Calvary Christian Secures Top Seed in District 3A-14 With Win Over Westminster

Calvary Christian came into this season facing a rebuilding year after having lost 10 players, including star catcher Taylor Gushue, who skipped his senior season to go to the University of Florida early.

The Eagles have responded to the adversity well and punctuated their solid season so far by securing the top seed in District 3A-14 with an 11-0 win over Westminster Academy on Thursday behind a strong pitching performance from senior right-hander Austin Sovay.

The Eagles improved to 13-5 overall and 6-2 in the district, and the Lions dropped to 14-6 and 3-3, setting up a pivotal game next Thursday with Coral Springs Christian, which also is 3-3 in the district.

Calvary coach Gregg Mucerino said it’s “a good feeling” to have his team at the top of a competitive district such as 3A-14, one of those districts in which any team can beat another on any given day.

“It’s just a testament to this bunch,” Mucerino said. “They’re unified and work hard and try to get better every day.”

Sovay said few, if any, people expected the Eagles to be where they are right now.

“We’re the only people who knew what we can do,” Sovay said. “Everyone counted us out.”

After losing to Westminster 6-5 in their first meeting Feb. 27, the Eagles wasted no time coming on strong Thursday as they set the tone with a 2-0 lead after the first. Nick Kumar tripled in Ryan Reilly, and Kumar came in on Andrew Gottfried’s base hit.

Calvary kept at it in the second, batting around and plating five more runs to put Westminster in a deep hole early in the game. Sovay led off with a triple and Luke Poirier walked before Reilly sacrificed in pinch-runner Josh Lane. Stephen Barnett singled, and then Andrew Liberty made it to second on an error that allowed Poirier to score. Barnett came home when Kumar hit into a fielder’s choice, Liberty scored on a wild pitch and Kumar reached home on a sacrifice fly by Jonathan Benestadt, who went 2-for-3.

Sovay doubled to lead off the third, and Reilly had his second sacrifice fly to drive in Sovay’s pinch-runner, Lane.

Up 8-0 going into the bottom of the fourth, the Eagles were shooting for the mercy-rule win and achieved that with three more runs.

While Calvary was piling on the runs, Sovay cruised through the Westminster lineup, facing only four batters over the limit through his five innings. He didn’t have a flashy amount of strikeouts — only two — as he let his defense work for him.

“The way our defense has been working, I wanted to get them to put the ball in play,” Sovay said.

Sovay has been a pleasant surprise for the Eagles this season as it was questionable whether he even would pitch this year, Mucerino said.

“I just can’t say enough about his development and maturity,” Mucerino said. “It’s a testament to his work ethic. He’s got an ability to focus on execution regardless of the situation, no matter who’s in the box. He really competes. He’s easily today the key to the difference.”

Westminster coach Nick James said missed opportunities prevented his team from gaining any ground Thursday.

“If you don’t take advantage of routine plays, you’re going to be playing from behind every time,” he said. “It’s tough to come back against a good team like that. We’re going to move forward and learn from our mistakes.”

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