Taravella Uses Six-Run Seventh To Down Douglas

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For six innings, Jesus Luzardo was masterful for the Douglas Eagles. The ace of the staff, Luzardo delivered what has become an expected outing, six innings, two hits, zero runs. Then, with his pitch could at 85, and the game seemingly in hand, Eagles Manager Todd Fitz-Gerald called on his bullpen to get the final three outs.

The ‘pen did get those final three outs, but not before Taravella turned a 3-0 deficit entering the inning into a 6-3 lead. The Trojans, which had left runners on all afternoon, finally had some balls drop in the seventh, and with help from a shoddy Douglas defense that committed four errors in the inning, Taravella scored six runs in the frame, and walked out of Parkland Thursday afternoon with a big 8A-11 win, 6-3 over Douglas.

“This was one of the worst losses I have had in my seventeen years of coaching,” said Fitz-Gerald.

The sentiment was easy to understand. Up until the seventh, Luzardo and the Eagles looked to have the game in hand. Douglas took the lead in the second inning off Taravella ace Justin Walker. The Eagles had singles by Matt Fierman and Dominic DiCaprio to start the inning. After an out and a sacrifice fly from Devin Conn, Yorvis Torrealba and Daniel Ruiz each had run-scoring singles as well. That gave the Eagles all they thought they would need on this day with Luzardo on the mound, and he responded with six shutout innings.

“He was excellent today,” said Fitz-Gerald. “That’s what he always does for us. But with 85 pitches, you figure you can turn it over to the bullpen with a 3-0 lead and win the game. That didn’t happen today.”

What did happen is Walker settled down after the second inning and kept the Trojans within striking distance in the key district match-up.

“I struggled early, but I knew I had to stay focused and confident, and I had to try and keep my team in the game,” said Walker. “I was able to settle in after those three runs, and keep it close enough for our offense to get the win.”

When the Trojans came to bat in the seventh, their plan was the same as it had been all afternoon.

“We wanted to be patient at the plate today, and we were all day,” said Taravella Manager Alan Clark. “Early on, things weren’t going our way. In the seventh, our guys stayed with our approach, and we finally had some balls drop in. It was good to see how these guys battled all the way to the end today.”

In a bizarre top of the seventh, pinch-hitters Oscar Montolio and Nick Sanders led off the inning with back-to-back walks. Fitz-Gerald immediately relieved Josh Koebel, who had come in for Luzardo, with Alex Ginn. Joseph Libio promptly singled, loading the bases with nobody out.

An error, and back-to-back singles by Julio Bautista and Manny Pantaleon tied the score at three. Suddenly the Trojans had new life, and with the bases still loaded, were poised to take their first lead of the game.

“We knew this was a big game for us,” said Bautista, “And even though we were down early, we didn’t give up hoipe. We knew we could break through, and our approach stayed the same, even in the seventh when we scored all those runs.”

Jake Meidnik eventually got the Eagles out of the inning, but not before an error and a Jake Keppy two-RBI single gave Taravella a 6-3 lead.

From there, Walker took the mound one final time and retired Douglas in order to secure the win. The Trojans had sent 12 batters to the plate in the seventh, in an inning that took nearly 45 minutes to complete. Despite the long layoff, Clark, who had watched Douglas change pitchers in the seventh, knew he was sticking with Walker.

“He’s a horse,” said Clark. “This was his game to lose today. We had guys ready in case he worked into a jam in the seventh, but we knew he was starting the inning.”

Despite the crushing loss, Fitz-Gerald knows it is early in the year, and found some positives from the game.

“It was key the way the bottom of the order hit for us today. We are going to need everyone hitting if we are going to get where we want to be,” said Fitz-Gerald. “It’s a long season. We need to get better, but it’s always how you are playing at the end of the season that matters most.”

The win moved the Trojans to 4-1, and at 2-0 in the district, Taravella also is alone at the top. Douglas drops to 3-2, and suffered a loss in their first district game of the year.

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