Homestead Shocks Southridge With Monster Seventh

The Homestead Broncos broke out of a three-game slide Thursday night thanks to a seventh-inning rally that led them past the visiting Southridge Spartans by a final of 7-6.

They say that in baseball, hitting is contagious and it certainly seemed so for Homestead in the bottom of the seventh. Facing a daunting four-run deficit, Pedro Martinez stepped to the plate undeterred and kicked off the inning with his first base hit of the night. The idea must have took, as the next three Broncos to step into the box also singled, doubling the teams hit total and bringing Martinez around for a run in the process, his second of the game.

The fifth batter of the inning broke the hit streak with a strikeout, but an ensuing fielder’s choice by Ryan Taute brought home Alexis Yepez and cut the deficit to two. It was enough to put the pressure on the Spartans and force them into a series of miscues that allowed three more runs to score, giving Homestead the unlikely, come-from-behind victory against their district rival.

The rally marked the first time the Broncos had scored since they took a 2-1 lead on a two-run double by Yepez in the second inning.

Previously, Southridge had jumped out in front on an RBI single by E.J. Doskow in the first. They reclaimed the lead by scoring a run in each the fourth, fifth and sixth innings and seemed to have put a bow on things when Nick Deegan kicked off a two-run seventh with a double down the left-field line.

The win was Homestead’s first district victory of the season and puts them at 4-5 overall. The Spartans fall to 6-5 with a 1-3 district mark.

Leave a comment using your facebook account!