Park Vista Tops Seminole Ridge 7-3 For 8A-10 Title

Park Vista is the 2013 8A-10 Champions

When Park Vista and Seminole Ridge met in the district tournament in 2012, they met in the semifinals. Park Vista went on to win that game and win the district title.

Fast forward to 2013.

This year the two teams split their regular season series and were on a crash course to meet in the championship game of the 8A-10 district tournament for their rubber match. Although the result was the same with Park Vista winning the game and a second consecutive state title, the way they won it was completely different.

Although last year’s district was pretty one sided in the Cobras favor, this year the two teams battled back and forth the whole game with the game being a lot closer than the final might indicate.

The game was tied on two different occasions throughout the game before Park Vista pulled ahead late in the fifth inning.

“We split with them during the year and they are a scrappy bunch,” Park Vista Manager Larry Greenstein said. “Our guys hung in there. We got a lead and Seminole Ridge bounced back and took the lead and I was proud of our guys with how they maintained their composure and chipped away. I’m just glad to get out of here with a victory.”

Park Vista got on the board early in the first inning. Matthew Mika lead off the game for the Cobras with a walk and then stole second. He advanced to third when Tyler Burre grounded out to the Seminole Ridge second baseman, before being driven in by a Trey Amburgey ground out to the shortstop. A throwing error by the Hawks third baseman later in the inning brought in the second run for Park Vista.

Seminole Ridge didn’t waste a lot of time. They tied the game up in the third inning as their bats started to heat up. After a single and a walk started the inning. The Hawks hit four consecutive singles to drive in the two runs, highlighted by the RBI singles from David Moss and Seminole Ridge catcher Jason Moore.

Seminole Ridge pitcher Jake Paez when five and a third innings while striking out three batters.

The two teams exchanged runs in the fourth before Park Vista broke the game open in the fifth. After loading the bases up with two outs, Mika hit a three-RBI triple, clearing the bases and giving Park Vista a 6-3 lead. They would add an additional insurance run in the sixth with an RBI single by the designated hitter, Gabriel Santana, but that RBI triple from Mika would prove to be the game-winner.

“I was very focused,” Mika said. “Bases were loaded and I knew I needed to come up big. I really took my time and stayed focus at the plate. He threw me an outside pitch, outside low and away, and i stayed back and drove it into the gap.”

The clutch hit by Mika was nothing new for Greenstein, who has seen him do it time after time all year.

“He has been doing it all year,” Greenstein said. “When he goes we go. He gets on base and created havoc for the other team, he steels bases, and has scored over 30 runs for us this year. He’s just a sophomore and has been incredible.”

In addition to the clutch hitting performance by Mika, the Cobra bullpen came in and helped preserve the win. Tim Saunders and Alex Levy combined to pitch three and two thirds innings of shut out baseball to help Park Vista clinch their second district title in as many years.

“Tim kept us in there and Levy came in and shut the door,” Greenstein said. “I’m proud of him, he stayed ahead in the count and did what he needed to do.”

With the win, Park Vista will host the first two games of the regional tournament next week while Seminole Ridge will travel to a to be determined site to play.

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