Quick change-up artist: New pitch helps Seabreeze starter in eight-inning win over Matanzas

The Sandcrabs defeated the Pirates 3-2 on an errant pickoff throw.

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Seabreeze pitcher Brody Harris added a changeup to his arsenal earlier in the week. On March 28, it was working for him. The senior right-hander pitched seven innings to put the Sandcrabs in position to defeat Matanzas 3-2 in eight innings.

“(Assistant coach) Corey Flickinger taught me the changeup,” Harris said. “I didn’t have a great changeup until he taught me this week. It was working good. I was getting swings and misses with it.”


I didn’t have a great changeup until (assistant coach Cory Flickinger) taught me this week. It was working good. I was getting swings and misses with it.
— BRODY HARRIS, Seabreeze pitcher

The Sandcrabs scored the winning run in the top of the eighth inning on a failed pickoff throw by host Matanzas with runners on first and third base. With Jacob McKinnon taking a lead off first, reliever Dioz Cruz threw to first. The throw got away from the fielder and Wrigley Zweifel scored from third.

Seabreeze reliever Jacob Imhoff pitched a scoreless inning in the bottom of the eighth to secure the victory.

Seabreeze improved to 10-9 heading into its first-round Five Star Conference tournament game on March 31 at Pine Ridge. 

Harris struck out eight batters and walked two. He allowed two runs in the bottom of the fourth on two hits, a fielder’s choice and a sacrifice fly.

“All season long, anytime we've given the ball to Brody, he's been filling up the strike zone, giving our defense an opportunity to have the ball in play,” Seabreeze coach Jeff Lemon said. “He's been looking for a third pitch that he trusts, because his slider is always competitive in the zone. The changeup was showing that it was missing underneath the hitter’s barrel. So, he was showing early confidence in a new pitch already, which was awesome to see.”

Matanzas coach Jim Perry said the pickoff throw to first was not a good decision because the potential winning run was on third base.


He overextended his lead on purpose to make us (throw a pickoff), when all we had to do was just throw the pitch. As far as I'm concerned, he could have taken his lead halfway between first and second and stood there the whole at bat.
— JIM PERRY, Matanzas baseball coach

“We should have thrown the pitch instead of throwing the pick,” Perrry said. “That's what I was talking about before the next hitter came up, because it's first and third and they're going to run (McKinnon). He overextended his lead on purpose to make us (throw a pickoff), when all we had to do was just throw the pitch. As far as I'm concerned, he could have taken his lead halfway between first and second and stood there the whole at bat. There’s two outs, get the dude at the plate.”

It was another tough loss for the Pirates, who fell to 1-13 heading into games at St. Augustine (March 31) and Atlantic (April 2). Perry said his young team has been inconsistent. The Pirates lost 4-2 to Menendez on March 25 and two days later fell 13-3 to Interlachen — the only team they had beaten, 12-0 on March 5. The day after the Interlachen loss, they took Seabreeze to extra innings.

“We're having a hard time being consistent, day in and day out,” Perry said. “We have the physical ability to play with pretty much anybody. Do we execute enough is the question.”

Matanzas starter Nick Pandich pitched six innings before he reached his pitch limit. After a shaky first inning when he got out of a bases-loaded jam, he settled down. Seabreeze took a 2-0 lead in the top of the fourth on a walk, a couple of hits and an error.

“Nick really competed and went toe to toe with Brody,” Lemon said. “They both were throwing strikes, and it was a very well-played competitive baseball game. The key for us was we stayed engaged for eight innings and didn’t allow ourselves to mentally check out.”

Pandich also led the Pirates at the plate with three hits and a run scored. He had an adventurous first at-bat leading off the bottom of the first inning. The sophomore reached first base on an infield hit and went all the way to third on an errant throw. After sliding into third base, another throw got away from the fielder and Perry sent Pandich home where he was thrown out.

“They threw it away over here, they threw it away over there. I thought, well let’s steal a cheap one real quick,” Perry said. “But the throw (to third) didn’t go as far as I thought it would, and the third baseman scrambled and threw it in there and got him out.”

Cruz pitched the final two innings for the Pirates. The Sandcrabs scored the go-head run in the eighth without getting a base hit. Zweifel reached first on an error, went to second on a sacrifice bunt and took third on a groundout. McKinnon walked before drawing the pick-off throw that allowed Zweifel to score.

“I knew Seabreeze is a really good team, and we had to battle,” Pandich said. “I think our whole team was battling. We wanted to be in it. It sucks the way it ended, but I think this will give us confidence.”

 

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