- April 19, 2024
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WINTER GARDEN The West Orange baseball scored four runs spanning the fourth, fifth and sixth innings Tuesday night, breaking what had been a 2-2 tie and ultimately defeating the visiting Dr. Phillips Panthers 6-2 in the FHSAA Class 9A Regional Quarterfinals.
Cole Beavin got the start on the mound for West Orange (25-3) and pitched six innings to earn the victory, allowing two hits, two earned runs and striking out 10 batters along the way. Dr. Phillips (19-9) pushed across both of its runs in the top of the third inning, during which Beavin issued three walks and struck one batter.
After that inning, though, the East Carolina signee was strong in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, after which Noah Janney came on for the save.
"(Beavin) finished strong when we needed him to," head coach Jesse Marlo said. "We put a couple runs on the board and he got us some shutdown innings, where were huge."
The Warriors came out swinging in the bottom half of the first inning, with two doubles, a single and a sac-fly generating a quick 2-0 lead. Dr. Phillips starter Cort Rodig settled in, though, and didn't allow any runs in the second or third innings before allowing one more run in the bottom of the fourth.
Casey Cams and Mitchell Stockwell also made appearances on the mound for the Panthers.
Afterward, Marlo said it was important for West Orange to bounce back and manufacture some runs once their bats had cooled off following their first at-bat.
"We're not going to score 10 runs per game (in the playoffs) like we did in the regular season," Marlo said. "Statistics go out the window (in the playoffs) — we don't care if you're 4-for-4 or 0-for-4, just go out there and get the job done."
With the victory, the Warriors advance to the Class 9A Regional Semifinals May 16, where they will host district rival Lake Brantley in the rivals' fourth — and final — meeting of the spring.
Contact Steven Ryzewski at [email protected].
