Christian Malone
The Valdosta Daily Times
VALDOSTA — VALDOSTA — Florida Christian’s baseball team scored 16 runs in the final four innings and defeated Lowndes High 16-5 in five innings on Saturday in the final game of the Georgia-Florida Challenge at Noel George Field.
Florida Christian is arguably one of the top high school baseball teams in the Sunshine State, and they played like it over the last four innings against the Vikings on Saturday.
Things started out well for Lowndes. The Vikings scored five runs in the bottom of the first, and took a 5-0 lead.
Zac Freeman led off the bottom of the first with a single, stole second and went to third on another single. Mike Moore beat out an infield single, and Freeman held at third, putting runners on the corners. One out later, courtesy runner Teddy Welch and Freeman executed a double steal, and Freeman scored to make it 1-0. Seth Evans singled up the middle, scoring Moore. Two batters later, Kyler Kirkland hit a long fly ball that bounced once and hit the fence in right field. Evans and Tyler Hunter scored on the double, which made it 4-0. Luke Miller followed with an RBI single, giving the Vikings a 5-0 lead.
In the top of the second, Lowndes starter Gabe Cason walked two batters, but should have escaped the inning without allowing any runs. But then LHS infielders made errors on back-to-back ground balls, and three unearned runs scored, cutting the Vikings’ lead to 5-3.
Then Florida Christian exploded for eight runs in the top of the third. Yoandry Galan, Julian Abreu and Anthony Gonzalez, the first three batters of the inning, singled, loading the bases. Antonio Alvarez walked, forcing in a run. One out later, Brian Radziewski’s single to left brought home two runs and gave the Patriots a 6-5 lead. Nathaniel Galliford was hit by a pitch, loading the bases again. Alvarez scored on a wild pitch, and Galan drew a bases-loaded walk, scoring Radziewski. Galliford scored on a wild pitch, and an errant throw on the play enabled Lazero Rodriguez to score as well, making it 10-5. Julian Abreu’s RBI double scored Galan with the eighth run of the inning, and increased Florida Christian’s lead to 11-5.
The Patriots added four more runs in the top of the fourth. Leading off the inning, Alvarez reached on a misplayed fly ball, stole third and scored on Mikey Miranda’s ground out. Then Radziewski hit a long fly ball that disappeared over the fence in right for a solo homer. Another error and a hit-by-pitch put two runners on. Then Galan singled up the middle, scoring a run, and when the ball got by the center fielder, another run scored, increasing Florida Christian’s lead to 15-5.
Alvarez doubled in Florida Christian’s final run in the top of the fifth. The game ended after five innings, due to the mercy rule.
At the plate, both Radziewski and Galan had two hits, scored two runs and had three RBIs. Gonzalez scored three runs, and Alvarez, Galliford and Rodriguez scored two runs each.
The Patriots had eight hits and took advantage of five Lowndes errors, six walks, six wild pitches and two hit batters.
After the five-run first inning, Florida Christian starter Willie Dieppa settled down and shut out the Vikings the rest of the way, allowing just one hit and two baserunners.
For Lowndes, Kirkland drove in two runs. No Viking had more than one hit.
Lowndes travels to Thomas County Central on Tuesday.
