Kuzma, Silverado recover, down Liberty

Silverado baseball coach Brian Whitaker tried to downplay the significance of Wednesday’s game, but his players took the field knowing they needed a victory.

Most importantly, starting pitcher David Kuzma was well aware of the playoff ramifications.

The junior got off to a rough start but recovered to lead the Skyhawks to a 12-4 home win over Liberty in a key Southeast League game.

The victory allowed Silverado (16-8, 6-3 Southeast) to tie Green Valley for third place and the league’s final two playoff spots while dropping the Patriots (15-7, 5-4) into fifth.

“I’ve been ready for this game,” said Kuzma, who held the Patriots to four hits while striking out five. “I knew this was a huge game, and I had to come out and perform.”

Liberty used three hits, including a two-run single by Chris Bradford, and a Skyhawks error to score three runs in the first inning.

But Bradford’s joy was short-lived, as he took the mound in the bottom of the inning only to give up five runs on four hits. Marty Sifuentes and Josh Bravin had RBI singles in the inning to help Silverado take a 5-3 lead.

Kuzma said he knew his team had plenty of time to rally.

“I never lost confidence, but it’s never good to start a game like that,” said Kuzma, who surrendered only one hit and an unearned run after the first inning. “I just looked for my teammates to pick me up.”

Whitaker said it was no accident that Kuzma was on the mound.

“He’s the guy we felt comfortable with,” said Whitaker, whose squad fell 8-2 to Liberty in the first meeting between the teams on March 21. “He’s a real composed guy.

“We knew there was a lot of ball game left after he fell behind, and we’ve shown some resiliency of late.”

The Skyhawks extended their lead to 8-3 in the second inning, taking advantage of two walks and an RBI double by Vincent Taormina.

The Patriots cut their deficit to 8-4 in the fourth with the help of two Silverado errors, but the Skyhawks atoned in the bottom of the inning with four runs on four singles and an RBI double off the left-field fence by Bryan Faucher to go ahead 12-4.

“It wasn’t a pretty game,” said Whitaker, whose team committed four errors. “But a league win is a league win. It certainly helps to have it.”

Faucher went 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Sifuentes and Wyatt Reid added two hits apiece for Silverado.

Jay Martz went 2-for-3 to lead Liberty.