Centennial gets feel-good win
Wednesday was a tough day for the baseball teams at Green Valley and Centennial, as both suffered tough losses.
Thursday was a better day — at least for Centennial.
The Bulldogs overcame six errors and rallied for five runs in the fourth inning on the way to a 10-5 win over the visiting Gators.
“They had a tough loss yesterday, we had a tough loss,” Centennial coach Charlie Cerrone said. “One of us had to bounce back. Fortunately it was us.”
Centennial dug a hole, committing five errors in the first three innings. The Gators took advantage with three earned unearned runs for a 3-1 lead.
Green Valley added two runs in the fourth before the Bulldogs sprang to life in the bottom of the inning, batting around and taking a 6-5 lead with five runs on five hits. Two Green Valley errors helped trigger the rally.
“It’s nice to take advantage of somebody else’s miscues once in a while,” Cerrone said. “But we had a better approach today at the plate than we did in yesterday’s game.”
Centennial scored three runs after two were out in the fourth. Blane Bevilaqua hit a solo homer to left, Dominick Monteiro tied the game with a double and Matt Triana singled home the go-ahead run.
Two Green Valley errors helped Centennial add two runs in the fifth, and Sam Friend hit a two-run double in the sixth.
Centennial junior right-hander Josh Hunter got the win with 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. He is pitching with a broken jaw suffered during a preseason scrimmage against Las Vegas.
“He’s pitching with two plates in his mouth,” Cerrone said. “He’s a tough kid. … You know when he comes in he’s going to throw strikes and be around the plate.”
Triana was 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI for Centennial. Monteiro, Friend and Michael Wagner each had two hits.
Taylor Jones was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs for Green Valley.