Walk-off single propels Olympia past Dr. Phillips

ORLANDO — With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, the Olympia Titans squeaked by with a walk-off win, 4-3, against Dr. Phillips Saturday afternoon. Francis Villamin hit a single to right field and as Nick Dearing crossed home plate, the Titans cleared their dugout in celebration.

Olympia (3-0) had loaded the bases with no outs, but after two strikeouts the pressure was on for Villamin to help his team avoid extra innings.

“I was a little nervous up there, but it worked out,” Villamin said.

Head coach Chuck Schall said that the Titans, who are ranked among the top teams in the nation in several polls, aren’t the type of team to blow their opponents out of the water and that each time they face the Panthers (1-4) the game is close.

“It was an exciting game,” Schall said. “Any time we play Dr. Phillips it’s usually always like that — both teams had chances to win, we just came out on top today.”

The Titans started out behind after the Panthers got on the board in the top of the first. The game remained at 1-0  until the bottom of the fourth inning when Olympia scored three runs.

Dr. Phillips battled back and tied the game thanks to a solo home run by Cormac Holbrook in the top of the fifth and a fielder's choice RBI batted in by Yasin Chentouf in the top of the sixth. The 3-3 score going into game's final inning set up the dramatic ending. 

Jaylyn Whitehead got the win for the Titans.

As the season progresses, Schall said his plan is to tighten up the Titans' defense and continue to work on their discipline at the plate. However, their execution and defense against the Panthers was exactly what they needed.

“We played good defense, I thought as the game went on we squared up the ball pretty good,” Schall said.

With five games behind them (including the preseason) and the rest of the season to look forward to, Schall is confident that his team will do well.

 “We’re going to keep on working hard and keep on doing what we do,” Schall said. “We’re going to have a good season.”

The Titans will face Bishop Moore on Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m.