Northeast Walks Off With 6-5 Victory Over Coral Glades

Early on, it wasn’t much fun for the Northeast Hurricanes.

But as the saying goes, it’s all in how you finish.

The Hurricanes capitalized on some untimely errors to score two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning and walk off with a 6-5 victory over Coral Glades in the second game of the HSBN/Perfect Recruits Fall Classic on Tuesday at Davis Field at Northeast High.

Austin Ligons’ bases-loaded RBI single drove in D.J. Kelly to complete the comeback.

“It feels really good to know that when the team needed me I came through for them,” said Ligons, who was 2-for-3 with two RBI on the night. “I felt good at the plate tonight. I felt confident.”

After Anthony Horvat singled to lead off the inning, D.J. Kelly followed with a perfectly placed bunt down the third-base line that stopped between the catcher and third baseman for a single. Mikey Morel then hit into a potential double play, but the ball was misfielded, allowing Horvat to come around and score. The Jaguars opted to intentionally walk Corey Korenic to load the bases, setting up Liggins’ decisive hit.

“It’s a good experience for us to learn how to win tight games,” said Northeast coach Kevin Carney. “It helps them get confidence. We can’t give it up early and expect to come back every time though. We caught some breaks, but that’s baseball.”

Trailing 4-1 in the sixth, the Northeast offense finally found a spark after leadoff singles from Andrew Gross and Osman Lopez. Korenic reached on an error that allowed Gross to cross the plate. Liggins followed with an RBI single, and then Korenic came around to score on a wild pitch that evened the game at 4.

The Jaguars responded in the top of the seventh to retake the lead when starting pitcher Jacob Melton singled in Nick Diaz, putting runners on the corners with only one out.

Northeast then brought in Korenic, who responded by striking out the final two batters and limiting the Jaguars’ damage to just one run.

“My focus is to win every pitch. If I do that, then they can’t score on us,” Korenic said. “It makes me feel good to know the team can count on me. I always want the ball, and I just want my team to feel what I feel.”

Although Korenic originally was not scheduled to pitch Tuesday night, Carney did not hesitate to bring him in with the game on the line.

“It’s no secret that he’s our stopper,” Carney admitted. “We were fortunate to get out of the situation.”

Early on, Coral Glades seemed in control after jumping to a 3-0 advantage in the first inning, while holding the Hurricanes’ bats in check behind the impressive pitching of Melton. Melton threw 32 of his 48 pitches for strikes and finished with five strikeouts in 2 and 2/3 innings of work.

In the first inning, Francisco Rodriguez got Coral Glades on the board first with a liner down the third-base line that scored Diaz and put him on second base. Tyler Steiner then came in on an infield error, and Rodriguez scored on a bases-loaded walk to push the lead to 3-0.

Rodriguez finished 2-for-3, and Diaz was 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored.

Neither team was consistently sharp, as they combined for 11 errors in the contest.

“Our guys are young, so it’s taking them a while to get it,” Carney said. “But I’m happy that this group keeps fighting and believes in themselves.”

Morel tossed 50 pitches over three innings, including 33 for strikes, and notched a pair of strikeouts as the Hurricanes’ starting pitcher.

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