Dade Christian Falls To Pine Crest’s Tough Pitching 6-2 Saturday

Dade Christian played well defensively Saturday but struggled against strong pitching from the Pine Crest staff in a 6-2 loss.

The Crusaders put a couple of runs together in the fourth inning, but the Panthers staff was on its game.

“We just couldn’t put a few hits together, and we have to cut down on the strikeouts,” Crusaders coach Abel Veulens said. “Overall, they played well. We just need to eliminate the mental mistakes.”

Panthers pitchers totaled 13 strikeouts and allowed six hits while the Panthers batters racked up 12 hits, including two home runs, one of which was by starting pitcher Steven Goldberg.

Goldberg went four and two-thirds innings and struck out nine while giving up four hits and a walk. He also added a solo blast to right field in the fourth to help his cause and extend the Panthers lead.

“It was a really good start for Goldberg for sure,” Pine Crest coach Glen Pierson said. “Nothing like getting six strikeouts to start off the game.”

Pine Crest scored two in the first thanks to hits by freshman shortstop Zack Kone and Chandler Cissel. Both players had nice days at the plate, with a combined five hits between them. Kone went 3-for-3 with a walk, and Cissel had two doubles. Cissel scored what would be the winning run in the third inning.

Another Panther who had a good day at the plate was Alex Perez, who had a two-run home run in the fourth and a single in the fifth. Ben Fiedler hit a double off the right-field fence in the fifth. Michael Pozzuoli and Adam Saks both had hits as well.

Shea Parikh pitched one and one-third innings for the Panthers in relief, striking out three Crusaders before Michael Cabrera came in to close the game.

Dade Christian’s Anthony Martez had two hits and scored a run in the fourth when he doubled and was driven in by Connor Morris, who hit a home run for the only scoring of the afternoon for the Crusaders.

Alex Perera, the starting pitcher for Dade Christian, struck out four and gave up four earned runs. Connor Morris pitched in relief for the Crusaders as well as Anthony Munoz. Morris had two strikeouts and no walks.

Pierson is pleased with the work his staff and kids have put in.

“Coach Manganero has done a really good job with our pitching staff,” Pierson said. “One of the things we are excited about is our depth. We have a really good group of kids and we are blessed.”

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