Melton Pitches Coral Glades Past Taravella 3-0

While most teams spent their Wednesday evening inside sheltering from the rain, Coral Glades managed to fit in a key five-inning, 3-0 victory over Taravella that moved it into a tie with Douglas at the top of District 8A-11.

Senior Jacob Melton pitched five scoreless innings, striking out seven, as he out pitched Trojans ace Brady Acker.

“Acker is a really good pitcher, but Jacob has been our number one this year, and when he’s on, he’s a hard kid to hit,” Jaguars Manager Jorge Miranda said. “We put a couple of hits together, stayed aggressive on the bases, and once we got that first run, it really was a boost for us.”

The key hits all came in a three-run fourth inning just before a 22-minute rain delay stopped the action temporarily. Another heavy downpour finished off the field five outs later.

Acker and Melton traded three scoreless innings to open the game, but the Jaguars (4-0, 3-0) had a good chance to get on the board in the second.

Thomas Santarcangelo led off with a double, and then Acker loaded the bases thanks to a pair of walks, all with no outs. But the hard-throwing right-hander got a pair of key strikeouts and a superb pick at first base by Jack Kelley to get completely out of the jam.

In the fourth, Acker came unstuck, however.

A one-out single by Oliver Levine prompted some bench moves by Miranda that proved to be inspired decisions.

Pinch-hitter Alex Lara singled before Zach Thompson stepped up from the bench and drove home the game’s opening run.

Thompson then stole second and scored along with Lara when Brian Godoy’s single got through the infield to make it a 3-0 game. That was it for Acker, as he was replaced by Justin Walker.

Then came the rain, delaying things slightly, but not long enough for Melton to lose his focus or his stuff.

“I was feeling a bit tight, but I was able to still throw strikes,” Melton said, who got a strikeout and two groundouts after the rain to ensure the game would be official before the heavens opened again.

For the Trojans (4-1, 2-1), Manny Pantaleon was the only player in the game with multiple hits, as he went 2-for-2.

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