Pierson Pitches Monarch Past St. Thomas In Class 7A Regional

The lead was slipping.

A pair of leadoff walks, a two-base error on a throw that scored one and an RBI single that followed put Monarch ace pitcher Andrew Pierson in the precarious situation of seeing St. Thomas Aquinas bring the go-ahead run to the plate with the Knights clinging to a 5-3 lead in the top of the seventh inning.

At stake was a spot in Tuesday’s Class 7A regional semifinals.

For the losing team, its season would be over.

From the Monarch dugout, coach Joe Franco called out to Pierson: “You got it (number) four.”

Three groundball outs later, Pierson and his Monarch teammates tossed their gloves in the air and jumped up and down as Monarch held on to defeat St. Thomas Aquinas 5-4 in the Knights’ first regional quarterfinal in school history.

The Knights (19-4) will host Nova on Tuesday in a regional semifinal. The Titans advanced by edging Northeast 1-0.

“I said to Andrew before the game that this is his game win or lose,” Franco said. “He’s been our rock for us for four years. He’s been pitching great for us for four years. He did a great job of keeping his emotions in check and making sure that he picked up his teammates.”

Pierson, who turned down an offer to play next fall at Division I Chicago State University and instead verbally committed to Division II Eckerd College (St. Petersburg) to stay in the state, tossed a complete game, struck out seven and allowed five hits.

The left-hander located his 78-81 mph fastball well early, got solid backing from his fielders and had to work through five walks but ultimately improved to 10-2.

Pierson had been dominant through the first five innings by allowing just two hits, but he had to work out of trouble in the sixth inning by stranding two runners after buckling down to strike out the side.

“When I first came here to pitch, I always had to work my way to the top,” Pierson said. “I think I’ve done that and given my coach a reason to trust me to leave me out there and play. No one in their right minds expected us to win, but we did.”

Knights’ first baseman Nick Alonso came up with the big knock. Alonso broke a 1-1 tie as part of a three-run fourth inning with a go-ahead, two-run home run that easily sailed over the 315-foot sign in left field and over the portable classrooms.

Catcher Josh Mila finished 2 for 3 with a RBI double and a run scored. Brian George, Bobby Jakubek and Kenny Finley also scored.

For the Raiders (14-9), Enrique Finol, Jimmy Wright, John McNamara, Ben Siegel, Joey Couture, Mike High, Tyler Robinson, Dante Gentile and Brock Disney were among the nine seniors who played their final high school game.

Alec Byrd went 2 for 3 with two singles and a sacrifice bunt. Wright drove in two runs on a pair of sacrifices, leadoff hitter Alec Spano scored two runs, and pinch-hitter Mike High and Peter Nicoletto each scored.

“These kids are good kids and they worked hard,” St. Thomas Aquinas coach Robert Lawson said. “I’m very proud of them. They played their hearts out, and that’s all you can ask. Credit to Monarch. They got the hits when they needed to, and their pitcher did a heck of a job. It just wasn’t our year.”

Leave a comment using your facebook account!