Western Pulls Out A Close One Over South Dade
Western starting pitcher Jake Butter went six strong innings to pick up his sixth win of the year. Photo by Glenn Sattell
With the intensity of a postseason game, the Western Wildcats, ranked #7 in the latest HSBN Broward Power Rankings, scored twice on a wild pitch and passed ball, and it was enough to hold off hosts South Dade for a 2-1 win on Tuesday night in a HSBN/Hofball March Madness Shootout matchup.
Max Krasnow singled and scored the tie-breaking run in the top of the seventh inning. The senior right fielder bounced an infield single to open the inning and advanced to third on singles by Danny Ortega and Luis Lorenzo, who delivered two of the Wildcats’ five hits, which included a sixth-inning triple from Kristian Noriega.
“He was throwing inside the whole game, I just stepped away from the plate and tried to make contact,” said Krasnow, who showed no hesitation in racing home on a passed ball.
“I was told to go early and try to get him to balk and then it was a passed ball and I just ran,” Krasnow said.
Wildcats’ manager Onel Garcia said he wasn’t surprised to see his team win in that fashion given how well they’ve run the bases this year in general.
“We don’t hit a whole lot, so we’ve got to be good at running the bases,” Garcia said. “We’re pitching well, playing good defense, and getting hits at the right moment. Hopefully we can keep that up.”
The win lifted Western to 10-2 for the season while South Dade slipped to 3-7-1.
Wildcats’ catcher Tyler Jenkins helped get his team on the scoreboard first. The 6-2, 185-pound sophomore reached on an error to open the second inning and courtesy runner Sam Heimowitz circled the bases on three wild pitches.
“It was one of those games where we try to pull through with little things,” Jenkins noted. “Today it was a passed ball. We’re a tough team and we battled through adversity like we always do. We didn’t always execute but we pulled some things together at the end.”
The Wildcats have now won eight straight after opening the season 2-2.
South Dade pitcher Robert Lastra struck out 15 in the Bucs’ 2-1 loss to Western at home Tuesday. Photo by Glenn Sattell
Wildcats’ starting pitcher Jake Butter notched his sixth win of the year with six outstanding innings of work. The junior right-hander struck out five and walked only one while allowing four hits.
“Butter is an unbelievable story,” said Garcia. “He just keeps guys off balance and throws strikes. He spots well. He’s a very smart pitcher. He prepares well for games. He’s just being phenomenal for us.”
After yielding a first-inning single to South Dade’s Henry Fernandez, Butter retired 12 in a row before the Buccaneers pushed across a run in the fifth inning to tie the game, 1-1.
Anthony Cuquejo started the rally with a single and came around to score on consecutive singles by Kaleb Borek and Oskar Amaya.
This play was as close as the game itself, with Western coming out on top by a 2-1 score on Tuesday at South Dade. Photo by Glenn Sattell
A SportsCenter Top Play-style diving snag from Western third baseman Mason Blocker ended the inning, preventing further damage.
“It’s been our story; we find a way to lose lately,” said South Dade manager Fred Burnside. “We’re in a rut and trying to fight to get out of it. We’ve been one pitch away; one play away. It’s been the story of our season so far.”
The Bucs’ inability to score runs wasted a stellar pitching performance from senior Robert Lastra, who struck out 15 in a complete-game effort.
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