Ward’s Big Day Leads Pompano To Shutout Over S. Plantation

BOX SCORE

Pompano Beach sophomore Reece Ward had himself a nice overall game in leading the Tornadoes to a 4-0 shutout win at the South Plantation Paladins on Monday afternoon. Ward earned the victory on the mound with five shutout innings, and he also drove in the winning run and finished with two RBI to drive in half his team’s tally.

Ward improves to 2-0 while Pompano Beach goes to 5-6, having won four of its last five contests. Ward got the scoring going with a sacrifice fly RBI in the top of the first that drove in Massimo Carbone, and he added an RBI double that scored Freddie Cintron in the third. On the mound, Ward recorded six strikeouts over five full innings of work.

The Paladins (4-8) managed plenty of base runners, collecting four hits and three walks off of Ward, and also drawing three walks over the final two innings off of reliever Justin Lemin.

“We’re a very inexperienced team; we didn’t have a lot of varsity play last year,” South Plantation Manager Mike Goulette said. “Tonight’s game is we just didn’t execute with runners in scoring position. We started a pitcher that hasn’t pitched all year and he did pretty good, and we just didn’t execute, plain and simple. It was a good game, and we’ll have to get it back tomorrow.”

Pompano got a pair of insurance runs that doubled the lead in the fourth. Riley Gil walked and then advanced to third on a single from Jonathan Milian, and then scored on a wild pitch. Milian then also came home on another wild pitch.

The top of the South Plantation batting order did its part to provide scoring chances. Lead off hitter Nolan Cambra was 1-for-4, Dylan Taylor was 1-for-2 with a walk in the two-hole, and John McDevitt reached base three times in the three spot, with a single and two walks. Tristan Silvey also reached base twice, with a single and a walk.

Lemin recorded three strikeouts over the final two frames to preserve both the shutout and the victory.

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