P.K. Yonge Baseball Falls At Newberry

NEWBERRY — It was a night to forget for P.K. Yonge baseball Thursday when the Blue Wave were run-ruled by the Newberry Panthers, 13-1.

Heading into the game, the Blue Wave (2-2) knew the matchup against Newberry (3-0) would be a challenge as they dropped their last four games against the Panthers. However, confidence brewed on the ride to Newberry after the Blue Wave won Tuesday at Eastside 17-0. 

P.K. Yonge found its offense in the first inning, scoring its lone run of the game through an RBI single by junior Tyler Belleville. The tide shifted toward the Panthers in the home half of the inning when they scored four runs headlined by Tavis Honeycutt’s mammoth three-run homer that gave Newberry a 4-1 lead.

“I got my pitch and I did what I needed to do with my pitch,”  Honeycutt said. That pitch was a fastball up in the zone that was turned into a moonshot, Honeycutt’s third of the season. 

The chatter from the crowd intensified when the 6-foot-5, 270-pound third baseman stepped into the batter’s box. Honeycutt isn’t your typical player in this district, he is a certified slugger. And he has the resume to show for it. Honeycutt committed to the Florida Gators over in-state rival Florida State University last fall.

“I took Florida, that was always my dream school,” he said. Honeycutt also mentioned his admiration for Florida baseball’s coach Kevin O’Sullivan and the facilities. 

“We left one up on Tavis and, of course, you know we can’t do that to him,”  P.K. Yonge coach Rob Brunson said. Honeycutt ended the night with three RBIs, four stolen bases, an intentional walk and another base hit. 

Blue Wave starting pitcher Sam DePaul, a sophomore, struggled to find the strike zone, allowing eight earned runs in 1.2 innings. Eighth-grader Gerardo Barrios allowed two earned runs in his 2.1 innings of relief. The Blue Wave also struggled on the field in committing six errors.

“We knew they were really good going into it, but we both were missing our spots,” DePaul (1-1) said.

Despite the loss, the young pitcher believes his team is on the right track.

“We knew we had to play our best game versus them, but in two, three years we’re going to be at that level,” DePaul said.

Newberry finished the game with 10 hits and two home runs. Brunson said he knows the Blue Wave has room to develop. 

“We’re young and we’re making young-team errors,”  Brunson said. “We got to figure it out and get some baseball IQ.”

The Blue Wave finish their five-game road trip to open the season Friday night at 7 at Hawthorne (2-3). 

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