By Kyle LoJacono
The Steinbrenner baseball team locked up the top seed in the Class 7A-District 9 tournament by beating cross-town rival Gaither 1-0 at home March 28.
The Warriors (14-1, 6-0) had beaten the Cowboys (9-7, 5-2) 11-0 earlier this year, but fourth-year Steinbrenner coach John Crumbley said they anticipated a tougher meeting in the rematch.
“It wasn’t our best offensive game, but the defense was special,” Crumbley said. “Gideon (Dunn) and Logan (Lapace) threw what we expected from them. Jesse Haney was solid behind the plate throwing out guys, and we got that one big hit from Cole (Gordon).”
Gordon delivered the decisive blow in the bottom of the fourth inning when he took the first pitch thrown by Gaither senior Hunter Henderson over the right-center field fence for his fifth home run of the year.
“I was looking for a mistake,” Gordon said. He added, “I usually try to think fastball and adjust to anything else.”
Dunn made the solo shot hold up by throwing five innings of shutout ball while allowing two hits.
“Gideon is always great,” Gordon said. “He works hard in practice and pitches big for us in games. We know we can count on him. He’s been consistent all year.”
Dunn (6-0, 1.34 ERA) has slotted as the Warriors’ No. 1 pitcher because Gordon has had an arm injury all season, which has limited him to being a designated hitter.
“We told him in the fall we expected him to compete for time, and he’s done nothing but take it by the horns and go,” Crumbley said. “We expect greatness out of him every time he goes out. I just hope he expects it out of himself.”
Dunn found himself in a jam early. Gaither leadoff hitter Tyler Tyson worked a walk to start the first inning followed by a Cory Chandler single. A passed ball sent the Cowboys to third and second with nobody out.
That’s when Dunn locked in.
The junior forced Florida State University signee Oscar Mercado to pop out to second, followed by a weak grounder to third by Chris Minor and another infield fly by Randy Oliva to end the threat
“At that point I just thought they’re not scoring,” Dunn said. “I’ve already given them enough, and I had to put my foot on their throat and end it right there.”
Lapace closed the contest for his second save this season.
Henderson, a senior knuckleball pitcher, gave up five hits over six innings.
“That’s a heartbreaker; it’s hard for a pitcher to lose a ball game like that,” said 29-year Cowboys coach Frank Permuy. “He kept his composure for most of the game and did a good job for us. Coach Crumbley said that’s the best game someone has thrown against them this year. We just didn’t hit the ball. We couldn’t do anything. We squandered some opportunities, especially in the first inning.”
Permuy gave credit to Steinbrenner’s defense, which recorded three outs on the bases including left fielder Alex Hanson gunning down Mitchell Martinez trying to stretch a single into a double in the fourth.
“They made some great defensive plays,” Permuy said. “We had a couple guys thrown out running the bases and stuff. Probably could have gone either way a couple of times.”
Now that his squad has locked up the top 7A-9 seed for the second straight year, Crumbley said the goal is to advance out of districts for the first time in the program’s four-year history.
“That’s been the focus from Day 1 since last year,” Crumbley said.
Steinbrenner plays at 7A-9 rivals Chamberlain and Freedom April 2 and 4, respectively, at 7 p.m. Gaither can clinch the No. 2 district seed with a win at Wiregrass Ranch April 2 at 7 p.m.
—Follow Kyle LoJacono on Twitter: @Kyle_Laker
