Park Vista Rolls Into Final With 9-2 Win Over Spanish River

Tyler Huggins led Park Vista with 4 RBIs in their 9-2 semifinal victory over Spanish River.

Patience is a virtue and Park Vista used it to their advantage.

The Cobras walked 10 times and added several key hits en route to a 9-2 victory over Spanish River in the District 8A-10 semifinals Tuesday at John I. Leonard.

The defending champion and top-seeded Cobras play second-seeded Seminole Ridge for the district championship on Thursday at 7 p.m. at John I. Leonard. Seminole Ridge edged John I. Leonard 5-4 in the other semifinal.

Park Vista scored all its runs in the first three innings to give sophomore starter Austin Smith a nice cushion.

Smith pitched a complete game, allowing four hits, while striking out four and walking one, to lead off the seventh inning.

“It was one of my best games of the season,” said Smith, who added that he wasn’t nervous. “It was the most important.”

Park Vista manager Larry Greenstein was pleased with Smith’s performance.

“Austin was stellar,” said Greenstein. “I know it’s a cliche, but he didn’t have his best stuff. But he moved the ball in and out. He threw strikes. It was a solid performance.”

Greenstein was also happy with his hitters.

“Patience was definitely the key,” said Greenstein. “They were having trouble finding the zone and getting behind in the counts. I thought the guys did a really good job of being patient and trying to get their pitch.”

He was pleased with their efforts in doing the little things to take advantage of opportunities.

“It came together; we got a fly ball when we needed it, a two-out hit, that kind of thing,” said Greenstein.

Sophomore catcher Tyler Huggins drove in four runs with a sacrifice fly in the first, a bases-loaded walk in the second and a two-run single in the third.

Smith walked three times and had two RBI while designated hitter Gabe Santana added a two-run single.

The Cobras sent seven batters to the plate in the first and third innings and 10 in the second inning.

Spanish River (11-12) scored both of its runs in the fourth inning.

Freshman Anthony Acino hit a one-out single to center, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on an error by the right-fielder on a fly ball by freshman catcher Austin Hurwitz. Sophomore Spencer Diaz’s RBI single to right scored courtesy runner Manny Ruiz (for Hurwitz) to make it 9-2.

Junior Ryan Berger led the Sharks with two hits.

Sophomore pitcher Austin Smith kept Spanish River off balance in their 9-2 win.

“They’re a good club, they battled us,” said Greenstein. “We knew when we scored a few it was far from over. They weren’t just going to give up. Our kids knew it. They respected those guys. They knew what that team is capable of doing.”

For Spanish River manager Bill Harvey, it was a completely different outcome from their quarterfinal game, a 10-0 victory over Boca Raton.

“That’s the way life is, that’s the way baseball is,” said Harvey. “We came out and I thought we were ready to go and we had trouble finding the strike zone. We can’t walk that many guys and think it’s not going to come back and bite you. Unfortunately it did.”

Although Harvey was obviously disappointed, he was looking to the future knowing he had a young team.

“There is light at the end of the tunnel,” said Harvey.

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