Taylor dazzles, Durda delivers as Sickles wins back-to-back titles
Sickles senior Ben Durda shouts to the skies after closing out his second-straight district championship victory, as the Gryphons defeated East Lake, 2-0.
By Chuck Frye, Senior Staff Writer
TARPON SPRINGS – One can only hope that Sickles and East Lake will get a chance to face each other again this season.
In what is fast becoming one of the better rivalries in the Tampa Bay area, the two squads battled once again Thursday for the Class 6A-District 11 title. Just like last year, it was a tense, pulse-pounding nail-biter of a game.
After second-seeded Sickles scratched out a pair of runs in the top of the first inning, left-handed starter Jake Taylor more than made the lead stand up until the top-seeded Eagles got their first hits of the night to open the seventh. And just like last year, submariner Ben Durda came in and faced down East Lake runners at second and third, striking out the final two batters to lock up the 2-0 victory and back-to-back district championships.
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“We won it last year at our place, and there’s no better feeling that getting to dogpile on (East Lake’s) field,” said Durda, who was ready to go from the fourth inning but had to wait his turn through Taylor’s dominant effort. “Of course, I was confident (in that sticky situation). I live for that moment.”
o say Sickles lefty Jake Taylor was dealing against East Lake is an understatement. The senior struck out five and carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning.
Durda’s opportunity almost didn’t arrive considering how well Taylor was dealing. Through six innings, the Eagles (21-4) offense consisted of an Eli Millian’s second-inning leadoff walk and a fifth-inning error that allowed Brayden Spink to reach. Neither Eagle advanced past first as Taylor showed a lot of faith in his teammates to back him up.
“Our defense has been a little shaky this year, I can’t lie,” admitted Taylor, who mixed in five strikeouts on the night. “I kept pounding the strike zone, trusting what my coach was calling.”
Whoa … no, go! After getting the stop sign from coach Eric Luksis, Jake Taylor gets waved home as East Lake’s outfield bobbles Cole Shearer’s first-inning base hit.
The trust got stronger when the Gryphons (18-8) took an early lead. Helping his own cause, Taylor led off with a line single to centerfield then sprinted to third when Cole Shearer (who also walked and was hit by a pitch) slashed a base hit past second baseman Tyler Roper’s dive into rightfield. A bobbled ball in the outfield turned head coach and third-base coach Eric Luksis’ stop sign into a green light for a surprised Taylor.
“I was confused because it seemed like it was a single to rightfield so why is he sending me, so I trusted him (and kept going),” Taylor said.
As Eagles catcher Rex Folger watched the ball sail to the backstop, Jake Taylor slides across home with what would be the winning run as teammate Emilio Salgado signals the senior safe.
“It took a little bit longer for them to get the ball in and Jake is one of the fastest guys we have,” Luksis explained. “You don’t want to make the first out at home plate, so you have to make sure he’s going to score. We took a little bit of a risk but it paid off.”
Shearer deftly advanced to second on the throw home and to third on Emilio Salgado’s ground out to first baseman Drew Gerber. This set the stage for junior Nick Grannis to drop down a perfect safety squeeze bunt that brought home, surprisingly, the last run to be scored.
“We knew runs were going to be tough with (East Lake ace) Cam (Boehm) on the mound,” Luksis said, and he was right.
Sickles’ leadoff man Jake Taylor leads off first base as East Lake ace Cam Boehm throws to the plate.
The junior righty, who also fanned five, mixed speeds and locations well, fending off two-out scoring opportunities for Sickles in the third, fourth, and fifth innings without further damage before being relieved by senior Tyler Boyd with one out in the seventh.
“Cam got stronger as the game went on,” said Eagles head coach Zack Roper. “He’s an immense competitor who pitched well, and we hoped that our offense could pick him up but on Tuesday, (Sickles) was the better team.”
But the way Taylor and his defense were balling, East Lake’s chances were slim.
The bottom of the third inning in three pictures: A rock at the hot corner, Gryphons sophomore third baseman Lee Melamut easily turns a tough grounder into the first out.
Centerfielder Zack Dial was owning the gaps and running down fly balls. Third baseman Lee Melamut was a vacuum, handling rocket shots to his left with ease. Catcher Salgado kept pitches in the dirt in front of him, not allowing either of the two runners to slide up a base.
The true momentum play came from shortstop Charlie Martz in the sixth inning. With the heart of the Eagles’ order behind him, Boehm lashed a hot shot at Martz who went down to field the grounder. The ball took a wicked high hop but Martz was equal to the task, flashing his leather up to grab the ball in the pocket and fire a perfect throw to first and end the inning.
“Charlie came back after the (fifth-inning) error and made the freaking play of the night,” Luksis said. “That was a big-league play right there.”
Sickles shortstop Charlie Martz is locked in on his fifth-inning throw to first baseman Nick Grannis.
Showing no quit, East Lake broke up Taylor’s no-hitter with back-to-back singles from Aiden Sherifi and Eli Millian to start the seventh.
In came Durda ready to deal. After Drew Gerber dropped down a successful sacrifice bunt to put two runners in scoring position, he took the bats out of Spink and Costa Spyridakos’ hands, fanning the pair swinging to send his teammates into a frenzy.
“Coach Luksis told me that if Jake gets into any trouble that the ball is going to be mine,” Durda said. “I’m just happy we were able to (win the district title) again.”
Sickles reliever Ben Durda drops down under to deliver his final pitch, a seventh-inning strike that wrapped up the Gryphons’ district championship, just like he did in last year’s title game.
And the squad got another victory post-game as Luksis gave the team the next three days off.
“I never do that so that’s why it’s a really big deal,” Luksis said with a smile. “(With no games until Friday) we can get a little creative when you get that extra time off.”
Sickles runner Sean Kloehn just got his foot on the bag before East Lake shortstop Aiden Sherifi’s tag for a second-inning stolen base.
With Sickles advancing to Regions as a champion and East Lake assured to move on as an at-large team, a rematch of last season’s semifinal (won by the Gryphons in the winner-take-all third game) is a possibility.
“We knew (the Eagles’) record was amazing so we were a little, whoa, like are they way better than us?,” concluded Taylor. “But knowing that we beat them on their field, against their ace, is a great feeling.”
Durda took that feeling even further.
“I think it really sets the tone on how good a team we are when we’re playing together. We’re clicking at the right time, for sure.”
The entire Sickles roster dogpiles on reliever Ben Durda to celebrate defending its Class 6A, District 11 crown against East Lake.
⚾ Class 6A-District 11 Championship ⚾
#7 Sickles 2
East Lake 0
S 200|000|0 – |2|5|1
E 000|000|0 – |0|2|2
W – Taylor; L – Boehm; S – Durda
Records – S (18-8); E (21-4).
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We’re number one, again: Sickles poses with its second straight district championship trophy.
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In one of several defensive gems Sickles authored in its district final win, rightfielder Cole Shearer hustled over to the foul line to track down an East Lake fly ball that ended the second inning.
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After tracking down a grounder toward the bag, Sickles second baseman Ben Durda puts his all into his throw to first.
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After leaning on his defense, pitcher Jake Taylor takes matters into his own hands by pouncing on an infield dribbler and firing to first to retire Madden James (foreground).
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Charlie Martz’s head-first slide allowed the senior to avoid shortstop Aiden Sherifi’s tag for a fourth-inning stolen base.
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Sophomore Cole Shearer (right) shows teammate and classmate Lee Melamut where he got hit with a fifth-inning pitch.
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Sickles players shower the air with water after its road victory to win its district tile.
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Senior Emilio Salgado (15) delivers the newly-won district title trophy to his overjoyed teammates.
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Left to right, seniors Zack Dial, Ben Durda, Jake Taylor, and Sean Kloehn are front-and-center with their hard-earned hardware, keeping the district title away from top-seeded playoff rival East Lake.
