P.K. Yonge Baseball Shuts Out West Port

P.K. Yonge baseball won a game Thursday by five runs or more for the seventh time this season by dominating West Port 8-0 at Bobby Hawkins Field. 

Tyler Belleville earned his first win of the season looking like an IRONMAN, pitching all seven innings and putting up seven strikeouts to thrust the Blue Wave (9-3) past the Wolf Pack (1-10). 

Maybe it’s the time change, but West Port’s pitching staff lost track of the strike zone early in the game. A walk and a hit batter with the bases loaded in the bottom of the first drove in the first two runs for the Blue Wave. Pitcher Kaiden Lavery had to talk it over with the coaching staff before finally escaping the inning with a groundout. 

After jumping to the 2-0 lead, the Blue Wave responded with impenetrable pitching and fielding. By the fourth, the team from Ocala was finally at the top of its batting order and Belleview was at 20 pitches. 

P.K. Yonge knows how to play the outfield hill to its advantage. In the second, center fielder Sam DePaul made back-to-back outstanding plays on the home grass. The sophomore first sprinted to haul in a line drive. Then, a shot to center flew over his head and rolled up the unusual outfield in center. The runner thought it was an easy double until DePaul threw a rope to second base, befuddling the baserunner and ending the inning. 

“The hill is so hard to play on,” DePaul said. “It bounced right in my glove, I turned around, fired and knew he was out.”

P.K. Yonge coach Rob Brunson praised his versatile sophomore. 

“He just tracks the ball really well,” Brunson said. “He gets to the ball really fast and he’s got a strong arm.”

The Wolf Pack’s pitching woes continued when 6-foot-4 Charlie Tumminia took the box in the bottom of the third. 

“Second at bat I was like I’m going up there swinging,” he said. “That’s exactly what I did.” 

The Wolf Pack’s heads sunk in unison as the fastball was returned with a moon ball to left field, extending the lead to 3-0. It was the senior’s first career home run. 

An unlikely star emerged when the Blue Wave got runners on base: the bench. Brunson utilized pinch (courtesy) runners every chance he could when players got on base, consistently running out freshman Emory Richardson and Alex Elliott to steal and round the bases. Three of the Blue Wave’s eight runs came from the two speedsters. 

“I like to try and get some of these younger guys in the game and let them run for the pitcher and catcher,” Brunson said.

The Blue Wave had to pitch to West Port’s Cole Cordes, who had a single and a double on the night. He came in batting .552, so there was some caution with how to approach the senior at the plate.

“We threw it at his hands a couple times and then we brought it outside,” Brunson said. “You have to hit your spots really well.” 

But why even care about one hitter when you can pitch seven innings with a shutout? Belleville (1-0) didn’t. 

“I wasn’t worried about anyone on the team,” Belleville said. “I was just throwing strikes.”

The junior stood tall as he described his first start and win. That is until Tumminia and DePaul creeped from behind and doused him in ice water for his accomplishment. 

“The boys are lucky to have that group there,” West Port coach Samuel Mason said. 

The second-year head coach had not faced the Blue Wave, but applauded their discipline, defense and coaching. 

“Coach Brunson’s got a classic, well-coached program,” Mason said. 

P.K. Yonge rounds out the week by hosting Branford (5-4) Friday night at 7. Brunson said he’ll give DePaul (1-1) the start for the difficult matchup against some familiar faces for the pitcher. 

“I know a lot of dudes on that team from travel ball,” DePaul said. “I’m very excited.”

P.K. Yonge sits second in 2A-District 4 behind the Newberry Panthers.

Category: Baseball, High School Sports, PK Yonge High School