Pine Crest Moves Into District 4A-13 Semifinals with 7-4 win Over Gibbons

The Pine Crest Panthers sat and watched number five seed North Broward Prep upset number four Somerset in the first District 4A-13 game of the day at Broward College, and it became clear in the late afternoon that the third-seeded Panthers did not want to suffer a similar fate against sixth-seeded Cardinal Gibbons.

Shea Parikh took the mound for the Panthers and dazzled for much of the afternoon in a 7-4 Pine Crest win. The victory moves the Panthers into the semifinals on Tuesday against Chaminade-Madonna.

Parikh was matched up with Gibbons ace Thomas Woodrey, a University of Miami signee. What figured to be a pitchers’ duel looked like it would come to fruition early, as Parikh and Woodrey each pitched scoreless first innings.

After leaving the bases loaded in the first, the Panthers got on the scoreboard first in the second inning. A single by Michael Pozzouli and an Eliot Saks hit-by-pitch was followed by a Zack Kone base hit, loading the bases. Sophomore Chandler Cissel then delivered a two-run single to right field. The opposite-field approach was something the team had worked on in preparation for Woodrey.

“We prepared all weekend for him (Woodrey),” Cissel said. “Last time we faced him, he threw a pot of pitches on the outer half, so we worked on making the adjustments this time around. First at-bat, I got a fastball and went the other way for a single. Then, in the second, I was looking away again, and I got a curve ball and was able to hit it to left again.”

The Panthers threatened against the Gibbons ace all day but were unable to break the game open until the fifth. In the third and fourth innings, the Panthers left four men on base, and on the day, Pine Crest stranded 12 runners.

In the fifth, however, the Panthers offense was able to break through for five runs. Alex Perez, Parikh, Sam Kava and Matt Rothenberg all had singles in the inning. Parikh drove in two, and Kava and Rothenberg one each. By the end of the frame, Pine Crest had built a 7-1 lead.

Parikh was on cruise control on the mound for most of the afternoon, but in the seventh, the Chiefs made their last stand. Michael Hanke led off the inning with a single, which was followed by consecutive hits from Richard Lang and Dalton Jugovic. Anthony Cerquozzi then drove in Hanke with a sacrifice fly to center, ending the day for Parikh on the mound.

Kone relieved Parikh and after a walk, was relieved by Cissel. The Chiefs still had no outs in the inning, and when Woodrey hit a bloop single to center, the tying run came to the plate. Cissel then struck out Tyler Norris before walking Chris Williams. With the tying run now at first, Cissel stepped up and struck out the final two Gibbons batters to preserve the win.

“We really worked hard focusing on this game,” Panthers head coach Glen Pierson said. “Shea was remarkable on the mound. He kept their batters off balance, and got a lot of groundball outs. I was very pleased with his performance and our overall team performance today.”

Up next for Pine Crest will be Chaminade-Madonna, and Parikh believes his team is ready for the challenge.

“We just have to come out with the same intensity we had today,” said Parikh. “Coming into this game, our focus was all we talked about, and we have to keep that focus tomorrow. If we can put some key hits together like we did today, and get strong pitching, then regionals is definitely a strong possibility.”

As is always the case in district play, one team has its season come to an end. In this one, that team was Cardinal Gibbons, but Chiefs head coach Frank Pisani was pleased with the way his team fought until the end.

“I told them at the end of the game how proud I was that they didn’t give up when we got down 7-1. We were one big hit away from tying the game, but that’s baseball. Tonight, we say goodbye to five seniors that have an unbelievable work ethic. They’re high-character seniors, and I wish them luck in the future. As for the guys coming back, we have some talented players, and we’ll work hard and get ready for next year.”

Leave a comment using your facebook account!