Krasner fans 11 as American Heritage baseball holds off Pembroke Pines Charter
A classic pitching matchup ultimately was decided by a frantic finish.
Freshman left-hander Spencer Krasner struck out 11 and Andrew Ortiz belted a two-run home run to lift American Heritage to a 3-2 victory over Pembroke Pines Charter on Friday in a Region 4-5A semifinal.
Heritage, the second-seed, moves on to the regional finals on Tuesday at top-seed Archbishop McCarthy, which defeated Riviera Beach Suncoast, 4-1.
“We’re going to McCarthy,” Heritage coach Mike Macey said. “It’s not going to be easy. But it’s McCarthy. They know us and we know them. We’ve never played them in the regional final. The stakes have never been higher for us, or them. It’s going to be fun. It should be a great atmosphere over there.”
Jordan Rich added an RBI double in the fifth inning, which produced what became the decisive run.
Heritage (18-6) advancing over a gutsy Pines Charter (14-12) was anticipated. But how it ended was the story of the night.
Krasner allowed just one hit and one run in 6 1/3 innings, and he was dominant. Things got interesting after the lefty was lifted with one out and one on in the seventh inning.
Reliever Antonio Turco-Rivas got in deeper trouble by walking Thomas Lesmes, putting runners on first and second with one out. Bryan Barcenas, who started on the mound for Pines Charter, chopped an RBI single to right, putting runners on the corners for Dylan Escobar.
What occurred next was a play few, if anyone, at the park had previously seen. Escobar ripped a liner right at Turco-Rivas. The ball deflected off the pitcher’s glove as he was turning his body away from the hot liner. The glove fell to the ground, but the ball lodged inside the pitcher’s jersey.
Turco-Rivas retrieved the ball and threw to third base for what appeared to be an improbable game-ending double play.
But the umpires gathered, and after a delay of several minutes, including the umpires making a call to get the exact interpretation of the rule, it was determined that the ball was dead. So therefore, no outs were made, and Escobar was awarded first base, which loaded with one out.
“It’s a lodged ball,” Macey said. “It hit the glove and it got stuck in the jersey. It’s not necessarily a hit, but it’s not an out. Nobody advances. He’s awarded first base. I’ve never seen a play like that. I never heard that rule.”
When play resumed, Alejandro Puig floated an RBI single to center, making it a one-run game. Still with the bases loaded, Turco-Rivas struck out Paul Abolafia, and the game ended on Sebastian Gonzalez’s fly ball to deep right field.
“We battled to the last strike,” Pines Charter coach Carlos Iglesias said. “That’s what I’m proud of. That this team has the heart of winners.”
Iglesias also felt that after the bizarre play in the seventh that Pines Charter was destined to win.
“At that point, when that happened, I felt like, ‘Hey, we’re going to win this game,’ “ Iglesias said. “We had our best hitter up. Paul has carried us all year. That’s the right guy at the right time.”
Until the seventh inning drama, Krasner was the story of the night, allowing just a two-out single to Abolafia in the fourth inning.
“Phenomenal,” Macey said of his freshman pitcher, who has already committed to Virginia. “There are no words for what he did. Let’s just say, he didn’t pitch like a freshman tonight. Our expectations for him are just what you saw.”
At 95 pitches, Krasner’s night was over with one out and one on in the seventh.
“Just kept my composure like the rest of the games that I’ve pitched this year,” Krasner said. “I think of it as a regular game. I go out there and do my thing. Whatever happens happens. Pitch to contact. If I miss the barrels, I miss barrels.”
Ortiz opened the scoring with a two-run homer off Barcenas in the fourth inning. Spencer Butt, who led the inning off with a single, scored on the two-out drive to left.
“The biggest hit of his career,” Macey said. “He’s been a two-year starter for us as a junior. No bigger hit for him.”