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April 21, 2008
There was
apprehension among the Gator faithful Friday before the start
of the 3-game series with Byrd. What Gator team would show up? The team
that won an LHSAA state title and two American Legion state titles while
amassing a 74-7 record the last two seasons? Or the team that struggled
early this season in losing 13 games? It didn't take long to find out.
In a display reminiscent of their past seasons' success, Shreve rode
three complete-game performances from Alex Garcia, Casey Elkins and
Jentry Dean as the Gators dominated and embarrassed the Yellow Jackets
by a combined score of 31-2 to claim a share of the district title.
Shreve displayed the whole package, from pitching to hitting to defense.
While a recent Times article trumpeted the importance of the "big"
series between Airline and Byrd as a battle of district leaders, it was
evident that the Jackets, who before that series had padded their resume
with sweeps of local juggernauts Southwood and Huntington, were no match
for the Gators. My hat is off to these kids who fought adversity and
came through when it mattered: with a district title on the line. They
are starting to believe in themselves, and the team who is paired with
them in the first round of the playoffs will probably be in for a
surprise if they look at Shreve's record alone. But first things first.
The Gators travel to Benton tonight, then back to the village of Byrd
tomorrow to complete the season. Game time for both games is 6:00. Stats
from this weekend:
Friday night game Capt. Shreve vs. Byrd
Gators: 7 runs, 9 hits, 1 error
Byrd: 1 run 2 hits, 1 error
Gator hitting highlights:
A. Garcia; 1/1 w/ 2 RBI
T. Clark; 2/4, 2B
A. Hedges; 2/4, 4 RBI
C. Elkins; 1/2
J. Scarafiotti; 1/3, 3B
C. Frierson; 1/3, 2B
J. Dean; 1/3 w/ 1 RBI
Pitching for the Gators:
Alex Garcia: IP 7, w/ 7K's (3 in the seventh inning)
Saturday game Capt. Shreve vs. Byrd
First game of double header
Gators: 14 runs, 13 hits, 0 errors
Byrd: 1 runs 5
hits, 3 errors
Gator hitting highlights:
T. Clark; 2/2 w/ 2B, 1 RBI
C. Frierson; 2/2 w/ 2B,
J. Dean; 1/1 w/ 1RBI
A. Lennard; 2/3 w/ 2B, 1 RBI
A. Hedges; 2/4 w/ 2-2B, 1 RBI
C. Moellenkamp; 1/2 w/ 2B, 3 RBI
J. Scarafiotti; 1/2 w/ 2 RBI
A. Garcia; 1/3 w/ HR, 2 RBI
C. Elkins; 1/3
Pitching for the Gators:
Casey Elkins: IP 5, w/ 8 K's
Saturday game Capt. Shreve vs. Byrd
Second game of double header
Gators: 10 runs, 10 hits, 0 errors
Byrd: 0 runs 5 hits, 4 errors
Gator hitting highlights:
A. Lennard; 2/2 w/ 3B, 2B, 2 RBI
J. Scarafiotti; 2/3 w/ 1 RBI
T. Clark; 2/3
C. Moellenkamp; 2/4 w/ 3B, 3 RBI
A. Hedges; 1/3
A. Garcia; 1/4 w/ 2B, 2 RBI
Pitching for the Gators:
Jentry Dean: IP 5, w/ 3 K's
April 9, 2008
The Gators' game against top-ranked 4-A Neville in
Monroe began
badly-the umpires did not show and it took an hour to get replacements.
The Tigers then took a 4-0 lead after the first inning and the Gator
faithful began to have flashbacks to the early-season debacle at Neville
in which numerous errors combined with a very good hitting Neville team
led to a 10-run rule victory for the Tigers, the first such loss in
years for Shreve. This Gator team, which has had so many setbacks this
year, from expulsions to injuries to scandals, some or all of which has
contributed to a disappointing season by Shreve standards, was not ready
to quit. They exploded for 8 runs in the second and withstood a
late-game rally, while riding a gutsy pitching performance by Marc
Kimball and 3 crucial innings of relief from Andy Petitto, to post a
10-7 win over the Tigers. If it does nothing else, this win will
convince the players that they still have the talent and spark they
displayed in winning a regular season state title and two state Legion
titles during their high school careers. Shreve moves on to a weekend
series against Huntington, with the first game at Huntington at 6:00
Friday and a home doubleheader Saturday. Go Gators!
Tuesday game Capt. Shreve vs. Neville
Gators: 10 runs, 5 hits, 1 error
Neville: 7 run 8 hits, 3 errors
Gator hitting highlights:
C. Moellenkamp; 1/3, 2B, 2 RBI
A. Lennard; 1/3, 2 RBI
T. Clark; 1/3, 1 RBI
C. Elkins; 1/3, 1 RBI
A. Hedges; 1/5, 2 RBI
Pitching for the Gators:
Marc Kimball: IP 4, w/ 2K's
Andy Petitto: IP 3, w/ 3 K's
April 8, 2008
On Thursday night the Captain Shreve 5A Freshmen
baseball team played
against the 5A Freshmen C.E. Byrd Yellow Jackets at Gator field in a
doubleheader and SWEPT the Yellow Jackets. In the 1st game, the Gators
defeated the Yellow Jackets by a score of 12-2. In the 2nd game, the
final outcome was somewhat closer with the Gators winning over the
Yellow Jackets by a score of 11- 4.
The Captain
Shreve 5A Freshmen baseball team played against the 5A
Freshmen Byrd Yellow Jackets on Monday night at Gator field in a 5
inning affair and the Freshmen Gator baseball team blanked the Yellow
Jackets and won the game 6 - 0.
Alex Fliss was on the hill for the Gators and his pitching again was
superb. Even though Alex allowed a half a dozen Yellow Jackets to
reach 1st base by the way of a base on balls, several times Fliss came
back to record a strikeout. For the night, Alex struck out 10 Yellow
Jackets in the five inning affair. Helping their pitcher, the Gator
team defense was outstanding when the ball was put into play and only
ONE Byrd Yellow Jacket managed a base hit with a Texas leaguer into
Right Field during the 4th inning. Gator southpaw Alex Fliss has
proven over and over again this year how effective he can be in keeping
the opposition off balance when each batter faces him at the plate.
A few Gator highlights for the 6 runs scored included the following:
Nick Oliver hit by pitch TWICE and 2 stolen bases
Nathan J. Williams with a Triple and 2 RBIs
Travis Elkins with a Double
Sean Gallagher with a Single and 1 RBI
Chase Chandler with a Single
Corey Mondello with a Single and 2 RBIs
Dylan Davis 1 run scored
The Gators took the first game of the three-game series with Southwood
Saturday by a score of 16-1. Pitcher Alex Garcia survived a first-inning
scare when a hard-hit line drive struck him in the head, but he remained
in the game and finished off the Cowboys. Many good performances for
Shreve in the win. The remaining two games of the rain-delayed series
will be played today beginning at 4:00 at Southwood. All wins are
important now because the LHSAA has changed the playoff rules. The only
teams to make the playoffs will be the top 32 teams in the power
ratings. Right now the Gators are #26. If they win most of their
remaining games they should be in. Incidentally, Ruston is #29, Airline
is #30 and Byrd is #35. Come out and support your team today at
Southwood.
Saturday game Capt. Shreve vs. Southwood
Gators: 16 runs, 13 hits, 2 errors
Southwood: 1 run 3 hits, 6 errors
Gator hitting highlights:
A. Garcia; 2/3, HR, 2 RBI
C. Frierson; 2/2, 2B, 4 RBI
J. Scarafiotti; 3/4, 2B, 4 RBI
C. Moellenkamp; 2/4, 2 RBI
C. Elkins; 1/1, RBI
A. Lennard; 1/2
T. Clark; 1/2
A. Hedges; 1/4
Pitching for the Gators:
Alex Garcia: IP 5, w/ 6K's
The Gator Freshmen baseball team is now carrying a 5 game winning streak
and their overall record is now 11-5-2.
The Gators opened District 1-5A play this weekend with a 3-game series
against Airline. In Friday's game at Airline Alex Garcia was pitted
against Airline ace Albert Lafitte. The Gators managed 3 hits off
Lafitte but could not find home plate as Airline won, 4-0. In Game 1 of
Saturday's doubleheader at Shreve, Casey Elkins kept the Airline batters
off balance and, more important, off the scoreboard in a 13-strikeout
complete game victory. Shreve managed to score a single run, which held
up despite a scare in the last inning. In game 3 the Gators could not
find the strike zone, walking in a number of runs in a 14-2 loss. Of
course, Airline graciously accepted the gratuity and added 11 hits in
the victory. The Gators were held to 3 hits, and 11 in the 3 games
combined. They also scored only 3 runs in the series. The Vikings now
appear to have the upper hand in the district, although many games
remain to be played. Shreve returns to action Tuesday at 6:00 at home
against Parkway, then faces Southwood Friday and Saturday. The Friday
game is at Shreve at 6:00. The Saturday doubleheader is at Southwood
beginning at noon. Try to come out and support the Gators in these
crucial district contests. Stats from this weekend:
Friday night game Capt. Shreve vs. Airline
Gators: 0 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors
Airline: 4 runs 6 hits, 1 error
Gator hitting highlights:
A. Garcia; 1/3
J. Scarafiotti; 1/3
J. Dean; 1/3
Pitching for the Gators:
Alex Garcia: IP 5-2/3, 3 K's
Marc Kimball: IP 1/3
The Captain
Shreve FRESHMEN baseball team sprinkled with a few Sophomore
Gators competed in the Bossier JUNIOR VARSITY tournament this last
weekend claiming the championship with a victory Saturday night over the
Byrd Yellow Jackets. Captain Shreve's roster for the weekend included
an all Freshmen baseball team with the exception of Sophomore players
Josh Stephenson and Tyler Thompson who played in Friday night's contest
and Sophomore Andrew Murphy who played in the catcher's position in the
championship game on Saturday night.
The 1st contest on Friday night for the Gators was a game against an
outstanding Airline Viking's Junior Varsity team. The entire contest
was exciting and going into the last inning, the Gators were tied with
the Vikings 2 - 2. In the top half of the inning, the Vikings were held
scoreless which set up for an exciting finish. In the bottom half of
the last inning, the Gators were able to get base runners on 2nd and 3rd
(Jared Hedges and Nick Oliver) and with 1 out in the frame, the Vikings
elected to load the bases by walking Josh Stephenson to create a force
play at any base and with the possibility of turning a double play.
Nathan J. Williams then came to the plate, and with the infield in,
stroked a "walk off" game winning single up the middle to send the
winning run across the plate. Freshmen southpaw pitcher Alex Fliss was
the winning pitcher who once again pitched a masterful game recording
several strikeouts. The Gators team defense proved to be outstanding
during the contest with catcher Nathan J. Williams throwing out 2
runners trying to steal 3rd base and picking a runner off 1st base.
On Saturday afternoon, the Freshmen only Gators played the tournament
host team Bossier Bearkats. Chase Chandler pitched for the Gators and
pitched a complete game. On offense, the Gators scored 7 runs in the
1st inning and never looked back. Final score was Captain Shreve 10 and
the Bossier Bearkats 6.
In the final contest of the evening, the Captain Shreve Gators
consisting of an all Freshmen team, with the exception of Sophomore
Andrew Murphy, played the Byrd Yellow Jackets in the Championship game.
The Gators sent Freshmen Corey Mondello to the mound and Corey's
pitching throughout the contest was outstanding with the Gator defense
coming up big with numerous outstanding plays. Catcher Andrew Murphy
was outstanding and kept the runner's close to their bags when reaching
base with constant throws from the catcher's position for attempted pick
offs. On offense, the Gator bats proved to be too much for the Yellow
Jackets with numerous hits all throughout the Gator lineup.
Final Score in the Championship Game---Captain Shreve Gators (Champion)
8 and the Byrd Yellow Jackets (Runner Up) 1.
The future of Captain Shreve baseball looks very promising with the
recent play from the Freshmen baseball team who now have an overall
record of 10 - 5 - 2.
The Gators
could not keep Sterlington off the scoreboard last night and
lost, 10-8 at Shreve. A total of 5 pitchers took the mound for the
Gators, more than I can ever remember, but the Sterlington batters
didn't seem to care in pounding out 11 hits. Once again Shreve could not
put together multiple hits when they needed them, and their record is
now 11-11 heading into district play Friday night at 6:00 at Airline. To
be fair, this was a pretty good Sterlington team that had beaten Airline
the night before, 2-1. Obviously the pitching by both teams in that game
was better than last night. The good news is that many pitchers got some
work and will hopefully be better for the games that count, starting
tomorrow. There were a few bright spots offensively. Ty Clark continued
his solid play, going 3-4, and was a home run shy of hitting for the
cycle. Austin Hedges added a home run. The Airline series is critical,
since they are likely to be our primary competition for the district
title. Don't forget Saturday's doubleheader at Shreve at 12:00. See you
at the park.
Wednesday night game Capt. Shreve vs. Sterlington
Gators: 8 runs, 6 hits, 3 errors
Sterlington: 10 runs 11 hits, 1 error
Gator hitting highlights:
T. Clark; 3/4 w/ 1B, 2B, 3B
A. Hedges; 1/3, HR
A. Lennard; 1/4, 2B
J. Scarafiotti; 1/3
Pitching for the Gators:
Hunter Waddell: IP 2, 2 K's
Casey Elkins: IP 2, 1K
Andy Petitto: IP 2/3, 2 K's
Marc Kimball: IP 1/3, 1 K
Cody Moellenkamp: IP 2, 3 K's
The Captain Shreve 5A Freshmen baseball team played against the 5A
Freshmen Byrd Yellow Jackets for the 1st time during the season in a 5
inning affair at the Hive on Wednesday night and the Freshmen Gator
baseball team came away with a win defeating the Yellow Jackets for a
final score of 14 - 10.
During the course of the game, Captain Shreve sent to the mound Corey
Mondello, Dylan Feazell, and Alex Fliss and Byrd scored 10 runs on just
5 hits and 4 costly errors by the Gator Freshmen. Too many Yellow
Jackets reached 1st base on walks and hit batsmen in the game. A
defensive highlight was when catcher Nathan J. Williams picked the 1st
batter off 1st base in the bottom of the 1st inning.
The game soon became a nail biter when the score was 10 - 9 Shreve over
Byrd after 4 innings; however, the Gators scored 4 runs in the top of
the last inning to keep the Yellow Jackets from obtaining victory.
Byrd did score 1 run in the last half of the final inning.
Several Gators reached base by the way of a walk or being hit by a
pitch. Extra base hits included a Triple by both Nathan J. Williams and
Alex Fliss and a double by Nick Oliver. A recap of just a few of the
offensive highlights for the Gators is listed below:
Nathan J. Williams with a single and triple and 3 RBIs
Sean Gallagher with 2 singles and 2 RBIs
Dylan Feazell with 2 singles and 3 RBIs
Alex Fliss with a single and triple and 2 RBIs
Nick Oliver with a single and a double
Nathan W. Williams with a single and 1 RBI
Corey Mondello with 1 RBI on a SF fly
The Gators moved their overall record to 7-5-2.
The Gators
went 1-2 over the weekend, beating Pleasant Grove 12-9 and
losing a pair to West Monroe, all games on the road. In the Pleasant
Grove game Andy Pettito started, Marc Kimball worked middle relief and
Casey Elkins finished with 3 scoreless innings for the victory. Kimball
was the winning pitcher. There were several good offensive performances,
with 5 Gators having multi-hit games. In the Saturday doubleheader, the
Gators outhit West Monroe in game 1 but stranded 10 runners in wasting
a complete game, 8-strikeout performance by Alex Garcia, falling 5-3 to
the Rebels. In the second game the Gators piled up 12 hits but gave up
18, losing 14-7. There is some consolation in losing to one of the
better teams in 5A, but the players know they should be able to play
with anyone. Shreve is now 11-10 on the season entering district play
this weekend. A single game at Airline Friday at 6:00 will be followed
by a Saturday doubleheader at Shreve beginning at 12:00. All district
games will be played in this fashion, with a single game Friday at one
school and a doubleheader Saturday at the other. Please plan to be there
this Saturday to push the Gators to a district title. The Gators' last
non-district game is this Wednesday at 6:00 at Shreve against
Sterlington. Stats from this weekend:
Friday night game Capt. Shreve vs. Pleasant Grove
Gators: 12 runs, 13hits, 2 errors
Pleasant Grove: 9 runs 5 hits, 3 errors
Gator hitting highlights:
J. Scarafiotti; 2/3, 2B, 2 RBI
C. Frierson; 2/4, 2B, 1 RBI
A. Lennard; 2/4, 2B
C. Moellenkamp; 2/4, 1 RBI
A. Hedges; 2/5, 1RBI
Pitching for the Gators:
Andy Petitto: IP 1-1/3, 3 K's
Marc Kimball: IP 2-2/3, 2 K's
Casey Elkins: IP 3, 1K
Saturday game, Capt. Shreve vs. West Monroe
Gators: 3 runs, 9 hits, 1 error
W. Monroe: 5 runs 6 hits, 1 error
Gator hitting highlights:
C. Moellenkamp; 2/4, 1RBI
A. Hedges; 2/4
A. Garcia; 1/2
C. Elkins; 1/2
T. Clark; 1/3
J. Dean; 1/3
A. Lennard; 1/4
C. Frierson; Sacrifice fly
Stranded 10 runners on base
Pitching for the Gators:
A. Garcia: IP 7 (complete game), 8K's
Saturday night game, Capt. Shreve vs. West Monroe
Gators: 7 runs, 12 hits, 1 error
W. Monroe: 14 runs 18 hits, 2 errors
Gator hitting highlights:
J. Dean; 2/2, w/ HR
C. Moellenkamp; 2/3 w/ 2B,
J. Scarafiotti; 2/4 w/ 2RBI
C. Elkins; 1/3 w/ 2B
T. Clark; 2/4, 1 RBI
A. Garcia; Sacrifice fly
Pitching for the Gators:
Jentry Dean: IP 1, 1K
M. Moseley: IP 1/3
A. Petitto: IP 3-2/3, 4 K's
C. Moellenkamp: IP 1, 2 K's
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