Harmony scored five runs in the bottom of the third inning and then held off a St. Cloud rally to beat the Bulldogs and claim the Class 6A, District 6 baseball championship on Thursday night.
The win gave the Longhorns, 19-6-1 on the season, a regional quarterfinal home game Friday night (May 7) against District 5 runnerup New Smyrna Beach (15-7). As District 6 runner-up, St. Cloud (13-8) plays at District 5 champion Viera (17-6). If both teams win, they will meet in a Regional Semifinal game on May 12.
“It was a huge win for our program and one of the goals we established at the beginning of the season,” Harmony Head Coach Heath Williams said. “The game was really indicative of how we played all year long. We got good pitching, some timely hits and made some great defensive plays when we had to.”
One of those defensive gems came in the first inning. With two outs, Clayton Boroski reached on a sharp single and was attempting to go from first to third on a wild pitch, when the catcher’s throw sailed over third baseman Jeremy Cardona’s head. But leftfielder Joe Jackson was moving in on the play and gunned Boroski out at the plate.
The game remained scoreless until the third inning when Harmony touched St. Cloud starter Brandon Millan for five runs. The rally started with back-to-back walks, before Pablo Torres loaded the bases with a bunt single. Anthony Medina drove in one run with a sharp single to left, with a second run scoring on a fielding error. Cardona loaded the bases again with a walk before Coy Moore made it 3-0 on a sacrifice fly. Jackson then added an RBI single and two batters later, Bradley Meza added a fifth run when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
St. Cloud avoided further damage in the inning when first baseman Jayden Hindle snagged a line drive and stepped on the bag to double off Meza and end the inning.
The Bulldogs would cut the lead to 5-2 in the fourth on a Luke Larkins RBI double that scored Chris Acuzi and an RBI groundout by Boroski. Chris Palmi would then double in the fifth and score on a wild pitch to cut the gap to 5-3.
St. Cloud would put the tying runs on in the seventh, but Harmony starter Caden Scarborough struck out Palmi to end of the game. For the contest, Scarborough went the distance, striking out nine and allowing seven hits in the complete game win. The 6-4 sophomore righthander moved to 4-3 on the season and has now struck out 59 batters in 47.1 innings.
“Caden really gave us a lift tonight,” Williams added. “He was forced away from the program because of quarantine issues and we just got him back a few days ago. He really didn’t have his best stuff but he battled all night.”
Williams added that the win against St. Cloud was big on other levels.
“Winning and getting a home regional game is huge for us. It also means a lot because we had to beat a really good team to get here. St. Cloud has some great arms and is a very solid baseball club. Whoever they meet next better be ready for a battle.”
“We’re disappointed but not down,” St. Cloud Head Coach Dave Blackmore said. “We hit the ball hard tonight but just did not find the holes. Brandon had a rough inning with some walks but other than that we played a solid game. Our kids didn’t quit and we got the go-ahead run to the plate in the seventh and that’s all you can ask for. We regroup and get ready for next week’s regional game.”
Harmony’s win marked the school’s fourth district championship of the spring. Earlier last week, the boys and girls track teams won district titles to go with a boys’ weight lifting championship three weeks earlier.
