Baseball roundup: NSB, Deltona capture district championships; Spruce Creek drops thriller
The District 2-7A Championship couldn’t be decided in seven innings.
It needed more than nine. Not even 11 would work.
No. 1 Spruce Creek and No. 2 Lake Mary went 12 innings in a thriller the Rams eventually won 4-3 Thursday at Sanford Memorial Stadium.
The Hawks grabbed a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning and held it until the seventh, when Lake Mary knotted it. The score remained 1-1 until the 12th. The Rams broke through for three runs in the top of the inning, and Spruce Creek responded with only two in the bottom half.
Senior Shane Lavin started for the Hawks (18-9) and turned in five shutout innings. He allowed only three hits. Lavin left the mound with a 1-0 lead, which sprouted from a sacrifice bunt by junior Peyson Garcia that plated junior Tyler Boyesen in the fourth.
Spruce Creek pulled within just one out of sealing a district title. With two gone and the bases juiced in the top of the seventh, John Michael Howell singled home a run to tie the game.
In the eight, ninth and 10th, the Hawks received dandy bullpen work from senior Andrew Ezell. He tossed three shutout frames with seven strikeouts. They were unable to support him with any runs, though.
In the top of the 12th, junior CJ Asbill’s second inning toeing the rubber for Spruce Creek, Lake Mary loaded the bases with back-to-back hit-by-pitches and a single. The next batter, Sebastian Gonzalez, flew out to center field, but it brought the lead runner home.
The other two runners came around to make it 4-1 one batter later when Hunter Wallace reached on an error.
In the bottom of the inning, the Hawks got off to a great start. Junior Devon Crown singled, and junior Lamar Edwards doubled. Edwards led the squad with three hits.
A sacrifice fly by junior Lucas Badalato produced a run, cutting the deficit to 4-2. After a strikeout, Ezell hit a two-out, RBI single to trim it to 4-3.
The Rams clinched their win by getting Boyesen, the following batter, to pop out.
New Smyrna Beach shuts out Oviedo (District 4-6A)
For the second game in a row, New Smyrna Beach’s pitching staff delivered a shutout. This time, No. 3 Oviedo was on the receiving end, as the fourth-seeded Barracudas cruised to an 8-0 victory in the District 4-6A finals.
Sophomore Tate Haag starred on the mound and in the batter’s box.
He hurled 6⅔ scoreless innings, surrendering just one hit and two walks. He struck out four Lions. He also had two hits and drove in a team-best six runs.
New Smyrna Beach took firm control with four runs in the top of the first inning. With the bases loaded, sophomore Landon McClain walked. Then, Haag ripped a double, clearing the bags to boost the lead to 4-0.
In the third, Haag’s sacrifice fly padded it to 5-0.
The final runs came in the fifth. Haag and senior Brody Kelly slammed back-to-back doubles. Haag’s knocked in two runs and Kelly’s one.
Junior Jayden Colamonico entered to get the last out of the contest.
Deltona thumps Pine Ridge (District 5-5A)
Deltona got some revenge.
After losing all three regular-season matchups to their crosstown rival, the Wolves run-ruled Pine Ridge 17-2 in five innings at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. In the process, they captured a district championship.
No. 3 Deltona (10-15) rolled to eight runs in the top of the first. It compiled the first five before the top-seeded Panthers got two outs in the inning.
Senior Matt Chase lofted a sacrifice fly that resulted in the first run. A batter later, junior Jay Albizu doubled to push the second and third runs in.
Overall, six Wolves tallied RBIs in the game. Senior Garrett Thompson paced the club with three. Albizu, junior Jayden Lochiatto and senior JJ Robles each notched two. All four of those players also collected two hits apiece.
Senior Jesse Page pitched all five frames for Deltona.
Pine Ridge (15-11) picked up its first run in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI single by junior Tommy Soltysiak. Soltysiak was also involved in the Panthers’ second run. He reached on an error in the bottom of the third, which plated a run.
The Wolves added five runs in the fourth inning and four runs in the fifth to solidify the rout.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: New Smyrna Beach, Deltona win baseball districts; Spruce Creek falls
