Marty Pallman
Buchholz has dominated Gainesville lately in their city baseball rivalry, as the Bobcats haven’t lost to the Hurricanes since 2017.
In the first meeting between the two teams in the 2023 season on Wednesday night, the Bobcats’ starting pitcher Austin Cardozo made sure that streak would continue.
Cardozo pitched a one-hitter, allowing only an infield single in the third inning, and the Bobcats scored early and often in hammering the host Hurricanes 9-0 at Tiny Talbot Field.
The Buchholz junior struck out 12, walked two and hit a batter as Gainesville (9-11) managed only five baserunners all night and one runner past first base.
“Cardozo did a great job throwing strikes,” Buchholz coach Ron Brooks said. “He commanded three pitches and threw his pitches in all different counts and really kept them off balance.”
The only hit Gainesville could manage was with two outs in the third. Number nine hitter Cade Dixon hit a groundball in the hole that junior shortstop Cooper Collins made a great play on a backhand and threw to first base. The throw was close, but the umpire called Dixon safe.
“I thought Coop made a terrific play and thought we might have had him out,” Brooks said. “The umpire saw it a different way and called him safe. But that didn’t bother Cardozo at all.”
Buchholz (14-6) scored three runs in the first inning aided by two Gainesville errors by third baseman Kellen Brown. Donny Hiebert, who reached on a leadoff single against GHS starter Josh Morison, scored on the first error. Sophomore Cedaris Smith followed the second Hurricanes error with a two-run double.
The Bobcats added a run on a wild pitch in the third inning to make it 4-0 and extended the lead to 6-0 in the fourth on a bases-loaded walk by Collins and a sacrifice fly by Noah Hayse, in which Gainesville center fielder Tyler Guarino made a leaping catch against the high wall in right-center field.
Buchholz picked up another run in the fifth and two more in the seventh for the final margin.
The Bobcats have won eight in a row against Gainesville, and the two teams meet again Friday night at Bobcat Field.
“I told our players it will be a different game Friday night,” Brooks said. “They will probably be a bit aggravated, so we have to be ready to play our best game.”
