Lightning Avoids Third Strike With Big 8A-12 Win
Cepeda scores the first of his two runs in the fifth.
Cypress Bay came into Tuesday’s game against Western with a lot at stake. A spot in the district championship, a spot in the regional tournament, bragging rights, and the chance to avenge two regular season losses to their cross-town rivals. All goals were accomplished Tuesday, as the Lighting exploded for 10 runs in the fifth inning en route to a 12-2 win.
The Lightings’ Alex Rodriguez and Wildcats’ Trent Massaro went toe-to-toe through the first four innings.
The Wildcats struck first in the second when senior catcher Alex Balter doubled down the third base line. After a Wildcat single, Anthony Urso came to plate with runners at the corners, and bounced a hit to the third baseman, scoring a run.
Rodriguez settled down after the run and continued to keep the Wildcats off the scoreboard. It was the fifth when the floodgates opened for Cypress Bay.
With one-out in the fifth, Joey Rodriguez dropped down a bunt for his second hit of the game and what proved to be a huge ignite for the Lighting.
“Even though he’s been someone struggling most of the year, it’s a new season and starting over. We need someone stepping up and someone to be the one to make something happen here. Tonight it was Joey,” said Lightning Manager Mike White about Rodriguez.
A defensive blunder on covering second base and a wild pitch sent two runner across home to even the game at two. After a ground ball and a walk, Cypress Bay had two runners on and were looking for that big hit they’ve been missing all year.
“We’ve been struggling with the big hits, with the two-out hits. I think we got a few tonight that we needed,” said White on his teams two-out rally in the fifth.
Cepeda scores the first of his two runs in the fifth.
One of those big hits came from the bat of Alex Valladares, as he sent a two-out pitch over the center-field fence. Valladares went 3-for-3 with the three-run homer, a walk, and two runs scored.
“I was just trying to put the ball in play so I could score a run and help my team get ahead and produce,” said Valladares about his three-run bomb to center. “This was a big game for us, we’ve been looking forward to it, we knew it was coming and its a big rivalry.”
The rivalry didn’t disappoint at all in the 2014 season, as the Wildcats won the season series 2-1 but lost the game that mattered the most. With the win, the Lighting advance to the district championship against Cooper City and clinch a spot in the regional playoff.
For Western, it was a year filled with highs and lows as Tuesdays game told the story of their season.
“We’ve been killed by big innings all year, and we got flattened by one inning tonight,” said Wildcats Manager Paul Barnes. “This year, like the last couple is not about talent, its about execution. Really, the same base running and hitting mistakes, defensive let downs and walks. We out hit them the first five innings tonight but sometimes it happens and we fell short.”
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