Chaminade-Madonna Cruises To 7-2 Victory Over Calvary To Win 4Him Classic

Pitchers always love it when their offense stakes them with good run support.

But it’s even more rewarding when they put those runs on the board themselves.

In what effectively became the championship game of the 4Him Classic Tournament hosted by Calvary Christian on Friday, Chaminade-Madonna starting pitcher Chris Flores was key from both sides of the diamond in leading the Lions to a 7-2 victory over the host Eagles.

The senior left-hander pitched a one-hitter through six strong innings of work, and was also 2-for-4 from the plate with two instrumental hits.

“It’s always nice to get some runs because it gives me room to work with. It gives me more leeway with my pitches,” Flores said. “I felt pretty comfortable out there today. I was getting ahead with my change-up and then was able to put them away with my curve.”

Flores threw 91 pitches total and finished with six strikeouts and four walks.

The 4Him Classic was devised by Calvary head coach Gregg Mucerino as a way for the team to get some tournament games in during Spring Break. The school’s break fell later in the year than most schools and thus all other available Spring Break tournaments already had occurred. The tournament operated under a round-robin system that allowed each of the four participating teams to play one another. Friday’s match-up evolved into the championship after the Eagles and Lions both won their two previous games leading up to their contest. Each defeated Lake Worth Christian and Olympic Heights.

Trailing 1-0 leading off the fourth inning, Flores reached on a leadoff single to get things started for the Lions (13-11). Julian Pino then sent the first pitch he saw straight back, careening off of starting pitcher Austin Sovay and allowing him to reach safely, and Kevin Nader then loaded the bases after being hit by a pitch.

Flores’ courtesy runner, Mike Ramunno, came in to tie the game on a sacrifice flyout from catcher Keith Oren. Ronnie Socash then hit into a fielder’s choice groundout that brought Pino in, and Nader came across on a wild pitch to put the Lions up 3-1 with all the runs they would need.

Chaminade added a pair of runs in both the fifth and six innings to pull away, highlighted by a two-run single from Flores.

Pino led the offense in going 2-for-3 and also reaching on a walk, and shortstop Luis Guillorme was 2-for-4 with a stolen base and a run.

“It’s good for this right before districts,” Flores said. “They are a good team, and we saw good pitching. We are getting comfortable toward the end of the season now.”

The Eagles (15-6) had won eight straight heading into Friday’s contest, and the loss is also their first home defeat of the season after winning their first 11 home games.

“We’d been playing well for a while, and this was a good dose of reality,” Calvary coach Gregg Mucerino said. “Flores pitched well. He threw with good command of his off-speed pitch. They played well, they played great defense, and we have got to get better.”

Senior Ryan Reilly recorded the Eagles’ only hit in the first pitch of their first at-bat. Reilly sent it to shallow center field, then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Stephen Barnett and stole third base to pull within 90 feet of home.

Andrew Liberty then connected on a pitch deep enough to allow Reilly to come in from third to give Calvary it’s only lead.

It was Liberty who tallied the team’s only other run after drawing a leadoff walk in the bottom of the sixth inning and eventually coming around to score on a fielder’s choice groundout.

The Lions’ Luis Guillorme was named tournament MVP, and his teammate Brandon Burgess was named Outstanding Pitcher. Calvary’s Stephen Barnett won the Outstanding Hitter award.

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