PUNTA GORDA – Ryan Playter had three hits and drove in four runs, including the game-winner in the eighth inning as the North Port baseball team rallied to defeat Charlotte 6-5 on Thursday.
The victory snapped a five-game skid for the Bobcats, while Charlotte saw its three-game winning streak end.
With the game tied at 5-5, North Port (9-12) led off the eighth against Frank Planer with Chase Sivulich getting hit by a pitch and a Josh Doerrfeld single.
Planer got the next two batters out. However, Playter hit a ball to shallow center that dropped, scoring Sivulich for the eventual game-winning run.
“To be honest. I didn’t know if the ball was going to drop. When it did, I was very happy that we scored the run,” Playter said.
Earlier, it looked like Charlotte (11-10) was going to hold on, leading 5-3 in the seventh. However, reliever Luke Wadsworth had trouble finding the strike zone, walking three and unleashing a wild pitch that made it a 5-4 game before Xavier Tison singled home a run to tie the game and force extra innings.
Charlotte took a 1-0 lead in the third on Planer’s RBI double against Eli Porinchak, and Tarpons starter Dalton Hill was able to get away with his wildness thanks to great Charlotte defense, which turned a double play and gunned down a runner at the plate.
Hill’s luck ran out in the fifth as he allowed two walks and was victimized by a costly error before Playter cleared the bases with a three-run double to give North Port a 3-1 lead.
Charlotte rallied in the bottom of the inning, scoring four to take a 5-3 lead, thanks to a Dominic Giglio RBI single and a two-run double by Jacob Evak, who later scored when he stole home on an attempted pickoff.
Sivulich had two hits and scored twice for North Port. Doerrfeld had three hits, walked twice and scored twice. Freshman Cian Stephens earned the win with 3 2/3 innings of relief after North Port used a committee approach early.
North Port coach Kemo O’Sullivan said his team has been on the losing end on a lot of close ones. This time, it finally went their way.
“We seem to rally and can’t get that exclamation point. This time we put guys on and got the big hit,” O’Sullivan said. “Charlotte is a well-coached team and that makes me even prouder.”
Planer had two doubles for Charlotte. Giglio and Wadsworth also had two hits. However, eight walks and a hit batter helped doom the Tarpons, coach Lavell Cudjo said.
“It was that and we didn’t execute or use our baseball IQ. First and second, get the lead runner and don’t throw across the diamond," Cudjo said. "Make them get two hits. Little things like that will hurt you if you give them more outs and free bases."
Most Popular
Comments / 0