Wildcats Beat Gators In Wild Game
The Wildcats’ Sean Horner pitched a solid game Thursday night.
Only one word is fitting to describe Thursday’s matchup between the Wildcats and the Gators in the HSBN Fall Classic: ugly.
The teams combined for 11 errors, and an assortment of several walks, passed balls and wild pitches by the Gators allowed the host Wildcats to come out on top 19-3.
The Gators took a short-lived 1-0 lead in the top of the first as Adam Murray scored on Elias Macias’ sacrifice fly.
The Wildcats evened the score in their half of the first when Tyler Fichter scored the first of his four runs on the night.
The Wildcats broadened their lead to 4-1 after the second, scoring three unearned runs via passed balls and wild pitches after a hit-by-pitch and two walks.
When it rains it pours, and so did the Wildcats in a seven-run third and an eight-run fourth.
“Any time you have 11 errors in a game, it’s not pretty,” Wildcats manager Paul Barnes said. “We were able to work around our mistakes and we didn’t help them get out of theirs, so that’s the positive we take out of tonight. We didn’t help them out. Their pitcher was struggling with the strike zone and we didn’t chase out of the zone. We took our walks. We were patient. We made them throw to us. We stayed aggressive. Our baserunning was outstanding I thought.”
Another bright spot for the Wildcats was the pitching of starter Sean Horner, who threw six innings, allowing four hits while striking out four and walking two.
“Neither pitcher really had their stuff, and finally I started going and felt momentum and held them down,” Horner said.
Mack Hessney scored three times, drove in two runs and had two hits, including a double.
The win puts the Wildcats in a good spot — for now. They must win tonight against the Panthers Baseball Club to put themselves in a good position to move on the tournament’s next round.
“We know we have to win at least two to have a chance, and we’re aiming for three,” Horner said. “We think we can get it. We have two more really good pitchers starting in the next two games. We have the odds to do it. We’re hoping to really get far in this tournament and show Broward County that we’re ready to compete this year.”
The Wildcats, who got two hits each from Fichter, Mac Hessney and Anthony DiFabio on Thursday, will face the Boca Eagles on Saturday to close out the opening round.
“It’s always nice to score a lot of runs and get that out of the way and not have to burn through a lot of pitchers on the first day especially when we have three games in a row,” Barnes said. “We’re set up good for the rest of the week. That’s the best part about it. Definitely we should have some offensive momentum.”
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