Pope John Paul II Hangs On To Beat Westminster Academy

On a cool South Florida winter evening, two teams reminded us why it is that we love baseball. They played with the passion and the intensity of a playoff game. They tested each other, played that happy, small-ball, scrappy-style, old-fashioned baseball. In the end, the Pope John Paul II Eagles edged an energetic Westminster Lions team 5-4.

The Eagles opened the flood gates in the bottom of the second inning when Stephen Gogreve got a base hit and advanced to second on a mishandled ball by the left fielder. Designated hitter Josh Parker, after a good battle at the plate with Lions starting pitcher Blake Kidwell and on a two-and-two pitch, ripped a scorcher of a line drive right on the right field line for a stand-up triple that gave the Eagles the first run of the game.

Continuing the hit parade, Chris Graffeo placed a well-hit ball in a gap between first and second for an RBI single, bringing Parker home. Dom Baldino followed with a single to right field. With runners on first and second, Nick Transleau placed a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners to second and third. Graffeo later scored on a balk, while Dom Baldino advanced to third on the same play. Baldino then scored on a wild pitch, putting four runs on the board for the Eagles.

Pope John Paul went on to score their last run of the game in the bottom of the third.

“We work on situational hitting. Those are the things that we need to fine tune to win big games,” Eagles Manager Peter Graffeo said. “There were other opportunities we missed. We stranded a few runners.”

On the defensive end, the Eagles played consistently, making a few good plays. The first baseman, Chris Graffeo, had two good picks in the top of the first inning to help keep the Lions at bay, if only momentarily.

“Our first baseman did a good job defensively, that gets our pitchers going,” Graffeo said.

The pitching for the Eagles was consistent, allowing only three walks and combining for eight strikeouts.

The Westminster Lions played with a lot of intensity, passion and energy. Their dugout was alive the entire game.

“We have great team chemistry,” Lions Manager Nick James said. “These [preseason] games are great in helping us see where we are, and what we need to work on.”

The Lions scored their four runs painstakingly, one in the top of the fourth, as Andrew Gross placed a terrific bunt down the third-base line for a single. With one out, Weston Clemente lined a shot into left field for a base hit, loading the bases. Gross scored on an errant throw from third to home plate.

The Lions put another run on the board in the fifth and two in the top of the sixth. It was that tenacity and never-give-up mentality along with good hitting that allowed the Lions to keep the game close.

Westminster had several opportunities with the bases loaded that it could not capitalize on, twice in the top of the fourth, and once in the top of the sixth.

“We just didn’t get the hit we needed,” James said.

Defensively, the Lions had their share of errors, mainly while attempting pickoff plays at second base.

“This preseason tournament gives us the chance to work on these types of plays,” James said. “I’d rather make a mistake here and work on it than in a regular-season game.”

In the top of the seventh, with the Eagles ahead by a run, Coach Graffeo gave the ball to his senior closer, Zander Retamar.

“Zander is my closer. Win or lose, I’m going with him,” Graffeo said.

Retamar pitched a 1-2-3 inning to close out the game.

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