Cannons Advance With 7-4 Win Over Eagles

Win and advance.

Lose and wait for your fate to be determined later.

Both the Eagles and the Cannons knew that winning put them in the next round, so it was important to come out to a good start.

“It’s always a great opportunity to come and get a chance to play against a great program,” said Cannons coach Nick James. “This tournament is the only time that allows for our juices to get flowing. It’s a spring-time intensity and the kids feed off it.”

The Cannons used that energy and spirit to come from four runs down to clip the Eagles 7-4 on Saturday. The win puts the third-seeded Cannons in a best-of-three series against sixth-seeded Panthers Baseball Club starting Wednesday at Coral Springs High.

“We are excited to advance,” James said. “Anytime we get a chance to keep playing and improving, that’s a great thing for our program.”

Things got off to a good start for the Cannons as Weston Clemente and Max Boling tossed two innings if shutout baseball before the Eagles scored four runs on four hits.

After recording the first out of the third inning, Jose Genoa, Ryan Randolph, KJ Mayo and Luis Silverio connected for consecutive hits. Mayo and Silverio picked up RBIs while scoring on groundouts to give the Eagles an early 4-0 lead.

The Cannons chipped away by scoring one in the bottom half of the third inning. Andrew Gross walked and advanced to third on a single by Jeremy Viveros. Gross came around to score on a throwing error by the pitcher, cutting the lead to three.

The Cannons tied the game in the bottom of the fifth, scoring three runs on two hits. Nick Gaunter walked, Gross singled and Jeremy Viveros walked to load the bases with one out. After a lazy flyout by Daniel Dinofrio, Clemente delivered with a two-run single. The Cannons tied it on a wild pitch that allowed Viveros to score.

The Eagles answered in the sixth, loading the bases with one out. The next hitter, Ryan Rudolph, hit a potential go-ahead sacrifice to left field, but the runner was doubled off as he left early.

“We gave up a run there,” Eagles coach Todd Fitz-Gerald said. “Maybe that play changes the momentum. I don’t know, but we made too many mistakes of that variety tonight.”

The Cannons took advantage in the sixth, scoring three runs to take the lead. Josh Viveros reached on an error and advanced to second on a fielder’s choice by Zach Gonzalez. Indecision by the pitcher allowed for Gonzalez to reach safely as well. After a sacrifice bunt, Sam Etter and Thomas Messer connected for back-to-back RBI singles to make it 6-4. The Cannons tacked on another run on a bases-loaded bean ball.

It was all reliever Donofrio needed as he retired the side in the seventh. The right-hander hurled three shutout innings to pick the victory.

“We are a small school,” Donofrio said. “Anytime we get a chance to play against great teams and show them we can play with them is nice. We just play hard.”

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