Big Fourth Inning Propels Douglas To 1-0 Series Lead Over Cardinal Gibbons

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The last time that the Douglas and Cardinal Gibbons teams met this fall, they were left without a winner thanks to darkness. With the controversial end to that game just over a month ago fresh in both teams’ minds, the two teams squared off again Monday night in the first of their three-game series to kick off the second round of the HSBN/Perfect Recruits Fall Classic tournament.

This time around, Douglas used a four-run fourth inning to ensure that there would be a clear winner of this game. After scoring four runs to extend their lead to 7-2, time soon ran out on the Chiefs, and the Eagles had themselves a 7-3 win and a 1-0 series lead.

For much of the night, the Eagles and Chiefs had opportunities to score, but as is sometimes the case in the fall, the offenses were a little bit rusty. The teams combined to leave nine runners on base in the first three and a half innings. That trend may have continued in the bottom of the fourth had it not been for a key, bases-clearing triple to right field off the bat of Luis Silveiro. The Eagles third baseman finished the game with three RBI, two stolen bases, and a run scored.

“Silveiro came up big tonight,” Douglas head coach Todd Fitz-Gerald said. “We were struggling all night with the pressure situations, and Luis did a good job of picking up his teammates with that triple.”

Douglas got on the board first when Alex Dowell walked and stole second and third before scoring on a Derek Fritz ground out. The Eagles tacked on their second run in the next inning when Silveiro scored on an error. In the third, Douglas extended its lead to 3-0 and looked on its way to victory.

Cardinal Gibbons fought back in the top of the fourth. A hit-by-pitch and a single by Thomas Woodrey put the Chiefs in business. A sacrifice fly by Connor Durkin and three walks helped Gibbons cut the lead to 3-2.

In their half of the fourth, Douglas’ Ryan Rudolph reached on an error, and Colton Bottomley followed with a double. Alec Dowell walked, Brandon Dreichler reached on a fielder’s choice and Fritz walked, setting up Silveiro’s game-breaking triple. The Eagles’ ability to respond after Gibbons tightened the game in the fourth impressed Fitz-Gerald, although the first-year Douglas coach knows his team still has plenty of room for improvement.

“It was nice to see our guys come back and respond after they (Gibbons) scored those runs, so that was a positive tonight,” he said. “We do need to be much better when the pressure is on. We had too many strikeouts with runners on-base, and these players work too hard to get beaten in those type of situations.”

With the win, Douglas moves within one game of the semifinals of the Fall Classic. The Eagles and Chiefs will play game two of their series tonight at Coral Springs High School at 7:30 p.m.

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