It’s been no secret all season long that Class 7A-District 9 is home to some of the best baseball programs, and players, in all of Pinellas County.
Wednesday’s district semifinal doubleheader at Countryside High School proved why.
Top seed Northeast, which hadn’t lost in more than a month, beat the host Cougars by a score of 3-0 in the opening game, thanks to a terrific pitching performance from junior Colton Tison.
But that game proved to be just an appetizer for what was to come.
In the nightcap, Pinellas Park’s Brandon Grigsby and East Lake’s Brad Depperman, two of the top starting pitchers in the entire Tampa Bay area, squared off in a pitcher’s duel for the ages.
The seniors engaged in a low scoring battle of strikeouts, with Depperman notching a dozen Ks while Grigsby upped him by three with a total of 15.
Unfortunately for the Patriots, Grigsby’s last strikeout was a heartbreaker.
Tied at one apiece with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth and two strikes on Andrew Monahan, Grigsby’s third strike skidded past catcher Danny McHenry to the backstop, and East Lake’s Steven Plaskett scampered home with the winning run as the Pinellas Park battery mates hung their heads in shock.
“Wow. I mean that was two gladiators out there battling each other,” East Lake head coach Dan Genna said afterwards. “To put that on a high school level…those guys were just electric.”
On the other side of the field, Patriots head coach Pat Russo tried to put into words how hard it was to see his senior ace end his career in such a tough manner.
“Brandon pitched his tail off,” Russo said. “But these guys need to learn that every pitch in the game matters, from the beginning to the end.”
“I just feel sorry for Brandon,” he added. “He’s truly one of the best pitchers I’ve ever coached.”
Grigsby (8IP, 5H, 2ER, 4BB, 15K, 127P) got what looked like the only run he would need in the first inning, when Triston Allen doubled and later scored on a double play groundout by Zach Roberts.
But after mowing down Eagles batters for five innings, Grigsby hit East Lake (18-7, 8-4) shortstop Keegan Maranpot with a pitch to lead off the sixth, and Maranpot came around to score the tying run on a double by nick DeSantis.
Pinellas Park (14-13, 5-6) had a chance to take the lead off Depperman (8IP, 4H, 1ER, 0BB, 12K, 100P) in the seventh, but Roberts got thrown out by Monahan trying to stretch a single into a double, and later pinch runner Marcelous Ware got picked off second base to end the inning.
That set up the extra inning dramatics.
Maranpot struck out to start the frame, and then Plaskett walked.
DeSantis then hit a tailor-made double play grounder to third, but Roberts threw the ball into centerfield, making it first and third with one out.
After walking Cameron Churchill intentionally, Grigsby got Ian Lisle to pop out to short, bringing Monahan to the plate for what wound up being the last play of the game.
“They’ll remember this game for a long time,” Russo said. “I won’t let them forget it.”
“There’s a whole bunch of dogs in this district, and we’ve got to be the hungriest,” Genna said of the 7A-9 competition. “The hungriest dog is the one’s that’s gonna win.”
In the opener, Northeast (21-4, 10-1) made it to the postseason for the first time in three years, thanks to Tison’s arm, some great defense and a couple of timely hits.
Chris Clark scored what wound up being the only run Tison would need when he doubled, stole third and scored on a groundout by Brett Maxwell in the bottom of the first inning.
From there the starting pitcher took over; Tison allowed just a pair of hits while fanning five in his complete game shutout in what has become a typical start for the emerging junior.
“Tison has matured a lot,” Vikings head coach Rob Stanifer said. “He came in a freshman really composed, but he’s gotten bigger and stronger and really learned how to pitch. He’s definitely the ace of the staff.”
For Countryside (14-10, 5-6) head coach Kemo O’ Sullivan, it was just the latest in a long line of heartbreaking losses.
“You’ve got to hand it to them, Tison’s a good pitcher, but that’s the story of our year,” he said. “But I have to take the blame because I didn’t prepare them well enough to hit.”
The kids tried, they were trying, but they were overmatched.”
Northeast will play East Lake for the district title Friday night at Countryside. Both teams advanced to next week’s regional playoffs based on their semifinal victories.