- December 23, 2024
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Matanzas second baseman Ethan DiGuglielmo (7) dodges FPC's Jace Pasquariello. Photo by Jake Montgomery
FPC's Thomas Seeley places a bunt. Photo by Jake Montgomery
FPC catcher Thomas Seeley puts his glove up to catch a pop fly. Photo by Jake Montgomery
FPC's Connor May slides home as Matanzas catcher Reece Monroe waits for the throw. Photo by Jake Montgomery
Matanzas starter Seth Avellar winds up to throw a pitch. Photo by Jake Montgomery
FPC first baseman Dalton Schell (24) watches the pitcher as Matanzas runner Reece Monroe leads off. Photo by Jake Montgomery
FPC's Cody Clymer (1) waits for the ball. Photo by Jake Montgomery
FPC's Brayden Stuart (7) listens as assistant coach Alexis Herrera speaks with pitcher Kevin Maya (13). Photo by Jake Montgomery
Matanzas' Ethan DiGuglielmo reaches back for the plate as FPC catcher Thomas Seeley protects it as he makes the tag. Photo by Jake Montgomery
Matanzas' Ethan DiGuglielmo, left, watches as the umpire calls him out at the plate after FPC catcher Thomas Seeley presents the ball. Photo by Jake Montgomery
Matanzas left-hander Josh Cope (22) stares down the FPC batter. Cope came on in the fifth and threw three shutout innings for the Pirates. Photo by Jake Montgomery.
Coach Lamont Breckenridge speaks with Alonso Quintana about his bunt. Photo by Jake Montgomery
FPC pitcher Kevin Maya (13) watches as the batter swings for the ball. Photo by Jake Montgomery
Matanzas catcher Reece Monroe was on deck when Gabe Breckenridge singled to center with two men on base and one out.
“I was dialed in,” Monroe said. “The next thing I know, it was the end of the inning.”
Monroe thought a runner would score. Or maybe he would bat with the bases loaded. He didn’t expect a double play.
But it was that kind of night for the Pirates, who fell to Flagler Palm Coast for the second time in two days on Friday, March 17.
Kevin Maya and Jesse Baugher combined on a four-hit shutout as the Bulldogs defeated Matanzas 5-0 at the Pirates’ field.
“I just tried to get ahead on my pitches,” said Maya, who gave up four hits and one walk and struck out six in 5.2 innings. “My changeup was working.”
It’s really hyped up, This is a big win for our team. Now we’ll have fun on the ride home. — KEVIN MAYA, FPC pitcher on the rivalry
Baugher came on with two outs in the sixth, hit the first batter he faced and then retired four in a row to complete FPC’s sweep of its cross-town rivals.
“It’s really hyped up,” Maya said of the rivalry. “This is a big win for our team. Now we’ll have fun on the ride home.”
The Bulldogs led 5-0 in the fifth inning and then took the wind out of the Pirates’ sails with a preposterous double play in the bottom of the inning.
With men on first and second, Breckenridge singled to center. Maya took the cutoff throw and threw to shortstop Cody Clymer, who tagged out Alonso Quintana, who over-ran second base. Ethan DiGuglielmo then took off from third base, but Clymer threw him out at home. Catcher Thomas Seeley tagged the Matanzas junior for the final out of the inning.
“At the end of the day, we ran ourselves out of the inning,” Matanzas coach Jim Perry said. “We have a lot of inexperience across the board. We’re going to have growing pains.”
Monroe is a senior, but this is his first year on varsity after missing last season with an injury. He plays a variety of positions, Perry said, but with the Pirates starting left-hander Seth Avellar on the mound, Monroe got to play behind the plate.
With Braden Russell returning as the starting catcher, Monroe asked if he could catch lefties this season.
“A few of my friends are left-handers, and I like catching them,” Monroe said. “They can locate the ball real well. The ball seems to come in crisper from left-handers.”
Monroe made his presence felt in the field, framing pitches, throwing two runners out trying to steal and making a sliding catch on a foul pop in front of the Matanzas dugout.
“That was a big-time play,” Perry said.
Avellar, a sophomore, allowed just three hits in four innings, but the Bulldogs were able to take a 3-0 lead without getting a base hit.
FPC loaded the bases in the first inning on a hit-batter and two walks. Brayden Stuart and Dalton Schell then followed with sacrifice flies.
Schell hit another sacrifice fly in the third, scoring Tristen Miller, who walked, went to second on a long flyout and stole third.
The Bulldogs scored two more runs in the fourth as Maya helped his own cause with a warning-track double to score a run.
FPC finished up a 6-2 rain-delayed win over the Pirates on March 15. That game was suspended in the bottom of the fourth inning on March 10.
Matanzas (3-5) followed the two losses to its rival with a 12-3 victory at Atlantic on Monday, March 20. The win ended the Pirates’ five-game losing streak. Ben Apfelbach went 4-for-4 with two doubles. Apfelbach drove in three runs.
FPC (6-5) began a spring break tournament in Sanford with an 11-0 loss to Delray Beach American Heritage.
