Champion Chiefs Continue Dramatic Turnaround With 4-3 Win

It is often said that you should never count out the heart of a champion. That certainly could be considered a motto of the 2025 Cardinal Gibbons Chiefs, who started the season 1-8, after winning a state title in 2024.

To take that route, however, would be lazy, and incorrect. See, anyone who has followed the Chiefs under HSBN South Florida Hall of Fame Manager Jason Hamilton, knows that this is how Gibbons typically rolls.

Gibbons has been known through the years under Hamilton to be slow-starters, only to catch fire midseason, and peak going into the playoffs.

Well, on Wednesday afternoon, the Chiefs again lent credence to that trend, as they defeated Somerset 4-3, winning for the sixth time in the last seven games.

“We played the toughest and scrappiest team that we have played all year today,” said Chiefs Manager Jason Hamilton. “Coach (Juan) Mora continues to do a great job with that bunch. Our guys didn’t fold under adversity today, and fought back to win a very well-played and pitched game by both teams.”

Gibbons scored first in this one, when catcher Eddie Marshall singled in Randy Petron in the third.

The Panthers tied the game in the sixth when a Tristen Sierra sacrifice fly scored Jon Mora, who had reached on a double to lead off the inning.

Gibbons then seemingly put the game away with two runs in the sixth, highlighted by a Bryce Faison home run.

Somerset, however, as they have done all season long, continued to grind, and managed to tie the game in the top of the seventh. After two quick outs, Eric Vazquez doubled, and Jay Martinez singled, putting runners on first and third.

Alan Sanchez followed with a single, driving in Vazquez, and Mora hit his second double of the game, tying the score at three. Gibbons reliever Jack Campbell was able to escape the jam, and send the game to the bottom of the seventh tied.

After a couple of walks, one of which was intentional to Marshall, Faison struck again, delivering a game-winning single to right-field.

The late-game heroics overshadowed what was a dominant performance by Chiefs starting pitcher Mike Ragusa. The Gibbons ace went six innings, allowing only four hits, and one run, while striking out five.

The win moves Gibbons to 7-9 on the year, but more importantly, continues their mid-season surge.

“We started off slowly, partly because we were without Eddie Marshall for five or six games…and we played some great teams and saw some great arms,” said Hamilton. “We are pitching better, and playing more complete games now.”

The schedule for the defending champions has been a gauntlet so far, having opened the season in the HSBN Elite First Pitch Invitational, facing two highly ranked Palm Beach teams in the tournament. They also have played HSBN ranked teams True North, Taravella, West Broward, St. Thomas, St. Andrews, and Douglas.

The schedule does not get much easier, with Palm Beach #1 Cardinal Newman, and Broward #5 St. Thomas on deck.

The competition can only help the Chiefs in their quest to repeat, and Hamilton is following a familiar gameplan.

“We are starting to feel better about ourselves and competing and playing like we know we can. As always with us, it’s not how you start…”

He did not have to finish the quote, as Chiefs fans and the rest of the county knows how that quote ends when facing Gibbons down the stretch.

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