The more things change, the more they stay the same for the baseball team at University High School. At least the Cougars hoped that slogan would ring true earlier this week while opening the regional tournament on the road at Oviedo.
Last week sophomore lefthander Justin Nicolino went the distance in the District 4 finals in front of a boisterous, standing-room-only crowd, but suffered a 4-3 loss on the road against Boone. That came just a year after then-sophomore lefty Brian Adkins took the loss in the district final against East Ridge, which in turn seemingly sparked the Cougars to an upset win over a 25-1 Winter Springs team before the season ended in the regional semifinals.
But that team had seven seniors who had played together for three years. And according to UHS head coach Rodney Beatty, the 2008 version is a fairly young group with a completely different chemistry makeup.
“We’ll see how they respond,” he said of playing again on Tuesday. The winner from that game was scheduled to face whoever advanced between Boone and Lake Brantley on Friday night. Last Friday the No. 4 Cougars, who defeated No. 1 Freedom two nights earlier, found themselves in a tight ball game that went down to the wire against the No. 2 Braves.
However, a comeback bid ended in the seventh inning when University was sent packing following a rally that proved to come up just short. Trailing by two runs with two out in the top of the final frame, sophomore Dominique Allen hammered a pitch deep to center field for a stand-up double before junior Rafael Soto drove him home with a shallow blooper to the right side.
Then perhaps the Cougars most clutch hitter in the lineup, senior Steven Williams, landed the good part of the bat on a pitch during the last at-bat of the game, but was thrown out at first by the shortstop to end their hopes of capturing the hardware. Last year Williams hit two game-winners for the Cougars, but was unable to produce another miracle.
In all, UHS stranded six runners in scoring position, while Soto and Williams combined for four of the squad’s seven hits on the night. “In general, I think with the big-game atmosphere that our poise wasn’t where it needed to be and I was surprised by that because we played so many big games this year,” said Beatty.
“Some guys who had played well all season in some different situations did things they didn’t do all year, such as chasing the high pitch or expanding the zone. “Every little mistake in a championship game counts. Especially in a one-run game.”
After starting the season 2-5 the Cougars were on a hot streak after winning 17 of their last 19 games against some of the toughest competition in the state. Beatty credited good pitching, good defense and timely hitting for the turnaround in their season, but witnessed uncharacteristic errors that ultimately forced their backs against the wall.
Going the distance
With senior right-handed closer Eddie Bonilla already scratched from the lineup before the game due to injury, everyone knew Nicolino would get in a full day’s work on the mound. He showed a lot of promise when it mattered in fighting his way back from being down in the count several times, even overcoming full-count situations that easily could have gone either way.
In the second inning, Nicolino put runners at second and third but somehow found his way out of the inning by pitching through not one, but two full counts before yet another 3-2 pitch ended in his favor in the third. “In those 3-2 situations I knew I could get them out as long as I worked hard,” said Nicolino.
“I came out focused and ready, and really wanted the game.” But it just wouldn’t come to be. While Boone made constant threats at getting on the scoreboard early on, it wasn’t until the top of the fourth before University would even record a hit, when Williams drilled a full-count shot to right field for a single. Senior Alex Friedrich followed with a hard-hit line drive past the Boone shortstop to reach base while staring down two balls and two strikes.
Junior Steve Ewing advanced the runners by grounding out to second and junior Corey Bass bounced an RBI grounder to the shortstop that scored Williams. But the early 1-0 lead wouldn’t last long as Boone plated two runners in the bottom of the fourth and another in the fifth with two outs to take a 3-1 lead. UHS then forced the Braves to make a pitching change in the sixth when Soto was able to reach base.
Williams followed that up by singling to the left fielder, who had trouble scooping up the ball. The speedy Soto capitalized by crossing home plate with nobody out to cut into the Boone lead by a run. But by the end of the frame two base runners would be stranded and the Braves would go on to add the crucial insurance run they would need for their 4- 2 advantage in the bottom half.
That came by way of allowing a base runner, who reached first with a walk, to advance to third and soon after score when Nicolino gave up a pop fly to center field. Though Nicolino wouldn’t get another chance to return to the rubber there were signs of better days to come for the youngster. “He made some great pitches out there.
He lasted six innings in a one-run game and if our offense was a little bit better, we could have picked him up,” Beatty said of the sophomore. “I think what you’ll see in the future is that he’s going to make a lot of quality pitches as a junior and senior.”
