By PAUL GOTHAM
WEBSTER, N.Y. — Miguel Matos struck out 12 over six and two-third innings and battery mate Kyle Markham highlighted a four-run fourth as East High (14-0) defeated host Webster Thomas (6-8), 5-2 in non-league action, Thursday night.
Challenging hitters with his fastball and keeping those opposing batters off-balance with a slider, Matos threw six scoreless innings before surrendering a pair of runs in the seventh inning.
“You got to stay strong in the game,” the senior right-hander said. “My team needed me, so I had to focus. Let go the bad things and adjust. It works. Your mindset is important.”
After retiring the first two Titans he faced, Matos hit one batter and allowed a single before ending the first inning with a strikeout. That was the first of eight straight he set down.
“I can’t speak enough to the performance he gave on the mound tonight,” said East head coach Kyle Crandall. “He was really determined. This means a lot to him.
Matos was at his best in the fourth through sixth innings, when Thomas put a pair of runners aboard with one out in each frame. He responded in the fourth with a ground ball for an out and caught the next batter looking at a third strike. Next inning, he reversed the order and then in the sixth back-to-back fly balls to centerfield ended the threat.
Kyle Markham brings home two with a two-out single. @eastbaseball585 3-0 over @TitansBBall18 in the fourth. pic.twitter.com/ZWyEcqTOaq
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) May 3, 2024
Miguel Matos finishes his night with a strike out. Two outs in the seventh. Omar Rodriguez takes over with runners on first and second. pic.twitter.com/vYzvyJHZWt
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) May 3, 2024
Omar Rodriguez finishes it off. FINAL: @eastbaseball585 5 @TitansBBall18 2 @EastEpo pic.twitter.com/5lE5Kyz0cY
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) May 3, 2024
Shane Talbot goes into the alley to take extra bases from Eric Jones. Miguel Matos comes out to pitch the bottom of the sixth. @eastbaseball585 5-0 over @TitansBBall18 pic.twitter.com/UX9Ii77kQ9
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) May 3, 2024
He left the game in the sixth because of the pitch-count limit with two runners on base.
“He’s a competitor,” Crandall said. “He wants to win, and he wants to see this team be successful. You saw that tonight from him.”
Markham’s two-out single in the fourth brought home a pair of runners.
“At that point, you’re really looking to see how we can manufacture a run. If you get two or three it’s a bonus in a game like this. We finally kinda broke through a little bit in the fourth inning.”
Knotted in a scoreless game, Carlos Gaston and Omar Rodriguez worked back-to-back walks to start the inning. Gaston moved to third on a wild pitch and came home one-out later when Justus Robinson reached on an error. Markham’s drive to right center made it a 3-0 game.
The previous inning, East loaded the bases with no outs and came away empty-handed.
“That was tough,” Crandall said. “When we had bases loaded in the fourth, we were able to manufacture some runs. That was critical for this game.”
Markham walked and scored in the sixth on a play that showed the Eagles penchant for a daring approach on the basepaths. With two outs and the sophomore standing at second, Emille Diaz hit a ball to third base that was mishandled. Markham, moving on contact, didn’t stop. He rounded third and surprised the Thomas infield as he scampered down the line.
“We want to be multi-threats,” Crandall said. “We don’t want to just depend on small ball. We don’t want to just depend on getting hits. We want to go out and be able to do whatever it’s going to take to win games from an offensive standpoint.”
Last season, East made the move to adjust its schedule and only play Rochester City Athletic Conference (RCAC) teams once a year thus giving the Eagles an opportunity to play a more rigorous regular season.
“This is why we are playing these sort of games,” Crandall said. “This is why we’ve chosen to play city teams once and to play more County schools. I want my kids in these games. I want them to feel that pressure. This was a zero-zero game after three.”
Playing Webster Thomas meant facing a program that won the 2021 and 2022 Section V Class A1 titles.
“Kevin (Webster Thomas head coach Kevin Neenan) does a phenomenal job with his program. To not only be able to compete with some of these schools but to go out and beat them is big for us.”
Two weeks ago, East avenged its loss to Pittsford Mendon in last year’s Class A2 quarter-finals with a 9-2 victory. Matos struck out nine over six innings in that win.
“Mendon eliminated us last year from sectionals,” Crandall said. “The kids wanted that game. It was a revenge game for them.
Markham finished 2-for-2 at the plate with two walks. Matos singled in three at-bats and also worked a base on balls.
Rodriguez struck out the only batter he faced for the save.
“We’ve been working hard,” Matos said. “We’ve been working for this right now. We are going to keep going.”
Joey Presutti, Cameron Guffey and Shane Talbot opened the home half of the seventh with consecutive singles. Presutti scored on Talbot’s base hit. One out later, Joey Baller made it a 5-2 game with a single.
One-out single from Joey Baller cuts the deficit to three. Bottom 7: @eastbaseball585 5 @TitansBBall18 2 pic.twitter.com/obAsjoLHEw
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) May 3, 2024
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