No-No at Gateway; OHS in rout

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No-No at Gateway; OHS in rout

Sports

Friday, 18 March 2011 11:39

News-Gazette Photo/Andrew Sullivan

Osceola’s Matt Rodriguez launches a double to lead off the third inning during Osceola’s 12-0 win at St. Cloud Wednesday at Burke Chisholm Field.

By Ken Jackson
Sports Writer
On Wednesday, the lights went on at Gateway’s baseball field and Panthers pitcher Anthony Lupa made the most of the spotlight by throwing a no-hitter for his first varsity victory, 4-1, over East Lake.
Meanwhile, at St. Cloud, the lights went out on the Bulldogs in a hurry as rival Osceola won an Orange Belt Conference contest, 12-0.
Despite opening in 1985, Gateway was the only high school in the county without lights at its baseball field.
Lupa, a senior, worked so efficiently that even his coach did not realize that his player was creating a masterpiece on the mound.
Lupa struck out six and walked two on a special night all around for the Panthers.
“It didn’t feel like a no-hitter, I didn’t realize it until afterwards,” GHS Coach Rob Hammond said. “They had four base runners, and Anthony didn’t have overpowering stuff; he was effective and he pitched to contact. We only had five hits ourselves.”
“We practiced under the lights on Monday so we’d be ready, and it was nice. The game really moved along but we needed the lights the last two innings (it started at 6 p.m.),” Hammond said. “We got a new PA system and used it (Tuesday), so now we can make a little more spectacle of our games. The day games started to feel like practices.”
The victory over East Lake did not count in the district or conference standings.
Oddly enough, Gateway (5-6) won’t need the lights again for another month. Their next home game on March 29 is against District 6A-6 opponent Vero Beach and remains at 4:30 p.m..
“They didn’t want to change it, their coach wanted to get home at a decent hour,” Hammond said.
The Panthers play in the South Lake Spring Break Classic next week, taking on Eustis on Tuesday and Choctawhatchee Wednesday. They won’t play at home after that until hosting St. Cloud April 21.
At St. Cloud Wednesday, Osceola took only five innings to earn the win as Edwin Rios and Alexis Rivera homered and Peter Calilao went 4-for-4 with three RBIs.
OHS (7-2) banged out 13 hits and took advantage of six Bulldogs errors.
On the mound, Drew Heifner gave up just four hits, and gave Osceola a big lift by getting out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the first by getting a strikeout and ground out.
“Getting out of that inning with no runs set the tone for us,” OHS Coach Scott Birchler said. “Then we got the key hits.”
The Kowboys scored three in the second inning when Rios tripled to lead off and came home on Gustavo Rios’ fielders choice. Bryce Burton doubled and later came home on a wild pitch. Herick Melendez brought home Rios with a single up the middle.
Edwin Rios’ two-run homer sparked a three-run third inning, and Calilao’s two-run single and Rivera’s two-run blast highlighted a five-run fourth.
The game wrapped up a good offensive week for Osceola, who beat Poinciana, 14-4, in another OBC game on Tuesday.
“We came out swinging in that one and hit well,” Birchler said. “Against St. Cloud we capitalized on their mistakes and made them pay. We’re getting in a rhythm now and the bats are waking up. We’ll keep doing well if we stay consistent on the mound.”
The Kowboys will host Shorecrest Prep today at 1 p.m., and play Davenport Ridge in a District 5A-5 game Tuesday at 7 p.m.