Baseball: Fort Myers blanks North Fort Myers, Barron Collier and Naples set for rematch
Fort Myers 4, North Fort Myers 0
Just four days ago, Kyle Burchfield and his Fort Myers players watched from a distance as North Fort Myers hoisted a district title on their home field.
Watching the Red Knights celebrate on their home diamond did not sit right with the Green Wave, who entered Tuesday’s 5A-Region 4 quarterfinal matchup with a chip on their shoulders.
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The Greenies would not let this chance at redemption slip away as they returned the favor, shutting out the Red Knights 4-0 on their home field.
“It's a big deal for us,” Burchfield said. “We knew we did not play our best game on Friday. I told my guys, there's no way that's going to happen again, we're way too good of a team, we have 20 wins for a particular reason. We did a great job tonight.”
The game was a pitcher's duel early as Jake D’Altrui for Fort Myers and Aiden Denlinger for North Fort Myers duked it over five scoreless innings.
North Fort Myers squandered crucial opportunities to score in the first and third innings, leaving runners stranded on second and third on two separate occasions.
In the top of the sixth inning after over 80 pitches, Denlinger was replaced by freshman Matthew Blasena, who closed out the Green Wave in the district title matchup. Blasena entered the matchup in a much different situation this time as the bases were loaded with no outs.
“My starter was awesome,” North Fort Myers coach Mark Rose said. “I had a feeling like he was maybe out of gas or something. I let him go out there and it was on me a couple of pitch calls, so I had to pull him in. From there they had a clutch hit and that kind of opened the game.”
Ethan Monrad’s two-run single broke the deadlock and broke the sophomore out of a slump. Entering the matchup, Monrad hit .053 (1-for-19) in his past six games dating back to April 21.
“I just got to be confident,” Monrand said. “Get my foot down and be ready to just do my job and help the team.”
The Greenies would tack on an insurance run in the sixth and seventh inning.
“It feels good to bounce back after we lost last Friday against North,” D’Altrui said. “It feels good that we came together as a team and really just played a good game all around.”
The fifth-seeded Green Wave will travel to Plantation to face the region's top seed, American Heritage, on Thursday.
D’Altrui had one simple message" “We'll see you in Fort Lauderdale.”
— Izubee Charles
Barron Collier 3, Archbishop McCarthy 2
The last time Archbishop McCarthy traveled to Southwest Florida to face Barron Collier, they prevented the Cougars from reaching the state final.
Tuesday night, Barron Collier prevented the Mavericks from getting out of the first round.
The Cougars avenged their 4-1 Class 5A state semifinal loss at Hammond Stadium from last May by holding off Archbishop McCarthy 3-2 in a 5A regional quarterfinal in Naples.
Stetson commit Kaden Humphrey and UCF commit Tyler Kozera were stellar on the mound for Barron. Humphrey struck out six over 5 1/3 innings of work, while Kozera got out of a bases-loaded jam and struck out one in relief for the save.
Alex Kuenzle struck first for the Cougars as his two-run single in the second gave Barron Collier a 2-0 edge as Paddy Sullivan and Mac O’Malley scored.
Antonio Jimenez’s sacrifice fly in the third pulled McCarthy within one, but Carter White’s fourth-inning single gave the Cougars their two-run lead back.
It stayed that way until the sixth inning when McCarthy threatened to end Barron Collier's season again. Vinny Capone hit an RBI double and the Mavericks loaded the bases. Kozera, relieving Humphrey with one out, got back-to-back popups to end the inning.
“Just some bad luck,” said Barron head coach Charlie Maurer. “We pitched our way out of it. I told them to win one pitch at a time, don’t try to swallow the whole elephant here.”
Kozera got McCarthy three up, three down in the seventh to end it and set up a district final rematch with rival Naples on Thursday.
“We’ll game plan,” Maurer said. “We’ve played them twice already, but we’ll see.”
— Nick Wilson
Naples 7, Belen Jesuit 4
The Golden Eagles traveled to Miami and picked up a huge win over the Wolverines, setting up a rematch with rival Barron Collier for a spot in the regional finals.
Georgia Tech commit Michael Graziano went 3-for-5 with a double and a run scored, while Johnny King hit a triple and went 2-for-4 at the plate. King also pitched four innings in relief, allowing just three hits and one earned run while striking out seven.
Oliver Lee hit a home run in the seventh spot of the lineup, helping Naples pad their lead on the road for Reilly Witmer, who went three innings with 68 pitches. He surrendered four hits, three earned runs, and four walks with four strikeouts.
— Naples Daily News staff
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Baseball playoffs: Fort Myers downs North Fort Myers, Barron Collier, Naples win
