Fort Lauderdale Downs Taravella To Snap Losing Streak

Fort Lauderdale Flying L’s got their third win of the season Wednesday, scoring a 5-2 decision against a Taravella team that just could not put together the offense to come from behind.

The Flying L’s (3-7) had lost three in a row before Wednesday.

“I’m really pleased tonight,” Lauderdale Manager Terry Portice said. “Our kids came out and fought. We really needed this win tonight.”

Fort Lauderdale scored three runs in the first as it wasted no time.

Leadoff hitter Alex Honner worked the count, drew a walk and advanced to second on a balk to start off the inning. With Honner in scoring position, shortstop Matthew Gibson lined to center field on a 2-2 pitch, advancing Honner to third on the play.

Gibson had a terrific game, getting on base three times, twice on base hits and once on an error. He had a stolen base and showcased great defensive play, particularly in the bottom of the seventh with a diving catch, which got a collective roar from the crowd, to rob Taravella right fielder Gavin Robinson of a base hit.

With no outs and runners at the corners in the opening frame, right fielder Brad Smith hit a grounder to center field for an RBI base hit. After an out on a fly to left field, designated hitter Enrique Rodriguez was hit-by-pitch to load the bases. Having the bases loaded with only one out, starting pitcher Jason Jeffrey helped his own cause by working the count to 3-2 and drew a walk that brought in the second run of the inning for the Flying L’s.

Catcher Matt Freeman hit a slow grounder for an RBI infield hit for the third run of the inning.

After the the three runs in the first, the Flying L’s scored one more run in the second and sealed the victory with another run in the top of the fifth.

Lauderdale also left three runners stranded in the first inning, one in the second and three more in the top of the sixth.

Aside from key hits for RBIs, the Flying L’s counted on two important factors that tilted the scale in their favor. Defensively they played flawlessly and gave Taravella no freebies. The other factor was Jeffrey, who pitched a complete game, struck out four, allowed no walks, gave up only two runs and helped himself by getting on base twice on walks.

Portice was very pleased with his starting pitcher’s performance on the mound.

“Jason didn’t waste a lot of pitches, had really good off-speed pitches and great control,” Portice said. “I’m really proud of him.”

Jeffrey reflected on the second of his back-to-back complete games of the season.

“We win games when we have good defense,” Jeffrey said. “We had great defense tonight. I did my job, threw strikes, and they did their jobs defensively and helped me out.

According to Portice, Jeffrey has been working diligently with pitching coach Dale Hollinsworth.

“This is the first year for me working with a pitching coach since I’ve been in the program,” Jeffrey said. “He’s helped me a lot with my mechanics, I’m so glad to be working with him.”

Taravella Manager Alan Clark contemplated his team’s performance after the game.

“[Fort Lauderdale] did enough to win and we didn’t,” Clark said. “We came out flat and they came to play. They made the tight defensive plays that we failed to make.”

As the season comes to its halfway mark, Jeffrey had this to say about the second half: “We’re going to come out in the second half and show people we mean business.”

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