80 Grade Scouting Notes: Wesley Chapel vs Mater Charter Academy 5A State Title Game
The 5A State Title game was a matchup of two relatively young teams that both swung the bat well all day. The story of the day was the timely hitting by the Mater Charter Academy Lions and the ability of Starting Pitcher Alfrin Rosario to navigate around the traffic on the bases all game. The Wildcats of Wesley Chapel threatened to score right away thanks to a lead off single by Nolan Hartley.
Hartley would go on to swipe 2B giving the Wildcats a runner in scoring position in the top of the 1st. Junior, Zorre Wright, then would put together a scrappy AB as he battled with two strikes on him with a single to RF, but Hartley was held up at 3B. Wright would go on to steal 2B, but Wesley Chapel was not able to capitalize on the two runners in scoring position as Rosario worked out of the jam unscathed.
Mater Academy didn’t take long to respond with some offense of their own as they got singles from Eiker Noguera and Yodelkis Quevedo. Senior Bryan Arrieta put the Lions on the board first with a 2RBI hit into CF.
Alfrin Rosario would go on to drive in Arrieta with a Double to help out his own cause to make it 3-0 Lions. Noguera drove in the 4th run of the day for the lions in the bottom of the 2nd with a single into RF. The Wildcats never quit however, as Nolan Hartley sparked the Wesley Chapel offense to lead off the 3rd inning with a Triple into LF.
Cole Ranchel would battle to put the Wildcats on the board as he stayed on a Rosario breaking ball just long enough to poke it into RF for an RBI bloop single.
But Lions offense kept threatening as they manufactured another run in the 4th thanks to a deep Sac Fly to CF off the bat of Senior Jeuri La Rosa.
Mater Academy added their final insurance run in the bottom of the 6th when Bryan Fernandez drove in the runner from 3B with an RBI single into CF.
Although the bats for both sides swung it well, the MVP for the Lions on the day was Western Oklahoma State Commit Alfrin Rosario. Rosario got into some trouble as the Wildcats collected 9 hits off of him, however Rosario seemed to get better with his back against the wall.
Due to the Rosario reaching his pitch count he was pulled with 1 out in the 7th inning for Adrian Pena who was able to record 2 quick outs sealing the Lions 5A State Championship victory. Congratulations to the Mater Charter Academy Lions players and coaches on their victory. Also, congratulations to the Wesley Chapel Wildcats players and coaches on a great season.
80 Grade Scouting Notes: Alonso @ Venice Game 2 of FHSAA 7A Regional Championship
Game 2 of the FHSAA 7A Region 2 Championship had everything that you could want in a playoff matchup. The game started off as a pitchers duel as Bryan Alonso got the ball for the Ravens and cruised through 4 scoreless innings working around a few Venice hits early in the game. The Venice ace, Jackson Lucas, did what he has done his whole career by filling up the zone with a plethora of off-speed pitches keeping hitters off balance. The Troy commit, worked 5 scoreless for the Indians to start the game.
The offense for the Indians came alive in the bottom of the 5th when Nic Dunn led off with a Triple to RF. Jonathan Mauro broke the scoring drought the next AB as he drove Dunn in with a sharp single into LF.
Following a wild pitch and a Brodie Whitlock sac bunt to move over the runner over to 3B, August Backman drove in the 2nd run of the game for the Indians with an RBI Single to RF.
With their backs against the wall and facing elimination, the Ravens responded immediately as they faced the Lucas a 3rd time through the order. A walk to the 9 hole hitter and then followed by a Double by Raymond Llanes, Alonso was threatening to tie things up quickly in the top of the 6th. Coach Faulkner went to his bullpen at this point to bring in August Backman. The Ravens caught a break on Backman’s first pitch of the game as Daniel Despaine used the turf to his advantage with a high infield chopper that he beat out for an RBI infield single.
Alvin Santiago then proceeded to tie the game up with a Sac Fly to CF on the first pitch that he saw.
With the game now tied 2-2, Samuel Fernandez came up with Despaine on 1st. Fernandez proceeded to unleash on his first pitch that he saw to send the ball deep over the LF fence for an 2 run HR giving the Ravens a 4-2 lead.
Two more doubles would follow for the Ravens as they would go on to put up 5 runs in the top of the 6th. With a 3 run lead Coach Faedo turned to his trusted reliever, Marcelo Diaz Villalon, after Bryan Alonso walked the lead off hitter in the bottom half of the 6th. Diaz Villalon would cruise through the heart of the Indians lineup retiring all 6 batter he faced closing out a 5-2 victory for the Ravens to force a Game 3 in Tampa on Saturday.
80 Grade Scouting Notes: Alonso vs. Sarasota Game 1 of FHSAA 7A Region 2 Semifinals
Recap of the FHSAA 7A Region 2 Semifinal game between the Alonso Ravens and the Sarasota Sailors.
The Alonso Ravens traveled south to Sarasota HS to face off with the historical powerhouse program in the Sarasota Sailors. Pitching and timely hitting was the key for game as Alonso was able to pick up a few key timely hits on the night while also preventing Sarasota from doing the same.
The Ravens got things started in the Top of the 1st as they took advantage of a leadoff double to start the game by Raymond Llanes. Quality situational hitting by Daniel Despaine moved Llanes over to 3B so that Alvin Santiago could jump on this first pitch to leg out a RBI infield single to put the Ravens on the board.
Julian Batista got the start on the mound for Alonso and he was sharp all night long. Leaning on a solid 3 pitch mix to keep hitters off balance he was able to keep his composure navigating through the few innings he had runners in scoring position. Batista stranded runners in scoring position in 4 of his 6 innings of work, most notably the 3rd inning with a savvy fake to 3B and throw to 1B pick off move to end the inning.
Sailors starter, Cesar Garmendia minimized damage and gave his team a shot to win going 6 innings only allowing 3 runs (1 earned) with 4Ks. However, the Ravens continued to pick up timely hits and showed off the ability to play solid team offense up and down their lineup. The Ravens added their 2nd run of the game in the Top of 3rd as Daniel Despaine reached on an error and advanced to 3rd later in the inning on a stolen base and single by Santiago. Ihonathan Perez proceeded to drive in Despaine with a Sac Fly to right field.
The Ravens would go on to score again with the combo of Despaine and Santiago who picked up back to back hits again in the 5th. Despaine would come across to score on a Sailors passed ball.
The Sarasota bats fought hard early as they threatened to score in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th innings. Patrick Drymon was stranded at 3B in the 2nd inning after a leadoff single.
Leadoff hitter and UNF commit, Mark Metcalf, picked up a 2 out Triple in the 3rd but was stranded.
The talented young Braedon MacKay led off the 4th with a sharp single on a first pitch fastball eventually being stranded at 2B.
Christopher Padilla came in to close things out for the Ravens in the 7th filling up the zone. He got a quick pop out to the catcher followed by a ground out and strikeout to end the game.
Game 2 of the series will be tonight at Sarasota HS. Look for the Sailors to try to force a Game 3 back at Alonso!