Nowatnick Gem Not Enough As Archbishop Tops Gibbons

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When you are a four-time defending state champion, every team on the schedule is going to come at you with their best. Throw in the fact that the Archbishop McCarthy Mavericks have not been defeated in a district game in over four years, and it is easy to see why other teams aim to take down the giant.

On Tuesday, it was Cardinal Gibbons and ace Mark Nowatnick that stood in the way of the Mavericks and another undefeated district season. Nowatnick and the Chiefs were coming off a victory over perennial power American Heritage last week, announcing their presence in 5A-16 in the process.

While beating Heritage is an accomplishment, taking down the four-time champs is another story. Tuesday night, Nowatnick left it all on the mound for Gibbons, throwing six innings, striking out 11 Mavericks, and giving up only one hit. Unfortunately, that one hit was a solo home run to Archbishop catcher Ryan Sinzenich, and it was the difference in the game, as the Mavericks won 1-0.

“You have to take your hat off to their pitcher tonight,” said Archbishop Manager Rich Bielski. “He came out, he threw hard, got his breaking pitch over for strikes. It was a great opportunity to face a top notch pitcher. We told our guys after the game that the mark of a champion is winning these games where the other team may out-hit you, and you have to win it with pitching and defense.”

The pitching for Archbishop was a combination of Aaron Soto, who threw three innings to start the game, Brian VanBelle tossing the fourth through sixth, and Brian Gonzalez, who closed the game in the seventh. Together the Mavericks struck out 13 Gibbons batters in the combined shutout.

The lone run of the game came in the bottom of the second. After two close two-strike pitches went for balls, Sinzenich saw a curve ball from Nowatnick, and drove it over the fence in left-center. The Gibbons dugout had thought they had Sinzenich struck out twice, but that did not rattle the senior catcher.

“I thought the two pitches were a little out, and I was in protect mode, because I didn’t want to take a called third strike,” said Sinzenich. “When he threw me a curve ball, I was surprised, but I was already widened out with my stance. I was able to just turn and put a good swing on it.”

Even with the home run and the victory, Sinzenich echoed his coaches sentiments about the opposing pitcher.

“Mark is a fantastic pitcher. I played with him in the summer. He is very, very humble, and is a nice kid. It is good to see him throwing well, even if it is against us.”

For Gibbons, the game may had gone a bit differently if not for some timely bounces and defensive plays by Archbishop. In the fifth, with a runner on first, Austin Marrow hit a ground ball to the right side that went off first baseman Brian Gonzalez’s glove, and trickled towards second baseman Blade Bielski. The senior was able to pick the ball up and get it back to Gonzalez for the 3-4-3 putout. Instead of first and third with one out, Gibbons was left with a runner on second and two outs.

“We have a little sour taste in our mouths tonight,” said Chiefs Manager Jason Hamilton. “I think we outplayed them. We put up five hits to their one, and we just didn’t have that one timely hit. The baseball Gods were a little bit in effect tonight, but walking away from the last week, we know that with our arms we can play with anyone in the district.”

Nowatnick agreed.

“These last two district games, when we beat Heritage, and tonight a 1-0 loss to McCarthy, it shows that we can play good baseball and beat these teams,” said Nowatnick. “We just need to swing the bats a little better, and if we do that, I feel like we can go pretty far.”

Pretty far is where the Mavericks have gone in each of the last four seasons, leaving Port St. Lucie and Fort Myers with state titles each year. To do so again, Bielski knows his team must play games like this along the way.

“We are the newcomers in this district, and every year we face these tests,” said Bielski. “This district is undoubtedly one of the best in South Florida, with four good programs. That drives us every day to work hard. We know we can’t rest, and everybody is bringing their number one at us, so we have to stay focused every time we take the field.”

Archbishop, which wrapped up the top seed in the district last Friday night, will face Chaminade-Madonna and St. Thomas to close out their week. Gibbons, with the loss, falls back into a tie with American Heritage for second in the district. The Chiefs and Patriots will meet in the first round of the district playoffs, while the Mavericks will open up their 2014 playoff run against Pompano.

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