Harris Lifts St. Thomas Past Nova 1-0 In Extras

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Although Juwuan Harris is new to the rivalry between St. Thomas Aquinas and Nova, following his big game Friday night he has permanently stamped his place among the rivalry’s legends.

The Raiders centerfielder delivered the winning hit in the top of the eighth inning to break a scoreless battle, and then secured that victory by chasing down the final out as St. Thomas earned the 1-0 victory to beat the host Titans on their home field. In one of Broward County’s greatest rivalry, it was a game for the ages played in front of a packed house full of passionate and enthusiastic fans at Pat McQuaid Field at Doug Amos Stadium.

After seven innings had produced nothing on the scoreboard, Christian Demby smacked the first pitch he saw in the eighth into right field for a leadoff single. The Raiders executed fundamentals as Cameron Krzeminiski and Nick Marchese both did their job to move Demby into scoring position at third base, and bring Harris to the plate batting out of the nine-hole.

Harris admitted that he has slumped lately as he works to readjust to hitting after playing football during the fall. He had been dropping his shoulder and having a hard time getting back on top of the ball. He has not been happy with the number of strikeouts he has had.

But on a 1-2 pitch in extra innings against his biggest rival all that changed. The junior sent a roller just past a diving infielder and through the left side, bringing Demby streaking in from third for the big score. As if that was not enough, it was Harris again to chase down a sharp liner off the bat of Austin Davis to preserve that victory and strand the tying run less than ninety feet from home.

Afterwards Harris admitted it was the hit that meant the most to him.

“Getting that hit it really made a relief on my shoulders. I just knew I had to get a hit there,” said Harris. “It was a tense moment and there was a lot of tension that I knew I could relieve with a hit. It was a great feeling rounding first and just seeing all my teammates cheering for me. They are our best competitor in our district and they come out here and play like it’s always a state championship. They came out with this great game here and we were able to pull through, and it was just a great team win for us.”

St. Thomas (13-5) clinched the top seed in 7A-15 with a perfect 7-0 record in district play. The Titans stand pact in the second slot after two close decisions to the Raiders, the only two losses Nova (17-2) has suffered this season. St. Thomas also increased its win streak in this rivalry to six games.

“It was a great high school game and both teams left it on the field,” said Titans Manager Pat McQuaid. “They had a few more opportunities then us, but we had a runner on second and a runner on third and we just didn’t get the big hit. The last play we hit the ball hard and the kid made a nice play, so what are you going to do? It was just a good ball game that could have gone either way.”

After the way both pitchers performed, it was a shame that either would have to see their team lose despite such a performance. Both Raiders starter Jordan Spicer and Titans starter Nick Martinez went the full seven innings of regulation, working efficiently and piling up zeroes on the scoreboard in quick fashion.

Spicer is in his first season with the Raiders and therefore it was the first time he got the ball for this rivalry. The right-hander rose to the challenge to hold the Titans to just one base hit, and he also recorded seven strikeouts on 92 total pitches.

Even as Spicer was taking the big stage against Nova for the first time, he did so with a veteran catcher who has been through many of them in senior Teddy Meissner. Meissner had the best seat in the house from behind the dish, as he coolly locked in with his starter to work their way through the Nova lineup.

“He had every pitch working for him,” Meissner said of Spicer. “My job is just to have them trust me. If they are throwing balls in the dirt I am just supposed to block them, and tell them it’s my fault if it’s a passed ball. As long as I have their trust I know our pitchers are going to go out there and deal for me. He was dealing tonight.”

Ben Torres was the lone Titans player able to find success against the Raiders staff. The right fielder reached base all three times, including a single in the fifth that broke up the no-hit bid. The senior also wrecked havoc on the base paths by swiping two bases, which included stealing second after he walked in the bottom of the eighth to give the Titans one last chance.

Yet despite the struggles by the Titans offense, Martinez was there to keep them right in the game. Coach McQuaid admitted he had the left-hander on the mound to control the Raiders running and bunting attack, and in the second inning Martinez proved just why by picking off a runner and then trapping another in a rundown. Even despite scattering a few base hits along the way, Martinez was able to induce the big outs when he needed them to keep things scoreless.

Martinez was particularly effective at working ahead in the counts. The senior started off with a strike against 17 of the 25 batters he faced, and picked up seven strikeouts on the night. Martinez needed just 88 pitches to take him into the eighth inning, and 60 of those pitches found the strike zone.

Even despite the great performance from Martinez, the Raiders were able to threaten a few times before ultimately cracking the scoreboard late. Both Christian Demby and Alex Dickinson went 2-for-3 on the night to do the most damage.

Overall offense took a far back seat on this night. Besides just the dominant pitching both sides received, in turn both defenses were there to back up those pitchers with outstanding play. Shortstops Gary Mattis and Kyle Pangallo both showcased great range and strong arms to record many big putouts. Raiders left fielder Rafael Amanau set the tone early by making a great leaping catch at the fence to rob Pangallo of a hit, and the second baseman Dickinson made an impressive back-handed grab to rob Brandon McCalla of a base hit in the seventh.

This intense play mirrored the passion and excitement emitted from a packed house. Even though the game held significance for playoff seeding, it is a rivalry where bragging rights always count for so much more. These two programs live for these games, and Friday night was just another epic chapter in that storied history between them.

“The intensity is always there because we know it is a rival, and it feels like a playoff game every time we go out there,” said Meissner. “Every time we come out here it seems to be a close game. It is always so fun and so competitive.”

Although the results have not fallen in their favor in either meeting this season, the Titans also appreciate what great baseball the two games have produced this year. With the district playoffs less then two weeks away, they understand that for all the excitement these first two meetings have brought the best may yet to come.

“We had a big crowd and the game lived up to the hype. That’s what you want out of this game with St. Thomas,” said McQuaid. “They got on the good end of it and we were on the losing end of it. But hopefully we’ve got two mores times; and those might be more important then this. The kids have a good season going and we just have to go back to work on Monday.”

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