Western Secures Crucial District Win Over Cypress Bay
David Flores tossed a one-hit shutout for the Wildcats. The senior struck out six and allowed just three base runners.
With the season on the line, the Western Wildcats rose to the challenge to secure a pivotal district victory over rival Cypress Bay on Monday night. Behind the strength of a six-run second inning, Western ran away with a 10-0 victory in a five-inning contest at Lightning Field.
The Wildcats (9-10) improved to 2-5 in the 9A-12 standings, which secured the club a spot in the district playoffs after Everglades lost to West Broward in other district action on Tuesday. The Lightning (11-11) are assured of the second seed in the district tournament, with a 5-3 mark.
“I told them before the game that we had a wounded dog coming in here, a team that had their backs against the wall,” Cypress Bay manager Paul Liotti said. “They needed a win and they had a lot more at stake than we did, and they absolutely played like it. We played very passive and uninspired, and a little bit selfish. If we do that then that is probably going to be the result most of the time.”
Western received a shutout performance from starter David Flores and timely hits in several key moments to earn the big victory. It seemed as though every time runners were in scoring position, the Wildcats delivered to send those runners home and add on to a lead they secured in the second.
“We put ourselves unfortunately in a position where this week was one we had to win or else leave it up to a coin-flip scenario. So it was good to come out and play our game tonight,” Western manager Paul Barnes said. “If you strike out you don’t give yourself a chance, but for the most part we put the ball in play. They gave us a couple of opportunities and then we were able to take advantage of them, finally. Every time we’ve had that opportunity the last month we have just given it right back, but tonight we were able to get a couple of breaks and have some nice hits fall in. We’ll take it.”
Western’s Ryan Smith was 3-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and a run.
The Wildcats got things going in the second by loading the bases thanks to a single from Ryan Smith, a fielder’s choice from Christian Coleman and a walk to Anthony Leary. Brannigan Hart then connected for a single to plate Smith and courtesy-runner Blayne Zaleski.
The dagger was just another instance of success for Hart, a senior who has been a Lightning-killer over his career. Hart has seven hits, five runs and three RBIs in eight career games against Cypress Bay, and nearly every one of them has impacted the final outcome of those contests.
“I just feel like I go to a new level when I play on this field and I don’t know why,” Hart admitted. “I don’t know what it is about it. I have to give it to my team though. I do well here, but it is all for the team and it is all about winning the game in the end. This was definitely a good game to wake our bats up, because we had been struggling a little bit. If we want to wake it up right now it’s great because we are going into the districts with some confidence and hot bats.”
Western sent ten batters to the plate in the second to build a 6-0 lead. Weylin Cleri connected for a blooper to shallow left field to plate Jean Franco and Smith added an RBI double for his second hit of the frame. Smith also had an RBI single in the fourth to finish 3-for-3 on the night.
“I just knew I had to put some runs on the board. When I connect, it feels good,” Smith said. “The first at bat I got jammed but I beat it out on the ground ball. The second at bat, the pitcher wasn’t throwing strikes at all so I knew he was coming with a 1-0 fastball and I just turned on it. The third at bat was a first-pitch fastball that was a little inside and I just pushed it to right field.”
Nick Orlando broke up the no-hit bid for the Lightning’s only hit.
While Smith has been getting the job done all season out of the cleanup hole, the rest of his battery mates also brought their best approaches to the plate with them. Cleri added a two-RBI single in the fifth and Matthew Patricio followed with an RBI single that closed the scoring when Cleri scored for the third time on the night.
On the hill Flores also delivered a memorable performance. The right-hander faced just four batters over the minimum, striking out six on 77 total pitches. Flores came just one batter shy of earning a no-hitter, as Nick Orlando broke up that bid with a two-out single lined to center field in the bottom of the fifth.
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