Terry’s Gem Leads Westminster Past Gulliver, 3-1

Westminster Christian received an early season gem from southpaw Ryan Terry in a 3-1 win against Gulliver Prep on Wednesday in the Pro Grounds Invitational at Killian High School.

Terry picked up where he left off last season when he tossed a complete-game, three-hitter against Sagemont in a Class 3A regional semifinal win. Against Gulliver, the 5-foot-10, 170-pound Terry made the most out of his 68 pitches in five innings. The University of Central Florida signee showed no signs of off-season rust with a sharp performance from start to finish in his season debut. He allowed two hits, no earned runs, fanned five and walked one.

“I’ve been looking forward to this,” Terry said. “I knew I was going to face Gulliver. I’m a competitive guy and I wanted to win.”

Coming off such a breakout campaign last year, Terry set the tone for Warriors’ goals with a strong offseason conditioning routine.

“He’s worked a lot in the weight room,” said Westminster Manager Emil Castellanos. “He’s gotten a lot stronger. He’s focused.”

Westminster (2-0) gave Terry an early cushion thanks to a three-run first that was highlighted by an RBI single from Julian Infante and a two-run opposite field double from lefty Alvaro Valdez. Valdez went 2-for-2 with an intentional walk.

Gulliver right-hander Alex Valverde rebounded from a shaky start and allowed just one hit after the first inning. In a 76-pitch, five-inning outing, he gave up three hits, struck out seven and walked one. He worked out of a bases-loaded, one out jam in the third with two straight caught-looking strikeouts.

But the bats of Gulliver (1-1) struggled to mount a comeback.

“I don’t think we put any pressure on them,” said Raiders Manager Javier Rodriguez. “We didn’t really make any good efforts at the plate. We didn’t get guys in scoring position when we had to.”

After reaching on catcher’s interference in the fifth, Justin Fernandez scored Gulliver’s lone run when Alex Erro, batting out of the nine spot, drilled a double to deep left field.

Westminster submariner Jager Enriquez delivered two scoreless innings in relief. He was aided by his team’s second double play of the game.

“This early in the season, when the guys can execute like that, it’s nice. Our defense is solid,” Castellanos said.

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