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Jesuit Shows No Mercy Against Hillsborough

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By ADAM ADKINS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 24, 2009

Updated: 03/24/2009 10:35 am

TAMPA - The Jesuit baseball team looked very good Tuesday night, much the way it has all season. And, one publication thinks the Tigers are playing the best ball in the nation right now.

Jesuit scored in double-digits for the fifth consecutive game – and ninth time this season – and junior right-hander Willi Martin tossed a three-hitter in the Tigers' 12-0 rout of Hillsborough at Billy Reed Field, a game shortened to five innings because of the mercy rule.

It was the Tigers' first win this season while holding a No. 1 national ranking, which they got a few hours before the game when the Easton Sports/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper National High School Poll was released.

"This was probably our best overall game," Tigers coach Richie Warren said.

The win gave the Tigers (14-0) a regular-season sweep of their Class 5A-District 10 opponent. In those two wins, Jesuit outscored Hillsborough 22-0 – winning both games in five innings because of the mercy rule – and the Tigers pitching staff yielded just five hits.

"They're pretty good offensive team. We have a lot of respect for Hillsborough. We know the power they have in the lineup, so the two games we've played them we've had some pretty good outings on the mound," Warren said. "Our pitchers are doing a great job. They're getting locked in. I think Daniel [Gibson] in the first game, and Willi tonight, did a good job preparing, and obviously [pitching] coach [Geoff] Goetz called a great game."

Joey Spack and Austin Hartzler each had a two-run single in the first to give Jesuit an early lead, which Martin said certainly took some pressure off of him.

"That was great. It gives me a whole lot of confidence to see them [do that]," Martin said of the early run support. "Everybody supports each other and everybody works together to win every game, and that's why we've been doing so great."

The junior right-hander took control from there. He allowed just one hit while facing the minimum through four innings, and after allowing singles to Tyler Luper and Danny Dominguez in the fifth, Martin got out of a bases loaded jam with an infield popup to end the game. Martin improved to 5-0 on the season with the win.

Nick Lockwood and Hartzler each had three RBIs, while Spack and Greg Dupell (2-for-3) each had two RBIs and scored twice for Jesuit, which scored five in the third and three more in the fourth to put the game away.

The loss was the second straight for the Terriers (7-5) following a season-high six game winning streak.

"They beat us in every aspect of the game," Hillsborough coach Kenny White said. "We've got to get back out there tomorrow."

Hillsborough's Roche Woodard extended his hitting streak to 12 games with an infield single in the second.

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