Marty Pallman
Tuesday was a pretty good day for the Trenton Tigers baseball team.
In the completion of a suspended game from March 5, Trenton rallied from a 12-4 fourth-inning deficit to edge host Gainesville, 13-12.
The Tigers trailed again in the regularly scheduled game but rallied from a 7-4 deficit by scoring the last nine runs to beat the Hurricanes, 13-7, at Tiny Talbot Field.
Trenton first-year head coach Chris Marlo knows his team needed wins badly.
“We will take the two wins,” Marlo said. “They (Gainesville) are a tough team to beat, and much like us are a young team and we are both trying to figure it out.”
The game see-sawed back and forth for the first five innings. Trenton got on the board in the top of the second as an error by sophomore GHS starting pitcher Cade Dixon led to a sacrifice fly by freshman Pierson Weatherilt and a 1-0 Trenton lead.
Gainesville (4-7) came back in the bottom of the second against Trenton starter freshman Noah Owens. After Owens struck out the first two GHS hitters, the Hurricanes put together four straight hits and freshman Anthony Dang had the big hit with a two-run single to give Gainesville a 3-1 lead.
Two Gainesville errors in the top of the third helped Trenton tie the game at 3-3. Freshman Brant Bivens had an RBI double and senior Dax Becker followed with an RBI single to bring in Bivens and tie it up again.
“I think I’m starting five ninth graders and one senior who starts in Becker.” Marlo said. “He’s been amazing as a leader and passing down the expectation of going hard every play and being a great teammate.”
After Gainesville (4-7) took the lead back with a run in the bottom of the third, Trenton got an RBI double from junior Stephen Furst to tie the game again at 4-4.
The Hurricanes bounced back for three runs in the bottom of the fourth to lead 7-4. Those were the last runs Gainesville would score.
Trenton scored two runs in the fifth and took over the game with a five-run sixth inning. Sophomore catcher Ty Mosley and Bivens delivered back-to-back two-run singles and Bivens then stole home for a 11-7 Tigers lead.
“Trenton and GHS are very similar,” Marlo said. “They have a great coach with Adrian Ramos and we both are playing a lot of young guys and are just trying to teach the game the right way and the respectful way.”
Trenton will be back in action hosting Branford on Thursday. Gainesville plays Friday at Eastside.
Buchholz 16, Gainesville 5 (Softball)
The streak is over the Buchholz softball team.
On Tuesday night at Buchholz, the Bobcats defeated rival Gainesville, 16-5 in five innings, to win for the first time since 2014, snapping a 19-game losing streak in the series.
“Tonight was a huge win for us not only because it’s a rival game, but because we haven’t beaten Gainesville in 10 years,” said Buchholz coach Will Hooper. “I’m proud of our girls for believing and having the confidence to go out and play like they are capable of playing. The chemistry of this team is amazing and it’s a fun group to coach. I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do against our remaining opponents.”
It was also the first loss of the season for the Hurricanes (11-1), who took a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning but gave up 10 runs in the bottom of the second inning.
Amelia Collins led the Bobcats (8-5) at the plate with a 3-for-3 performance with four runs driven in, including a 2-run double in the bottom of the second inning.
Freshman Jordyn Cooper (2-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 runs), junior Emily Sorah (3-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 RS), and junior Juliana Abraham (2-for-2, 2 RBI, 1 RS) also doubled for Buchholz, which has scored a combined 47 runs in its last two games against the ‘Canes and Eastside.
One of the highlights of the night came in the top of the fourth inning as GHS had the bases loaded with nobody out.
However, junior Leila Ricks had a diving catch on a line drive in right field that resulted in a triple play.
Buchholz, which outhit GHS, 14-8, then put the game away by scoring five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to get the mercy-rule win.
Junior McKenna O’Sullivan took the loss for the Hurricanes, while Buchholz sophomore Jurnee Reed (5 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 0 K) earned the win.
GHS, which played without freshman pitcher Leanna Bourdage, will host Santa Fe (Alachua) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, while Buchholz will host Belleview at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.