Thomas Stars As Chaminade Wins District Opener

The Chaminade Madonna Lions (2-2, 1-0) have had their share of difficult games already this season. With the season being just over two weeks old, the Lions have faced traditional powers St. Thomas and Archbishop McCarthy early on. On Tuesday, the Lions faced another challenge, their district opener against Calvary Christian (1-3, 0-1) in the Eagles home opener.

Chaminade wasted no time in declaring themselves ready for district play, scoring four runs in the first inning, and then cruising to a 11-0, five-inning win in impressive fashion.

Senior Shomari Thomas was tabbed to start for Chaminade, and the Lions gave him a four run lead before he ever took the mound. Chaminade’s offense, which had been struggling early in the season, came out swinging hot bats Tuesday against Calvary’s Alec Berizzi. Danny Vitello, Mike Ramunno, Juan Martinez, Nick Izquierdo, and Thomas all contributed with singles in the inning.

“We came right out today and hit the ball from the start,” said Chaminade Manager Mike Moss. “We haven’t done that in any game this year. We’ve been leaving a lot of runners on base, and today we got the big hits that drove in runs. It was huge for us to score those runs early.”

Once the Lions had the lead, it was up to Thomas to make it stick. The senior did just that, allowing only three hits on the afternoon, while striking out six, including the side in the fifth and final inning.

“Shamari did what he always does,” said Moss. “He kept his pitch count down by throwing strikes. He had three pitches all working today. The four runs early were helpful to him, and he did a great job of controlling the game after that.”

Berizzi also settled in after the first inning, giving up only one run over the next three frames.

In the fifth, the Lions bats came alive again, sending 10 batters to the plate, and scoring six runs. Shane Stockleman and Izquierdo each had hits, while Austin Gomez had the biggest blow of the inning, a two-run double down the left-field line. For Gomez, it was his way of breaking out of a mini-slump.

“Austin had his first hit of the year today, and it was a big one,” said Moss.

The bottom four hitters in the Lions lineup, Izquierdo, Thomas, Gomez, and Alex Smith, went a combined 5-for-9, with two walks and four runs.

“”That was really good to see,” Moss said. “We aren’t a team with one or two dominant players, so we need everybody doing their part for us to be successful. Today was an example of how we can play when we all play together and everyone does their job.”

On the other side of the field, Calvary was left to regroup regroup after losing their first district game. The 4A-14 district is always one of the toughest in Broward, and Eagles Manager Greg Mucerino knows his team must get better in a hurry if they are going to compete in the district.

“”We weren’t ready to start a game today,” said Mucerino. “Their kid did a great job. He’s a good pitcher, he’s their number one. This is a tough league, and everyone is going to have a strong number one. We just need to keep working, and keep trying to improve every day, and try to be better at the end.”

Calvary will try to get in the district win column on Saturday when they travel to play Pine Crest. Chaminade has two additional district match-ups this week, on Thursday at University, and home against Somerset on Saturday.

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