First Baptist Eagles Rally Late To Win 4HIM Classic

The Eagles from First Baptist of Bradenton came from behind late in the 4HIM Classic championship game to defeat the Westwood Christian Warriors 4-3.

The 4HIM Classic was hosted by Calvary Christian Academy, and Manager Gregg Mucerino was more than pleased with the results.

“This is our second year hosting the 4HIM Classic,” said Mucerino. “It’s all about learning to compete and honor God with our actions and behavior. This year we were able to grow the tournament pool. We had six teams, one being from Washington D.C. The fellowship was great. The weather was unbelievable. There’s nothing better for high school baseball than a Spring Break tournament.”

Eagles pitcher Juan Terron earned the win, throwing a complete game. He struck out ten, walked one, and gave up three runs on four hits.

“It was a great game today, our pitcher Juan Terron kept us in there when we were struggling,” said Eagles Manager Gene Reynolds. “We made a couple of errors and put [Westwood] in a position to score runs.”

Terron started things off by striking out the side in the top of the first inning. He then gave up two runs in the second and one in the third before settling down and keeping the Warriors scoreless for the rest of the game while allowing only two hits the rest of the way.

For his part,  Andy Rivera pitched six and two-third innings for the Warriors, giving up three runs on six hits, striking out seven and walking two.

Rivera was pitching a shutout, giving up just three hits until the sixth inning, when things began to unravel for the Warriors.

“The last two innings we fell apart,” said Westwood Christian Assistant Coach Horacio Acosta. “[Rivera] was getting tired, a couple of errors at the end cost us. It was a tough loss, it was a hard-fought game.”

The Eagles were down 3-0 in the bottom of the sixth and were just six outs from seeing their chance at the title slip away.

With two outs and bases empty center fielder Rodney Forbes was hit-by-pitch to get on first base. First baseman Roni Santana, who went 3 for 3, popped up to the infield and got on first when the ball dropped.

Still with two outs, third baseman Jesus Astudillo’s pinch-hitter hit a two-RBI, stand-up triple. The runner scored on a wild pitch to tie the game for the Eagles.

The game continued tied until the bottom of the seventh, when lead-off hitter Josh Walker got on courtesy of an infield error. Catcher Jorge Flores put down a sacrifice bunt, putting Walker in scoring position, representing the wining run for the Eagles.

With a base open, designated hitter Anthony Ruiz got an intentional walk. After a pitching change for the Warriors, Forbes hit for fielder’s choice, forcing the out at second but advancing Walker to third.

A wild pitch then allowed Walker to score the winning run for the Eagles.

“We had runners in scoring position inning after inning and we couldn’t get the big hit,” said Reynolds. “Finally we got a big break, a huge triple, a passed ball and we snuck out a win.”

The Eagles played hard and didn’t give up in spite of being down by three runs late in the game.

“We teach our guys that this is a tough game. Things don’t always go well and they have to continue to play and keep with it,” added Reynolds. “They did a great job, they were mentally and physically tough, didn’t give in and came through in the end.”

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