Timber Creek baseball rebuilt for run at regionals
By J.C. CARNAHAN | April 30th, 2010 | Category: – RECENT POSTS, High School Sports, Orange County, Timber Creek
Timber Creek figured a shaky pitching staff would be the team’s biggest obstacle to overcome at the start of its high school baseball season. But it was a combination of injuries and inexperience the Wolves worked around during the regular season to finish near the top of a competitive Class 6A, District 4.
Earlier this week Timber Creek (21-6 overall, 6-2 in District 4) began postseason play in a 6-5 opening-round win over rival University then got past Boone in the semifinals 3-2 to qualify for the state tournament.
If the pleasant surprise on the year was a pitching staff that routinely threw strikes and got ahead of hitters, the blessing in disguise was being forced to acclimate players into new positions. “We finally got everyone fully healthy after patching things together early in the season,” said head coachScott Grove. First there was the need to slowly ease in seniorTyler Marincov, a huge contributor at the plate and on the mound over the years during his time at TCHS, who suffered a broken hand just before Christmas.
Then came an ankle injury to sophomore Branden Castro and a torn anterior cruciate ligament to junior Ray Guzman, among other bumps, bruises and unforeseen circumstances along the way. While players were moved around to new positions in order to help fill the void at different times, the Wolves’ pitching staff entered the final week of the season holding teams to a .199 batting average while allowing just 2.24 runs per game. Leading the way on the mound were senior Jonathan Dydo (6-1 record, 1.60 ERA and 33 strikeouts), juniorJohnny Rivera (6-3 record, 2.24 ERA and 50 strikeouts) and senior Travis McPherson (2-2 record, 3.00 ERA and 56 strikeouts).
At the plate, Timber Creek was averaging .394 with senior Jason Anderson (.487 on 37 hits with 27 RBI and 5 home runs), junior Spencer Angelis (.485 on 33 hits with 21 RBI and 5 doubles), McPherson (.472 on 25 hits with 14 RBI and 4 doubles) and Marincov (.438 on 32 hits with 26 RBI and 6 home runs) doing the most damage with their bats.
Also making an impact were two youngsters who figure to be huge contributors over the next few years – following the departure of eight seniors this spring – in sophomore Cody Sharp (.403 on 27 hits with 24 RBI and 4 home runs) and freshman Eugene Vazquez, who is already catching the attention of Division I state schools.
And the momentum gained from regrouping over the second half of the season has carried over into tournament time.
Against University, the young Vazquez hit a two-run homer while the experienced Anderson drove in two runs. Then against Boone, Angelis and Castro each drove in runs to put the Wolves in Friday night’s District 4 title game at Winter Park. The good news for the Wolves moving forward this season, as single elimination loomed, has been the way they’ve seemed to hit their stride at just the right time. “These kids have a good chance (to advance), just like any other year,” said Grove before the start of district play last week. “But anybody can beat anybody in our district.”
Since suffering a two-run district loss to Cypress Creek on March 24 the Wolves have won 13 of their last 14 games (and 17 of their last 19), which included winning a tournament title over Spring Break in Sanford. Their lone loss in that stretch was a 4-3 decision that went the way of Spruce Creek. Looking back, that four-game tournament stretch at the end of March seemed to serve as the team’s coming of age. “Those tournaments can work for you, or against you,” said Grove. “If you’re struggling at that time it’s tough to gather yourself before the end of the season.” But for Timber Creek, who took the title with a 6-4 win over Coral Gables, it seemed as though the season was just beginning to take shape.
Wounds were being healed. Players molded into well-rounded contributors both in the field and from top to bottom in the batting order.
“We saw some great pitching from some of those private schools (in the tournament) and it kind of made us realize we can play with anyone,” said Grove. Because of that, they entered the postseason expecting a little more from the teams they might be matched up with based on the kind of competition they’d already faced. And should that confidence carry them deep into regional play, beginning May 4, then this team could be a few bounces of the ball away from putting those trying times behind them for good.
TCHS Baseball scores two in sixth to get by Hagerty
By J.C. CARNAHAN | May 5th, 2010 | Category: High School Sports, Orange County, Seminole County,Timber Creek
We have yet to hear the last of high school baseball’s Class 6A, District 4.
Timber Creek (22-7) used two runs in the top of the sixth inning and a gem of a pitching performance fromJonathan Dydo to ruin the postseason debut for Hagerty High School (17-11) on Tuesday night. TCHS overcame a one-run deficit on the road to pull out a 2-1 win over the Class 6A, District 3 champs. Dydo, a Savannah State College commit, struck out seven and allowed just two hits over seven innings while Hagerty’s Brandon Bixler, bound for Florida Gulf Coast University, also struck out seven and gave up seven hits while going the distance.
It was a tough sixth inning for Bixler that benefited Timber Creek and proved to be the difference. Trailing 1-0 with one out and runners at first and third for the Wolves, senior Tyler Marincov chopped the first pitch his way over the head of the third baseman to score pinch-runner Milton Alvira and knot the game at 1-all. Branden Castro started the big inning with a single to left field before Cody Sharp moved him over to second base on a bunt. Alvira took over the base running duties from there and proceeded to third on a single byAustin Moore, who would soon advance to third base himself and tag up on a pop-up to right field by Spencer Angelis during the next at-bat to score the winning run.
That sets up a District 4 rematch on Friday between the Wolves and Freedom (26-4), who took the district title last week in a close game at Winter Park. Freedom ousted Oviedo from postseason play on Tuesday. The Huskies got on the scoreboard first when in the bottom of the fourth inning Bixler logged Hagerty’s first hit of the game to right field, then made way for pinch runner Sergio Almarez to make his way around the bases. With Jeff Driskel at the plate, Almarez stole second and third before making it home on a pop-up to centerfield.
Dydo looked to be in trouble from that point on as he then walked a batter and was charged with a balk, which moved runners to second and third with just one out. But then he struck out a batter on a full-count pitch and got out of the inning with a routine groundout to shortstop. He would dominate from that point on, striking out four of the last nine batters he faced in the final three innings of play.
Marincov and Travis McPherson each finished with two hits while Eugene Vazquez added a single in the seventh for Timber Creek. Marincov also stole a base in the fourth. Keeping the game close early on for Hagerty was Alex Greene, who turned in some big plays in the field for the Huskies in the loss. In the third inning the second baseman made a nice catch to his left on a line drive before topping that play with a diving stop of a grounder to the same side, which he turned into the third out of the inning on a throw to first from his knees. Greene then threw out a runner in the fourth and made a diving stop of a hart-hit grounder to his right side to hold up the hitter at first base. He later did the same thing in the top of the sixth, but the Wolves would do all the damage they would need in the frame for the win.
Win over Freedon sends TCHS to 6A Region Finals
By J.C. CARNAHAN | May 13th, 2010 | Category: High School Sports, Orange County, Timber Creek
It’s already been a baseball season to remember at Timber Creek High School. After winning in the regional playoffs for the first time since the program started in 2002, the Wolves are one game away from the state semifinals.
On Friday night, Class 6A Coach of the Year Scott Grove leads the Wolves into the regional finals at Jacksonville Mandarin.
(Photo by Mike Dydo)
It was a 4-2 win at Freedom (26-5) last week, in a rematch of the District 4 title game won by the Patriots, which moved Timber Creek (23-7) along in the bracket. With a 4-0 lead heading into the seventh inning senior Travis McPherson had held Freedom to just two hits on the night. The first against him came in the third inning when Alfredo D’Amelio singled. The second came in the sixth when Orlando Riverasingled to left field.
Grove stayed with McPherson in the seventh, though, even after he allowed singles to Jordan Scott,Jason Holland and D’Amelio to load the bases with two outs in the final frame. Jay Gonzalez proceeded to drive in two runs on a pop-up to left field, which put the winning run at the plate. But McPherson held tough, getting Rivera to groundout to second for the final play of the game. Then the dugout emptied in celebration.
McPherson struck out five in what became win No. 200 for Grove at Timber Creek. It marked the 15th win in the past 17 games for the Wolves. The Wolves scored two runs in both the third and fifth innings while spending much of the night taking what they could get at the plate, against Freedom pitcher Michael Clark, and making the routine plays in the field to back up McPherson. Three errors by the Patriots assisted the Timber Creek offense.
In the third, Tyler Marincov singled to right field and Spencer Angelis got on base with a grounder past third.Jason Anderson helped them reach home plate with a hit up the middle to centerfield, which was misplayed on a bounce, and gave TCHS an early advantage. In the fifth, Marincov doubled on a grounder past shortstop then scored on a bad throw to the plate after Angelis hit a shot to right field. McPherson followed with a double to right field to plate Angelis and give the Wolves a comfortable cushion the rest of the way.
Timber Creek finished with nine hits in the game as both Marincov and Angelis got things started with bunts in the first inning. Freshman Eugene Vazquez singled on a line drive up the middle in the second and Branden Castro singled through a hole between shortstop and third base in the fourth. Despite the setback for the Patriots, several big plays were made in the field.
Ronald Schreurs snagged a hart-hit line drive for an out along the first-base line and Scott laid-out to make a catch in right field for an out in the fifth. In the top of the seventh, Jeffrey Orvis fielded a grounder at third and fired a throw to second, where Rivera charged in to make the catch while all in one motion planting a foot on the base for a force-out. Orvis caught a liner on the very next play.
The Class 6A State Semifinals are scheduled for Friday, May 21 at Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie with the championship game to follow on Saturday, May 22.
New approach by coach helps TCHS into final four
By J.C. CARNAHAN | May 18th, 2010 | Category: High School Sports, Orange County,Timber Creek
The Timber Creek baseball team became the first Class 6A squad from Orange County to advance to the state final four since Boone finished as runners-up back in 2005.
Somehow that seems so long ago.
Jonathan Dydo (Photo by Mike Dydo)
Thanks to a stellar pitching performance from Jonathan Dydo and some patience at the plate, the Wolves advanced in the tournament with a 4-1 win at Jacksonville Mandarin on Friday in the FHSAA Region 1 final. Held hitless through four innings, Timber Creek (24-7) lit the scoreboard first when in the top of the fifth Jason Anderson homered and Eugene Vazquez drove in a run on a single.
Dydo, who TCHS Coach Scott Grove credited for using both sides of the plate and pounding the strike zone, allowed a run in the bottom half of the inning but finished with nine strikeouts in just over six innings of work. Timber Creek tacked on two more runs in the sixth when Spencer Angelis drove in a run and Anderson advanced on a passed ball. Tyler Marincov also scored a run.
“Hats off to Mandarin,” Grove told the Florida Times-Union afterwards. “But that was typical of our kids to keep it up. We knew we would face some tough pitching, and we just feel fortunate to leave their field with a win.” The Wolves take on Flanagan (Pembroke Pines) at Digital Domain Park (formerly Tradition Field) in Port St. Lucie on Friday at 8 p.m. in the state semifinals. Alonso (Tampa) and American (Hialeah) meet up in the other semifinal on Friday at 1 p.m. The championship game is set for 7 p.m. on Saturday. Lake Brantley captured a 6A state title for Seminole County in 2008.
– When It Matters Most –
Following nine seasons of baseball, Timber Creek is finally finding ways to win when it matters most – in the postseason.
Scott Grove
And it may have a lot to do with the new approach of the lead guy in the dugout. As the Wolves prepared for a third trip to regionals in the short history of the program, Grove took a step back, looked over Timber Creek’s body of work over the years and came away hoping to avoid any repeat of the past. He figured there must be some explanation for the way the floor has fallen out from under his teams each postseason after completing such successful regular season runs. This despite averaging more than 20 wins each year and finishing near the top of their district standings.
“I just thought ‘what could we do to make things different’,” said Grove. Turns out the answer happened to be much closer than he imagined. Grove began to temper his emotions as opposed to wearing any frustration on his sleeve whenever the game strayed from the picture-perfect production he’d envisioned going in. He proceeded to encourage his team to play through their miscues instead of reminding players of them each time through facial expressions.
Jason Anderson (Photo by Mike Dydo)
It paid off at Hagerty in the opening round, just one game after losing in the district finals. That’s when while trailing by a run, and maintaining a level of calmness, he gathered the troops and reminded them to keep competing until the very end. The Wolves responded with two runs in the sixth inning and solid play in the field to come away with the win. “I think with me being so uptight and not wanting things to go wrong, that it’s affected them during games,” explains Grove. “They would see it in my face when things went wrong and that carried over into their attitudes.” So he set out to change his own attitude.
Trailing by a run in the sixth inning? No problem. You’re No. 2 pitcher in a rematch with the big hitters that handed you a district championship game loss? No problem. “We’ve been playing extremely relaxed,” said Grove. No more worrying about mistakes on the spot because the Wolves already have their minds set on making the next play. No better way to play this game, one could argue. A game that could come down to a bad hop of the ball just as easily as it could a bad throw. “I’m a perfectionist,” said Grove. “I want everything to go a certain way. But everybody makes mistakes.”
And in this year’s postseason everybody is getting a chance at redemption. For the errors, the strikeouts, the premature ending of season’s past. Including Grove, who is just as focused on reaching the pinnacle of this journey (after coming so close a decade ago) as his young team is.“Baseball is a lot like life,” he said. “It’s about the way you respond to adversity when things don’t go your way.”
– It’s Been A Long Time –
To imply that Grove has somehow had it wrong all these years as a high school baseball coach would be like assuming every individual kid is wired in the same way. In fact, Grove has been consistent in both the win-loss column and in the impressive number of student-athletes he sends on to collegiate programs.
Tyler Marincov is safe at home on Friday in Jacksonville. (Photo by Mike Dydo)
This type of change is more about coming to grips with how best to manage the personnel you’ve got at your disposal, or rather on your roster. Back in 2000, Grove led Colonial High School to a state runner-up finish behind fiery pep talks, which he said led to that group “rising to the occasion.” That was certainly a slice of Grove’s personality which he carried over from his days of touring the minor leagues ranks as a pitcher for the Braves, Blue Jays and Brewers organizations.
And that might help shed light on what drives someone to become so demanding of others after spending their entire lives immersed in a game of skill, detail, chance, and the inevitable physical wear and tear that takes place over time. Grove has a shoulder that knows a ballplayer’s fate all too well. But he sounds more like a parent today then he does a coach when talking about the kind of student-athletes he has on this year’s team at Timber Creek. He says they’ve truly bought into the system and that they’re all “really great kids with a lot of ability.”
They don’t appear to lack for effort, either. “Nobody is sweating harder than us,” said Grove over the weekend. “Nobody is working harder than us.” Proving that a coach can make all the personal changes they desire, but that there’s nothing as tried-and-true in sports as continuing to bust your tails in practice.
It’s end of road for Timber Creek baseball at states
By J.C. CARNAHAN | May 21st, 2010 | Category: High School Sports, Orange County, Timber Creek |
The season came to an abrupt end for the Timber Creek baseball team Friday night as they dropped an 8-4 decision to Pembroke Pines Flanagan at the state semifinals in Port St. Lucie.
The Wolves were outhit 14-9 in the loss as Jonathan Dydo got behind opposing batters early on before allowing four runs in the third and six hits through three innings. Travis McPherson gave up three earned runs on eight hits in relief while striking out seven over the final four innings.
2010 Timber Creek Baseball
Trailing 5-0 entering the bottom of the fifth, the Wolves had mustered just two hits before piecing together what looked to be a reversal of fortunes. Timber Creek scored three runs on five hits in the fifth when Jason Anderson and McPherson were drove in by Eugene Vazquez and Branden Castro, respectively; and pinch-runner Emmanuel Acevedomade it home on a hit to right field by Cody Sharp.
But just as quick as the Wolves got back in the game, Flanagan loaded the bases in its next at-bat to extend the lead.
McPherson somehow got out of the sixth with minimal damage as he allowed only one run while faced with loaded bases four different times in the inning. Spencer Angelis got that run back in the bottom of the sixth though with a solo home run. Then the next three batters went down in order. That made it 6-4 entering the seventh and final inning. And yet Flanagan was hardly done.
When McPherson returned to the mound he was hit hard to centerfield, scoring two more runs in the top of the seventh, before retiring the final two batters he faced. He could only watch from there as dreams of playing in the state title game were thwarted when Castro and Austin Moore were left stranded on base during the team’s final stab at a rally.
Angelis, McPherson and Castro each finished 2-for-3 on the night. Sharp, Anderson and Moore reached base safely with one hit apiece.
While Flanagan – ranked among the nation’s Top-25 by publications such as Baseball America – stranded 10 runners in the win, the Wolves had a tough time at the plate against one of the best teams in the country. At one point Timber Creek batters were retired seven-straight times early in the game as big plays in the field robbed them of base hits, most notably in the third, fourth and fifth innings. The Wolves stranded five runners in the loss.
Timber Creek finishes it’s best season in program history with a 24-8 mark.
–– Road To State Final Four ––
http://orlandosportscentral.com/2010/05/its-end-of-road-for-timber-creek-baseball-at-states/
