Early Miscues Doom Atlantic As Eagles Fall 4-3 To Venice In Class 7A Semifinal

Atlantic’s Bruce Thomas is thrown out attempting to steal second to end the game.

The magical ride that had carried the Atlantic Eagles to their most successful season in 24 years came up one stop short of its intended destination.

Atlantic was unable to overcome an early deficit and fell to Venice 4-3 in the Class 7A state semifinal, played Saturday afternoon at Digital Domain Park in Port St. Lucie.

The Indians (23-8) came back from a 3-0 deficit to score three unearned runs and take a lead they would not relinquish in the bottom of the second inning.

“I knew we were in trouble when we left them on in the first few innings,” Eagles coach Steve Wilson said after the team stranded five baserunners in the first two frames. “But we have to give Venice credit, they took advantage.”

Despite many close plays down the stretch, neither team would score again the rest of the way.

“We’ve come back so many times, in the top of the seventh, the bottom of the seventh,” Eagles senior Kyle Blank said. “We had a good showing of fans and the crowd helped to get us pumped up. We put the ball in play, but it just didn’t happen.”

Atlantic (22-8) had baserunners in nearly every frame, but were unable to manufacture that one crucial run that would keep them alive in the contest.

After jumping all over Indians starter Tyson Albert and chasing him from the game with only one out in the top of the second inning, Venice turned to right-handed side-arm pitcher Cooper Hammond to rescue their season. The big senior answered the bell in throwing five and two-third shutout innings while limiting Atlantic to a pair of singles and a hit batter, earning the victory to improve to 10-1 on the season.

The Eagles’ Jesse Kieffer reaches on an infield hit.

“Any time you miss opportunities, it ends up coming back to bite you,” Eagles senior starter Rigo Beltran said, while admitting the offense struggled against Hammond’s unorthodox throwing motion. “It’s an adjustment, and you just have to make that adjustment. It’s really a mental mindset, and we just kept trying to play our game and keep picking each other up.”

Beltran represented the Eagles’ final hope, after reaching and advancing to second on an infield throwing error leading off the top of the seventh. After Brad Myott successfully moved Beltran to third base on a sacrifice bunt, the Indians were able to pick him off on a nice defensive sequence following an infield ground ball off the bat of junior Cody Bryant.

Venice then threw out pinch-runner Bruce Thomas on a steal attempt at second base to end the contest and propel the Indians to Sunday’s championship game against Brandon, which downed New Smyrna Beach 7-4 in the other 7A semifinal.

Despite the result, Wilson did not second guess the decision to have Beltran moving on Bryant’s hit.

“I told Rigo if it’s on the ground to break for home. I take the blame for that,” Wilson said. “I never question our baserunners after the way they’ve played all year. The second baseman made a nice play, but it could have gone either way. I just wanted them to score, and if I could have I would have gone in and scored the run myself, I just wanted it so badly for them.”

Making their first appearance at the state tournament in 24 years, Atlantic stormed out of the gate and jumped all over the starter Albert, as the first five batters reached base. Kyle Blank reached on an infield error, Jesse Kieffer followed with a bloop single to shallow right field, and then Beltran loaded the bases by lacing a shot up the middle.

Daniel Metz makes a play during the Eagles’ state semifinals loss.

Junior catcher Brad Myott has batted with bases loaded numerous times throughout the season, and it seemed as though he came through every time. Saturday was more of the same, as Myott laced a shot that fell just inside the playing field for a double that cleared the bases and gave the Eagles a 3-0 lead.

But Atlantic failed to add any more runs on the scoreboard the rest of the way.

“All season, we have lived by the belief that if we score four runs, we will win the game,” Wilson said. “We just didn’t get that last one we needed.”

Despite the early miscues and the offensive shortcomings, Atlantic was able to stay right in the game, thanks primarily to a defense that buckled down to scratch out any further rally attempts. Twice the Eagles were able to throw out a runner at the plate, including a putout by Myott on a big collision that ended the sixth inning.

But Venice capitalized on a pair of Eagles errors to score three unearned runs in the second, and the lineup was patient at the plate in forcing Beltran into a high pitch count that chased the big lefty after only four innings of work.

Fellow left-hander Sam Bergida came in and tossed two scoreless innings to keep Atlantic’s hopes alive, shaking off a nasty flu bug that bit the majority of the team at the worst possible point in their season.

“I wasn’t sure if I would be able to go, after missing some practices, but my adrenaline was pumping and I felt fine,” Bergida said.

Atlantic Head Coach Steve Wilson and senior Rigo Beltran share a moment during the semifinal game.

Although the season did not produce the coveted state championship that every team sets in its sights, it cannot go unnoticed the incredible achievements Atlantic accomplished this year.

“When I first came on as the junior varsity coach under Dave Smith seven years ago, the baseball enthusiasm had waned down,” Wilson said. “We’ve come a long way from there, and our seniors have set a great foundation. It is very difficult to say goodbye to these seniors. To end up 22-9 and finish either third or fourth in the state at our classification, I am just so proud of these guys.”

Atlantic graduates five seniors in all, but returns a crop of battle-tested and hungry underclassmen who will take the field in 2013 looking to settle the score on this unfinished business.

“We’ll keep doing what we’ve done,” Myott said. “We rely on a lot of hussle. That’s what we did, and that’s what we do.”

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