Regional baseball roundup: Spruce Creek stuns Bartram Trail on extra-inning, walk-off bunt
PORT ORANGE — Shane Lavin rounded first base and threw his batting helmet high into the air.
The Spruce Creek senior ended the Region 1-7A quarterfinal against Bartram Trail with a walk-off bunt Tuesday. He pinch hit with one out and a runner on third in the bottom of eighth inning, laying down a perfect safety squeeze that gave senior Lucas Tutunjian enough time to scramble home.
Just after Tutunjian scored to make it 7-6, Lavin’s celebration started. The Hawks jumped out of their dugout and chased him into the outfield.
“We knew he was going to do his job,” junior Peyson Garcia said. “We all had confidence that he was going to get it done, and he did.”
With the victory on their home field, No. 4 Spruce Creek (19-9) advanced to the region semifinals. It will travel to top-seeded Timber Creek on Friday.
“Tonight was a little ugly,” coach Matt Cleveland said. “But it's high school baseball. Sometimes it's ugly. I'm just proud of them for fighting back, continuing to fight back. We talk about having a short memory and turning the page and staying at zero.”
The Hawks had to do that multiple times against the Bears (16-12) — mostly notably in the seventh inning.
Spruce Creek entered the frame with a 4-3 lead. It sat three outs from clinching a victory. Instead, Bartram Trail put up three runs and took a 6-4 advantage.
The Hawks used four pitchers during the top of the inning.
Junior Garrett Grant started on the mound and completed six innings. He struck out seven Bears. After allowing just three runs, he trotted back out for the seventh, but the first two batters reached.
Senior Andrew Ezell replaced Grant. Bartram Trail tied it 4-4 two batters later with a bases-loaded walk by Jonathan Bay. Dominic Cantona strode to the plate next and was hit by a pitch, welcoming in the go-ahead run.
Junior Devon Crown came on in relief and faced only one batter. He issued a walk to Caleb Allinder to boost the Bears’ lead to 6-4.
Cleveland called to his bullpen once more, bringing in Garcia. He fanned the first batter he saw. The second batter, Landon Tippie, popped up a bunt to Tutunjian at third base. Tutunjian caught it and fired to Crown behind him to nail the runner hustling back to third. That limited the damage.
“We're down two, bases loaded, no outs,” Garcia said. “Everybody is kind of defeated, thinking the game is over. But I just come in, do my job, try to throw strikes and get outs. I ended up getting one strikeout and then the bunt double play. That was big. We got some momentum going.”
Cleveland added: “If they get one more run, we probably lose the game. That was so big. (Garcia) saved our season. He literally did. I'm so proud of that kid.”
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Crown lined a single into left field to kick off the bottom of the seventh. Junior Lamar Edwards followed him with a single of his own, and it caused some chaos.
On the single, Crown raced toward third base, beating Bartram Trail’s throw there. The Bears then attempted to get Edwards, who was trying to sneak up to second. Their throw sailed into right-center field.
Crown ran home, and Edwards progressed to third. Edwards scored while the next batter, junior Lucas Badalato, was in the batter’s box. Bartram Trail’s catcher tried to pick Edwards off third, but his throw also drifted into the outfield.
Tie game.
After Garcia walked the leadoff hitter in the top of the eighth, he recorded back-to-back Ks and got the last batter to pop out to Crown.
To begin the bottom of the eight, Tutunjian doubled down the right-field line. He sped to third on a pitch in the dirt while Garcia was at the plate.
Garcia almost brought the run in with a grounder to the second baseman, but the Bears’ infield was far enough in to hold Tutunjian at third.
Then, Lavin stepped to the plate. He pinch hit for freshman catcher Seamus Moylan. It was his first at-bat since April 19.
“Just natural instincts kicked in,” Lavin said.
“I was reading, right when I see the ball down, I've got to hurry up and score on it,” Tutunjian said. “Make sure I get down and make sure I don't get out.”
Lavin took the first pitch for a ball. On the second pitch, he squared and placed the bunt down. Tutanjian sprinted home.
Three Hawks — Crown, Edwards and Badalato — finished with two hits apiece. Badalato drove in a team-high two runs.
This was Spruce Creek’s second straight extra-innings contest. It played 12 innings during a district championship loss to Lake Mary last Thursday.
Flagler Palm Coast drops pitchers’ duel to Timber Creek (Region 1-7A)
Timber Creek scored the only run of the game in the first inning.
With two outs in the bottom of the first, Michael Thomas handed the Wolves a 1-0 lead on an RBI single. Otherwise, the two pitchers dominated.
Neither team needed its bullpen. Connor Mulready tossed all seven innings (three hits, nine strikeouts) for the Wolves. For No. 8 Flagler Palm Coast (14-13), senior Kevin Maya hurled six frames of one-run ball. He tallied five strikeouts.
New Smyrna Beach shut out by Buchholz (Region 1-6A)
No. 1 Buchholz snatched a 2-0 lead in the first inning and remained ahead the rest of the way during a 9-0 victory over No. 8 New Smyrna Beach.
The Barracudas (13-12) gathered six hits, including two doubles, but failed to push any runners around to score. They surrendered nine hits to Buchholz, whose starter Aidan Kastensmidt enjoyed six scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts.
Deltona falls just short against Sebring (Region 2-5A)
All five of the runs in Deltona’s 3-2 road loss to top-seeded Sebring came in the sixth inning.
The eighth-seeded Wolves (10-16) dented the scoreboard first. Junior Jay Albizu reached on an error, which scored senior William Martinez. One batter later, junior Jayden Lochiatto roped a single to left field to wave senior Matt Chase around.
In the bottom of the sixth, Blayne Humphrey knotted the game at 2-2 with a two-run single. He scored on a double by Dalton Todd.
Deltona had its last chance in the top of the seventh. Junior Yandiel Torres singled and Martinez drew a base on balls with one out. Senior Garrett Thompson hit a single to left field, but Torres was thrown out on his way to the plate.
Sebring got the final out, clinching the victory via strikeout.
Pine Ridge loses to Wesley Chapel (Region 2-5A)
After junior Tommy Soltysiak bunted in the only run for Pine Ridge in the top of the fourth inning, Wesley Chapel responded immediately.
The third seed notched two runs in the bottom of the inning en route to a 6-1 victory. Guillermo Rivera smacked a two-run double. Then, in the fifth, the Wildcats tacked on four more runs to distance themselves from the sixth-seeded Panthers (15-12).
Soltysiak was the only Pine Ridge hitter with two hits.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: FHSAA baseball: Spruce Creek beats Bartram Trail with walk-off bunt
