Archbishop Breaks Open A Close Game In Fifth, Routs Gibbons 11-1

It had all the makings of a classic match-up as undefeated District 15-4A rivals Cardinal Gibbons and Archbishop McCarthy squared off last night with first place at stake. The end result, an 11-0 Archbishop win, did not tell the entire story on this night.

The contest looked as if it would live up to its premiere game billing, as two of Broward’s top southpaws faced off, Thomas Woodrey of Cardinal Gibbons and Andre Martinez of Archbishop McCarthy.

The Chiefs had two batters reach base safely in both the first and second innings. However, a first inning double play short circuited the first inning rally. The Chiefs then squandered a two-on, no-out opportunity in the second, when Martinez retired three straight batters, the last two via strikes.

Gibbons’ Woodrey also worked out of a sticky first. With one down, Nick Basto blasted a triple to right-center field and was followed by Alexander Fernandez, who was hit by a pitch. With runners at the corners, clean-up hitter Nick Travieso then smashed a line drive right at second baseman Anthony Cerquozzi who turned the inning ending DP.

With one out in their half of the third, Mavericks designated hitter Brian Gonzalez and Jose Brizuela both grounded singles to the left side, putting runners at first and third. Alexander Fernandez then hit a scarifice fly, giving the Mavericks a 1-0 lead.

A one out fourth inning error allowed Gibbons’ Jordan Selbach to reach first safely. He stole second but was stranded there when Martinez retired the next two batters, once again closing the inning with a strikeout.

Woodrey escaped further trouble in the fourth inning when singles by Fernandez and Ivan Santos put Archbishop runners on base. Garrett Kennedy, however, grounded harmlessly to first squashing that threat.

In the top of the fifth, Chiefs lead-off hitter Jack Crittenberger drew his second free pass of the night with one down. He swiped second to get into scoring position but got no further as Martinez retired the next two batters. Ironically the final out of the inning was again recorded via strikes for the fourth consecutive inning.

The exciting and increasingly tense drama soon turned into a route when the home team struck for ten runs in the fifth and final frame.

Brandon Roberts started the rally by crushing the first pitch he saw for a big two-base hit to left-center field. After a failed sacrifice bunt attempt, Brizuela lined a one-out single to left. With his pitch count nearing eighty, Woodrey was done for the evening. Gibbons Head Coach Frank Pisani went to his bullpen and brought in Michael Hanke. Basto greeted the reliever with a full count hit and run RBI single through the vacated hole on the right side of the infield upping the score to 2-0.

After an outstanding play by freshman shortstop Tyler Norris, Gibbons was almost out of the jam. With two down, Nick Travieso was given an intentional walk, loading the bases for Chris Thompson, who smoked a line drive through the box, delivering two runs. Santos ripped a two-run triple to left center as the lead grew to 6-0. A pair of walks and a hit batter made it 7-0 and left the bags full for Brizuela. He didn’t disappoint the home crowd when he belted a game-ending grand slam homer over the right-center field fence to close out the scoring. Brizuela finished the night 3-for-4 with four RBIs.

“He’s a senior that loves to hit in key situations,” said Mavericks Head Coach Rich Bielski, speaking about Brizuela’s walk-off grand slam. “Breezy is a senior that provides a lot of team leadership. Tonight he was tremendous.”

The win puts Archbishop alone in first place as the stunned partisan crowd wondered how a 1-0 game could turn so quickly into an 11-0 blow-out. Cheifs Head Coach Frank Pisani could have kept his ace in the game longer, but instead chose to focus on the long-term goals of the team.

“It’s not a playoff game,” said Pisani, when asked about removing his ace in a 2-0 game in the fifth. “I don’t like any of my pitchers to throw more than eighty pitches at this point in the year. It’s more important to be healthy in April than it is to be healthy in March.”

Martinez threw a complete game, allowing no runs on three hits, while striking out six in picking up the victory. Woodrey took the loss for Gibbons.

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