Sports
Falcons Baseball Shocked In First Spring Classic Tournament Game
Tampa Catholic jumped on Dunedin early and held off a late game push to advance to the semifinals of the Dunedin Spring Classic.
The Dunedin High School Falcons are noted for jumping out to early leads, and with senior on the mound, the Falcons seemed likely to put the game away early on Friday, April 1.
The Tampa Catholic High School Crusaders had other ideas. Ideas that won them the game 8-5.
This matchup, part of the week-long, 42nd annual at the Englebert Complex, was originally supposed to have been played on Tuesday, but was postponed all week because of rain.
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Tampa Catholic announced its presence with authority, pounding out five runs in the first inning.
“Obviously we don’t like being on the other side of an early lead but give them credit, they hit some good pitches,” said Dunedin Head Coach Tom Hibert.
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Tampa Catholic scored more runs the next inning.
The Falcons weren't able to put anything on the scoreboard until the fourth inning, but it was only because of bases-loaded walks.
Dunedin senior outfielder Alex Libby finally proved the Falcons' bats still worked with an infield hit during the sixth inning. Sophomore third-baseman Kellen Brown followed his lead with a shot to left field, and then a throwing error off junior pitcher Ben Emery's hit to the third baseman allowed two runs to score, closing the gap 8-4.
The Falcons fought to close the gap at their next at bat. But even with Libby and Brown's live bats, the team was never able to overtake the Crusaders.
“The rain delays put me a little out of rhythm,” Clarkson said. “They got some infield hits and we had some unlucky breaks.”
The Falcons were dropped to the one-loss bracket during the first round of their own tournament.
“We said we’re not gonna try to pull the hits. Anyone that’s pulling, they are on the bench after their second at bat,” said Tampa Catholic Coach Pat Russo. “We knew [Clarkson] was gonna be tough.”
The Falcons take on River Ridge tomorrow at Countryside High School at 2 p.m. If they win, they come back to Englebert to compete for third place.
The Crusaders advance into the semi-final round at noon on Saturday at Jack Russel Stadium with the final to take place at 5 p.m. or 8 p.m. at the Englebert Complex.
