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Baseball Returns From Successful Florida Trip

The annual Varsity baseball Florida trip ended in success with the Wildcats going 5-0 over the four-day tournament. After two days of practice in the warm Florida weather, the Wildcats opened the trip with a 9-4 win over Evanston Township from Evanston Illinois. After scoring three runs in the first, the Wildcats gave up the lead in the bottom half, but Sophomore Nick Moten did not allow another run for the rest of the game and struck out nine. Junior Brennan Orf hit his second home run of the season and the Wildcats offense came alive, scoring 6 runs in the next three innings. The game was shortened due to a fire in the stands and the Wildcats won their fourth game of the season. Later that night the Wildcats faced off against Medina, Ohio and struggled defensively allowing four unearned runs in the first 2 innings. The Wildcats battled back, scoring 3 runs before the game was called due to a torrential downpour in the bottom of the second inning and the game was unable to be made up.

Thursday was the day for the new guys and they showed off. In their first game, the Wildcats won easily powered by the bat of Jaxon Halsey. In the second game of the day, the Wildcats stormed back from a 2 run deficit in the 7th inning to win the game 7-6, bringing their Florida record to 3-0.

On the last day, the Wildcats played their first game against Legacy high school from Colorado. They jumped out to a quick lead in the bottom of the first continued to add on runs the rest of the game. Brennan Orf and Blaise Matheny paced the offense with 2 hits each and senior Zach Brasier threw 5 strong innings striking out 5 batters and allowing only 3 hits. Joey Keane came in the game to shut the door in the last 2 innings striking out 2 batters allowing one hit. The Wildcats’ pitching was the key factor to this game allowing no runs with the final score 9-0.

The final game was a close battle against James Madison from Wisconsin. After allowing 2 runs in the bottom of the first inning the Wildcats tied it up in the top of the second inning and added 5 more runs in the 3rd inning taking a commanding lead 7-2. The Wildcats relievers struggled to find the strike zone allowing James Madison to get back in the game. Fortunately, Luke Linam was able to come into the game in the last 2 innings to secure the lead for the Wildcats. Senior Blaise Matheny was 3-5 with a double, triple, and 2 RBIs. Adam Ebling and Jack Smith also contributed with 2 hits and 2 RBIs each.

The Wildcats return home to open their conference games against John Burroughs before they play in the Lafayette tournament this weekend.