off man Julian Ware had three hits and was hit by a pitch, driving in a run, scoring twice and stealing a base. Freshman Ivan Carballo also had three base hits, while classmate Jacob Gonzalez added a pair with an RBI. No. 9 hitting senior Connor Adechoubou added a two-run single, junior Dalton Vernetti tacked on a run-scoring hit and scored twice, and DH Yovani DePablos smacked a sixth-inning double and later scored.
Lennard took a quick 3-0 lead after two innings then exploded for five runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth.
“In the first half of the year, we had some success on offense,” Martinez said. “We were scoring runs, we were doing things, but we just couldn’t find ways to win games early. It seems like it’s starting to gel now and we’re looking to keep everything rolling.”
Hillsborough third baseman Chase Dennis grabs a first-inning ground ball and fires to home plate …
… but Longhorns courtesy runner Kenny Marple beat catcher Jean Pena’s tag to score.
The Longhorns will be tested on the road to their fifth straight as they travel to take on Sickles on Thursday. Hillsborough hopes to snap its six-game winless skein on Thursday when it faces Leto on the road.
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Lennard 11
Hillsborough 0 – six innings
L 210|053|x – |11|14|1
H 000|000|x – |0|1|3
W – Wagner (0-0); L – Sabella (0-0)
2B – Locke, De Pablos (L). Records – L (8-10); H (7-13).
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Terriers head coach Bryan Burgess tosses a foul ball back to his bench.
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Lennard’s Jacob Gonzalez loads up to throw out a first-inning batter from the shortstop hole.
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Mikie Locke is greeted by first-base coach Ryan Rodriguez after his second-inning single, one of three safeties the senior had against Hillsborough.
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After an attempted third-inning squeeze bunt by Dalton Vernetti (21) went awry, Hillsborough catcher Juan Pena tracked down and tagged out base runner Ivan Carballo.
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With third baseman Dalton Vernetti in support, Lennard catcher Mikie Locke tracked down this third-inning pop-up.
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Surrounded by infielders Chase Dennis, Rocco Sabella, Ja’zyhun King Redd, and Geisel Perez, freshman Cristhian Alonso takes his warmups after getting the fifth-inning call.
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Hidden by Terriers pitcher Cristhian Alonso and a cloud of dust, Lennard sophomore Julian Ware slides in for a fifth-inning run.
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Lennard DH Yovani DePablos “rolls the dice” after a sixth-inning double.
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Hillsborough senior Taurence Harmon shows the team trainer his hand after being hit by a sixth-inning pitch.
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As Terriers batter Rocco Sabella chugs down the line, Lennard pitcher Myles Wagner flips the ball to first for the final out to complete a six-inning, one-hit shutout victory.
