Highlands Christian Ends Great Run In Loss To PJP II

Highlands Christian poured every ounce it had into reaching the regional quarterfinals and kept the momentum up to take a 2-1 lead going into the bottom of the seventh Saturday against Pope John Paul II.

But Pope being equally as great a team found a way to win as Stephen Gongreve delivered a key hit to drive in the winning run.

While the Eagles were celebrating, across the diamond, it was a heartbreaking ending to the season for the Knights and Manager Bruce Charlebois, whose young squad went further than many had anticipated.

“Nobody picked us to go this far, but that doesn’t make this any easier,” Charlebois said. “The farther that you go, the harder it hurts. We missed a lot of opportunities offensively, came out flatter than I thought we would, and some days you just can’t explain it. We took 12 kids, including three freshman and an eighth-grader, and got to the regional quarterfinals, so there was a lot of growth this season.’”

Coming into their 3A regional quarterfinal on Saturday against Highlands Christian, Pope John Paul II had achieved nine of their 16 wins this season by two runs or less, with six of those coming by just a single run.

So when the Eagles went into the bottom of the seventh inning down 2-1 to the Knights, one knew that things were probably far from over, given the cardiac nature of this team.

After Dom Baldino had blooped a one-out single and moved to third on a two-out double by leadoff man Riley Strickland, up stepped Stephen Gogreve, with his team’s season on the line.

“He was staying outside on me all game, and threw me an outside fastball,” said Gogreve, who drove the pitch from Highlands starter Kirvin Moesquit to right field. “When I first hit it, I was like ‘oh,’ but then I saw (the right fielder) turn his head and run, and I said ‘thank God.’”

The double scored both Baldino and Strickland, giving the Eagles a 3-2 win and a trip to Coral Springs Christian in Tuesday’s regional semifinal. The last time Pope reached this stage in the postseason was in 2005.

“We always try to keep within striking distance,” Pope Manager Pete Graffeo said. “This seems to be how all our games go and how we play. We grinded it out. Dom got us started, Riley came up with a big hit, and then the big guy came through, doing what he does best: driving in runs.”

The host Eagles (17-11) struck first in the second inning when Matt Luzzi, who had led off with a single, stole second base and then scored on a Nick Transleau fielder’s choice.

Highlands (10-12-1) tied things up two innings later, and it was mostly down to the chaos that the speedy Moesquit causes when he gets on base.

The junior led off the fourth with a single, showed off his quickness to steal second, and moved over to third on a Joseph

Ortiz hit. Pope starter Alex Bialakis was clearly rattled, and his overthrow on a pickoff attempt to first base allowed Moesquit to score the tying run.

Next batter Deion Rosalia, who shares a similar mohawk-style haircut with Moesquit, then knocked in Ortiz with a double to left, giving the Knights a 2-1 advantage.

In the top of the seventh, Highlands had a great chance to extend their lead when they loaded the bases with two outs and chased Bialakis from the game after allowing two runs on five hits with nine strikeout.

In stepped reliever Johnny Sheridan, who was the winning pitcher in last weeks district title game, who managed to get Kyle Bombadier to fly out to center on the first pitch he threw.

That escape was all the momentum the Eagles needed to take into the bottom of the inning, where they pulled out what seemed like an improbable victory, especially with how well Moesquit had pitched all evening. He also went 2-for-3 at the plate.

“He’s fantastic,” said Charlebois. “Sometimes he looks like a one-man wrecking crew. Unfortunately you need nine guys to win a game. I’m devastated.”

Graffeo and his Eagles, meanwhile, live to play another day, and will take on Coral Springs Christian, who might throw their ace, Touki Toussaint.

“He’s a great pitcher,” Graffeo said. “We’ll just have to try and go out there and match them for zeros.”

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