Pitching, defense and timely hitting proved to be the difference in game one of Monday night’s FHSAA Rural Region 4 Final between visiting Fort Meade and Trenton.
Sophomore Pierson Weatherilt’s RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the fourth helped lift the host Tigers to a 3-2 win against the visiting Miners.
The victory moves Trenton (23-4) one game closer to a return trip to the final four in Fort Myers after taking a 1-0 lead in the Best-of-3 series.
“Any time Brant Bivens is on the mound if we can just give him one run, we stand a pretty good chance of winning,” said Trenton coach Chris Marlo. “I mean that kid, he’s a great pitcher and no moment is ever too big for him. He just fills up the zone.”
Bivens threw 6.1 innings and allowed just two runs on 96 pitches and finished just two batters shy of a complete game.
His counterpart, Fort Meade senior Andrew Brooks, threw five innings and allowed only two runs on 102 pitches.
“They had a really good arm throwing too,” Marlo said. “He was one of the better pitchers we’ve seen all year, so hats off to him. It was a great played ball game.”
The defenses did their part.
With the game scoreless in the top of the third inning, Brooks doubled to right center field with one out.
Following a Bivens strikeout, Fort Meade right fielder Zach Brooks hit a fly ball near the gap in left field, but left fielder Isaac Johnson made a diving catch to save a run.
“That was a great catch,” Marlo said. “Isaac worked hard all year. During batting practice, he is out there getting live reads. I mean that kid comes to the ball field every day ready to play. No matter where I put him in the lineup or where I put him in the field, he is going to go out there and compete. He’s a gamer.”
The Tigers carried the momentum over into the bottom of the third inning.
Bivens (2-for-4, DBL) led off with a double down the left field line to put the potential go-ahead run aboard.
However, sophomore Mason VunCannon lined out to Brooks, who picked off Bivens for a double play.
With the bases empty, Marlo (2-for-3, RBI, RS) singled to center field and stole second. He scored on an RBI single to center field by Weatherilt (2-for-3, 2 RBI) for a 1-0 lead.
“I fouled off a slider the pitch before I believe,” Weatherilt said. “I was sitting on a fastball down the middle, and I got it.”
He also got the sharply hit line drive that was sent to him in the top of the fourth inning when Fort Meade loaded the bases with only one out.
Weatherilt caught the ball and went to the bag at first base to end the threat.
There was a spin play on a ground ball to second base, a diving catch, and the line drive that stood out defensively for the Tigers.
“We have a really good defense,” Weatherilt said. “Coach Marlo likes to talk about it being the best in this area and it showed tonight with Mason VunCannon making a great play for the second out in the first inning and Jordan Marlo making some plays (at shortstop). It’s all about the chemistry that we have knowing we can trust each other and make these plays.”
Trenton took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning and got the only runs it would need to help put the game away.
Freshman catcher Zane McArdle led off with a single to left field and sophomore Noah Owens singled to right field a couple of batters later.
Senior Jordan Marlo walked with the bases loaded, scoring McArdle, to make it 2-0 and Weatherilt singled to right field which scored Owens.
“First pitch he went fastball up and he got me on it,” Weatherilt said. “He tried to get me on it again, but I wasn’t sleeping on it that time.”
VunCannon tried to score on the hit too but was thrown out at the plate from right field.
Brooks made a diving catch of his own on a hit by Bivens in the bottom of the sixth inning, preserving a 1-run game heading into the final inning.
The Miners (17-13), who scored on a bases loaded walk by Noe Jaramillo in the fifth inning and on a sacrifice fly to right field by Brooks (2-for-4, RBI, 2 DBL) in the sixth, were retired in order for the first time in the top of the seventh.
Bivens recorded the first out and VunCannon came in relief and got a strike out and a ground out to end the game.
Game two against Fort Meade will be at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. The game will be broadcast online (audio only) at Mainstreet Daily News beginning at 5:45 p.m.
FHSAA Baseball state playoffs (Best-of-3)
(teams in the Mainstreet coverage area in bold)
Class Rural-Region 3 Final
Game 1 – Monday, May 5
1 Lafayette (Mayo) 7, Union County (Lake Butler) 2 – Lafayette leads 1-0
Game 2 – Tuesday, May 6
2 Union County (Lake Butler) at 1 Lafayette (Mayo), 7 p.m.
Game 3, if necessary – Thursday, May 8
1 Lafayette (Mayo) at 2 Union County (Lake Butler), 7 p.m.
Class Rural-Region 4 Final
Game 1 – Monday, May 5
1 Trenton 3, 2 Fort Meade 2 – Trenton leads 1-0
Game 2 – Tuesday, May 6
2 Fort Meade at 1 Trenton, 6 p.m.
Game 3, if necessary – Thursday, May 8
1 Trenton at 2 Fort Meade
Class 3A-Region 1 Final
Game 1 – Monday, May 5
1 South Walton (Santa Rosa Beach) 3, 3 Suwannee (Live Oak) 0 – South Walton leads 1-0
Game 2 – Tuesday, May 6
3 Suwannee (Live Oak) at 1 South Walton (Santa Rosa Beach), 8 p.m. ET
Game 3, if necessary – Thursday, May 8
1 South Walton (Santa Rosa Beach) at 3 Suwannee (Live Oak), 7 p.m.