By Marshall Tempest
Reporter
The Apopka baseball team shocked The Villages Charter School 6-2 on Wednesday, March 12, after falling to the Dr. Phillips Panthers 5-4 on Tuesday, March 11.
The Blue Darters, ranked No. 177 in the state before beating No. 61 The Villages, improved to 8-5 with the win. Apopka sits third in Class 7A District 4 behind Lake Brantley and West Orange.
Catching up
After falling to the Timber Creek Wolves 4-2 last week, Apopka faced East River on Friday, March 7. Apopka bounced back to beat East River decisively, 8-1. The Blue Darters scored one run in the first inning, two in the second and five in the seventh.
“We beat a really good team tonight,” said head coach Bobby Brewer. “The boys came out swinging the bats and put pressure on their pitchers every inning.”
Brewer highlighted Apopka’s nearly perfect pitchers. He praised Connor McAfee for five no-hit innings, although he did give up one run in the third without giving up a hit. McAfee walked three batters and threw a wild pitch that sent in the run. But those were McAfee’s only walks on the night, as he struck out 12 while throwing 96 pitches.
Camron Pennock and Logan Page finished the game for Apopka. Page struck out two batters, walked two and gave up one hit while throwing 23 pitches. Pennock struck out one batter and walked two while throwing 15 pitches.
“Logan got us out of a tough one,” Brewer said. “It was good to see him take charge like that.”
At the plate, Apopka’s Colin VanFleet, Aiden Rieli, Maddox Stinson, and Nico Posluszny shined for the team. VanFleet went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, Rieli went 1-for-4 with two RBIs and one run, Stinson went 2-for-4 with one RBI and one run, and Posluszny went 2-for-4 with one RBI, one run and one double.
After beating East River, the Blue Darters faced off against the Dr. Phillips Panthers and dropped a close game, 5-4. Apopka took a 3-1 lead in the second inning, but the Panthers answered with a four-run inning at the top of the third.
The Blue Darters made it close in the seventh. Wyatt Jaggers belted a solo home run, but Apopka couldn’t push across another run to force extra innings.
“We had one bad inning and were playing catch up for the rest of the game,” Brewer said.
Brewer went on to say that just a few fly balls hurt Tyler Spaid on the mound, but he battled. Spaid pitched 2 and 1/3 innings, allowing five hits and five runs, but only four of them were earned. He walked one and struck out three while throwing 57 pitches.
Stinson came on to relieve Spaid and did a fantastic job closing out the game and giving the Blue Darters a chance to win. Stinson pitched 4 and 2/3 innings of relief, allowing one hit and zero runs. He walked four and struck out 12 while throwing 86 pitches.
The leading Blue Darter batters were Jaggers, Peyton Neeley and Pennock. Jaggers went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, two runs, and a seventh inning homer, while Neely went 2-for-3 with one RBI, and Pennock went 1-for-2 and scored a run.
“We don’t have time to hang our heads,” Brewer said.
Apopka vs The Villages Charter School (6-2) Win
The Villages were undefeated (9-0) coming into the matchup against the Blue Darters and ranked 61st in the state, according to MaxPreps. Apopka defeated the Buffalo 6-2, keeping a team averaging 10.3 runs a game to just two runs. After the game, Brewer told me that he was pleased with the win and the team’s ability to bounce back from a loss with such a significant victory.
The first three innings were quiet, with both teams stranding runners. Apopka’s fielding was phenomenal all night long, making 21 putouts in 21 chances, including one double play.
Apopka broke through for four runs in the bottom of the fourth—and it was again Jaggers who ignited the rally. Batting with two outs and the bases loaded, Jaggers came through with an RBI single. VanFleet then smashed a pitch deep to the center field wall just feet from going over the fence, clearing the bases with a three-run double. The Villages answered with two runs in the fifth. Page came on in relief of Jaggers to record the final out and subsequently closed out the game with two scoreless frames.
In the bottom of the sixth, Apopka grabbed two insurance runs. Jez Hamrick scored on a wild pitch, followed by an RBI single from VanFleet.
Brewer praised Jaggers for his play on the mound and at the plate as he started the four-run rally. He also congratulated VanFleet for his fantastic performance at the plate, driving in four of the team’s five runs.
Jagger pitched for 4 and 2/3 innings, allowing five hits and two runs, both earned. He struck out two batters and walked five while throwing 91 pitches. Page pitched for 2 and 1/3 innings allowing zero hits and zero runs. He struck out four and walked two.
What’s next
After the win, Brewer praised the team for bringing the energy and staying in the game for the full seven innings. He also said they had to bring that energy into their matchup against Lake Nona, which took place after press time on Thursday, March 13. Brewer said it was incredibly important to go 2-1 this week and win back-to-back against The Villages and Lake Nona.
Next week, the team has no games due to spring break but will have three games in the last week of March. Those games are scheduled against East River (March 24), St. Cloud (March 25) and East Ridge (March 27).
