Cardinal Gibbons Gains Revenge On Pines Charter

Cardinal Gibbons and Pembroke Pines Charter are district rivals, but that does not mean that all games played between the games count equally. Thanks to the BCAA, Gibbons and Pines Charter have to play twice this season, being district foes. However, only one of the games counts in the district standings.

Earlier in the year, Pines Charter defeated Gibbons in a pitchers duel. That battle was officially a non-district game, but the rematch on Monday evening would carry much more weight moving forward. The Chiefs avenged the earlier loss with a 4-1, nine inning victory on the road.

The first few innings played out similar to the first game, with Pembroke Pines Charter jumping out to a lead, aided by Gibbons errors. Defense has been a problem for the Chiefs all season, and Monday it appeared that again the defense would cost them a game.

The Jaguars scored in the second after Ryan Tucker singled, moved to second on an errant pick-off throw, and came home on an error by the Cardinal Gibbons right fielder.

The scoring stayed the same until the sixth, when Gibbons’ Ryan Whaley launched a game-tying home run to left field. From there, the teams exchanged base runners, only to have player after player fail to produce a key hit.

The game moved into extra innings, and the Jaguars had an opportunity to win it in the bottom of the eighth. With two outs and nobody on, Jorge Marrero and Ricardo Ramon both walked. Billy Golding was hit with a pitch, loading the bases, but Kevin Daly flew out to right to end the threat.

In the ninth, the Chiefs bats came alive. A lead-off double by Shane Sibley and a bunt base hit by Jack Crittenberger put runners on first and third with no outs. After a strikeout, Thomas Woodrey walked, and Whaley was hit by a pitch, giving Gibbons a 2-1 lead. Jordan Selbach then singled in the second run of the inning.

“I was just sitting back on the curve ball, they were throwing it to me all day,” said Selbach, describing his approach in the pivotal at-bat in the ninth. “I was a little impatient with my first couple of at-bats, but that last one, I really let it get deep, try to hit it like I was supposed to.”

Pines Charter had not experienced a loss yet this season, and Jaguars Head Coach Carlos Iglesias acknowledged that on this night, Cardinal Gibbons got the best of his team.

“Both teams are good teams, and it came down to who made the plays at the end,” said Iglesias. “We had our opportunities, and we didn’t cash in. They’re a good team, and they deserved to win today.”

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