An Orange County, Fla. high school that sends a large number of students to UCF saw its baseball season fall short of a state championship, KnightNews.com sports partner OrlandoSportsCentral.com reports.
The season came to an abrupt end for the Timber Creek baseball team Friday night as they dropped an 8-4 decision to Pembroke Pines Flanagan at the state semifinals in Port St. Lucie.
The Wolves were outhit 14-9 in the loss as Jonathan Dydo got behind opposing batters early on before allowing four runs in the third and six hits through three innings. Travis McPherson gave up three earned runs on eight hits in relief while striking out seven over the final four innings.
Trailing 5-0 entering the bottom of the fifth, the Wolves had mustered just two hits before piecing together what looked to be a reversal of fortunes.
Timber Creek scored three runs on five hits in the fifth when Jason Anderson and McPherson were drove in by Eugene Vazquez and Branden Castro, respectively; and pinch-runner Emmanuel Acevedo made it home on a hit to right field by Cody Sharp.
But just as quick as the Wolves got back in the game, Flanagan loaded the bases in its next at-bat to extend the lead.
McPherson somehow got out of the sixth with minimal damage as he allowed only one run while faced with loaded bases four different times in the inning. Spencer Angelis got that run back in the bottom of the sixth though with a solo home run. Then the next three batters went down in order.
That made it 6-4 entering the seventh and final inning. And yet Flanagan was hardly done.
When McPherson returned to the mound he was hit hard to centerfield, scoring two more runs in the top of the seventh, before retiring the final two batters he faced. He could only watch from there as dreams of playing in the state title game were thwarted when Castro and Austin Moore were left stranded on base during the team’s final stab at a rally.
Angelis, McPherson and Castro each finished 2-for-3 on the night. Sharp, Anderson and Moore reached base safely with one hit apiece.
While Flanagan – ranked among the nation’s Top-25 by publications such as Baseball America – stranded 10 runners in the win, the Wolves had a tough time at the plate against one of the best teams in the country.
At one point Timber Creek batters were retired seven-straight times early in the game as big plays in the field robbed them of base hits, most notably in the third, fourth and fifth innings. The Wolves stranded five runners in the loss.
Timber Creek finishes it’s best season in program history with a 24-8 mark.
Redistributed with permission of KnightNews.com’s sports partner, OrlandoSportsCentral.com. Visit OrlandoSportsCentral.com for more Knights sports news, plus all your local sports needs including: high school football, Orlando Magic and more!
