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Roundup: Gulf Coast's Matt Geller throws third straight complete game to beat Barron Collier

alex martin and izubee charles, fort myers news-press
·6 min read

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A roundup of high school games played on Monday, April 4, and Tuesday, April 5:

Baseball

Gulf Coast 6, Barron Collier 4

In the fifth inning, Gulf Coast pitcher Matt Geller had one message to the coaching staff after giving up the lead.

“Don’t take me out.”

The right-hander, who doesn’t normally say a whole lot according to coach Pete Garcia, was destined to beat his rival. It was something Geller could not do last year, after throwing seven innings of no-hit ball with a walk and nine strikeouts on Feb. 23, 2021. Barron won that game, 1-0 in the 10th inning.

Geller shut down the Cougars in the final two frames, picking up a 6-4 win over Barron in the only meeting between these two teams this season.

“Matty usually doesn’t speak, he shows it with his actions,” Garcia said. “When he says that, you know he’s locked in. He’s not going to lose. When he says he wants to stay in, that shows that he’s all in.”

Geller (6-2) went the distance for a third straight game, allowing five hits, no earned runs, and a pair of walks while adding four strikeouts. It’s the third straight game he’s pitched a complete game. In those three wins over Naples, Palmetto Ridge, and Barron Collier, he’s allowed 13 hits, no earned runs, and two walks with 20 strikeouts across the 21 innings pitched.

Gulf Coast saw a familiar arm early in Stetson commit Kaden Humphrey, who transferred to Barron Collier for his senior season. Humphrey went four innings, allowing five hits, two earned runs, with a walk and two strikeouts. He took a comebacker off his leg from Lorenzo Soto but stayed in the game.

“It doesn’t matter when you play a rivalry game,” Garcia said. “Throw the records out the window, it’s going to be a dogfight. We’ve been doing that all year. I said that when we were at Canterbury, we were down to them. These guys handle peaks and valleys so good. They keep their head above water, and they’re breathing.

“When they’re breathing, they know they still have life left. They do an outstanding job staying in the game, knowing that it’s not over till it’s over.”

In the top of the fifth inning, Barron Collier put up four runs, all unearned, which started on an error by Aiden Nolasco at second base.

After that, Nolasco came through at the plate, tying the game with a single in the bottom of the fifth which set up Addyson Erick’s two-run double to stretch the lead to 6-4. Nolasco went 3-for-3 at the plate with a run scored and an RBI.

“For him, it’s fantastic,” Garcia said of Nolasco. “He takes things pretty hard. I think he’s grown as a player, as a person, and it goes back to being punched in the mouth. What do you do? That’s a perfect example of what our team does. He made a mistake, albeit physical, mental, whatever you want to call it. Then, he doesn’t let it affect him at the plate. Outstanding.”

FSU commit Alex Kuenzle went 2-for-3 with a walk for Barron Collier (10-9), while Conner Spelman doubled in a pair to give Barron a brief 4-3 lead.

Gulf Coast will travel to Charlotte on Thursday, while Barron Collier is set to host Lakewood Ranch in a rematch. The Cougars beat the Mustangs at IMG last week, 11-5.

— Alex Martin

Mariner 8, Palmetto Ridge 6: The Tritons picked up their second straight win and got back to the .500 mark after downing the Bears in the Battle of the Border tournament. DJ Dwire picked up his second win of the season for Mariner on the mound, while Mason Blackburn went 2-for-4 with two RBI at the plate.

CSN 8, Southwest Florida Christian 6: Michael Perazza led the Seahawks going 4-for-5 at the plate with an RBI in their win over the King’s.

St. John Neumann 15, Golden Gate 0: Brayden Reites led the Celtics on the mound in the shutout effort against the Titans. At the plate, Luis Gomez, TJ Ninchritz, Owen Mitchell, Bryan Frydenlund, Logan Barratta and Dawson Jones each added an RBI.

Softball

Barron Collier 16, Gulf Coast 12: Sheila Forbes went 4-for-5 with two runs, an RBI, and a pair of stolen bases for Barron, while Jordan Hamburg went 4-for-5 with two runs and an RBI.

Lehigh 26, East Lee 0: The Lightning handled business in their shutout win over the Jaguars. Marissa Silva led the Lehigh offensive effort hitting an inside-the-park homerun while going 3-for-3. Abigail Reyna was also perfect going 4-for-4 with two doubles and two singles.

Boys Lacrosse

Immokalee 15, Coral Springs 5: Eduardo Chavez led the Immokalee attack as they downed the Colts on their home turf. Chavez led all goal scorers with four goals while Mario Morales added three in their second straight win.

Barron Collier 16, Fort Myers 6: Colin Laughrey lead the Cougars, netting four goals while Connor Wilson added a hat trick. Collin Quinsey picked up 17 saves in net for Barron.

Girls Lacrosse

CSN 19, Canterbury 7: Led by the duo of Emma and Ruby Smith, the Seahawks took down the Cougars ending a two-game skid. Emma and Ruby both netted four goals to lead the CSN attack, while Nikki Ferrante added three.

Boys Tennis

Immokalee 5, Clewiston 2

Singles: 1. Jonathan Saldana (I) d. Ryan Potter 6-3, 6-4; 2. Isaac Mendoza (I) d. Dustin Nguyen 6-3, 7-6 (4); 3. Adrian Lopez (I) d. Issai Vilela 6-3, 2-6, 10-4; 4. Antowan Cain (C) d. Bryan Delgado 6-2, 7-5; 5. Rogelio Lopez (I) d. Mario Tamayo 3-6, 7-5, 11-9; Doubles: 1. Potter/Nguyen (C) d. Saldana/Delgado 8-0; 2. Mendoza/A. Lopez (I) d. Vilela/Hampton McDonald 8-0

Girls Tennis

Barron Collier 7, Golden Gate 0

Singles: 1. Erika Guilbault (BC) d. Arly Hernandez 6-0, 6-0; 2. Jillian Wesson (BC) d. Emily Salvitiena 6-0,6-1; 3. Elena Projkovska (BC) d. Kelsey Nunez 6-0, 6-1; 4. Jessa Maglio (BC) d. Celia Gelindo 6-0, 6-0; 5. Zoe Waltzer (BC) d. Jennifer Arias 6-0, 6-0; Doubles: 1. Sandy Beqiri/Rylie Raine (BC) d. Hernandez/Salvitiena 8-2; 2. Caitlyn Pittman/Camila Padilla (BC) d. Nunez/Arias 8-2

Gulf Coast 7, Palmetto Ridge 0

Singles: 1. Caroline Jolly (GC) d. Maile McKeon 8-4; 2. Anna Gordley (GC) d. Izzy Lowers 8-3; 3. Alyssa Goddy (GC) d. Patricia Palacios 8-2; 3. Mia Taylor (GC) d. Joanna Muldrow 8-1; 4. Ella Burkett (GC) d. Breana Juste 8-0; Doubles: 1. Jolly/Gordley (GC) d. McKeon/Lowers 8-3;2. Burkett/Jamille Jordan (GC) d. Muldrow/Juste; 8-0

Gulf Coast 6, Cypress Bay 1

Singles: 1. Mia Martin (GC) d. Ashlyn Gao 9-7; 2. Marchela Rykowski (GC) d. Veronika Gonzalez 8-3; 3. Laura Ariza (CB) d. Ava Rochford 9-7; 4. Sia Dihenia (GC) d. Madison Weidler 8-0; Doubles: 1. Martin/Rochford (GC) d. Gao/Gonzalez 8-3; 2. Rykowski/Dihenia (GC) d. Ariza/Weilder 8-0

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: HS Roundup: Gulf Coast caps off comeback to beat Barron Collier