Maggy and the Coyotes Chomp the Sharks

Ryan Maggy had himself a night from the pitcher’s mound. The senior’s dominant performance was instrumental in Cypress Creek (8-4) taking it to Nature Coast (8-2) at the Shark Tank on Thursday evening. The visitors blanked the home team 7-0 as Maggy was named the Glory Days Player of the Game for his performance. Sharks Head Coach Dan Garofano spoke after the game about how the Coyotes managed to overwhelm his squad.

“Their pitcher threw well,” Coach Garofano said. “He changed speeds all night and they just beat us tonight. That happens in this game. They outhit us and outpitched us, and tonight they were the better team. There is a chance we will see them two more times during the season and those games will start out 0-0.”

The first pair of frames proceeded without much incident. The bottom of the second saw Senior Nate Leavitt high point the ball on a line drive that could have seen the Coyotes apply some pressure early, but Leavitt’s impressive snag held the visitors’ offense at bay for one more inning. Then, the third inning started, and Cypress Creek went to work.

With only one out on the board, the team in green loaded the bases before Junior Alex Debruyne was run home with a center shot to outfield by Senior Seamus Gallagher. The very next at bat saw the home team surrender another pair of runs on a Senior Brendon Timby shot just beyond the outstretched hand of Senior Dylan Palmer. Just like that, the Coyotes were up 3-0, but the home team was able to escape to the next inning for the time being.

“We have been playing good baseball,” said the Sharks’ coach. “This is how this game is. Sometimes you get outplayed. We did not beat ourselves, which I am happy about. I do not like giving games away. We did not give it away; they just outplayed us tonight.”

Maggy continued to take care of business on the bump as he struck out a trio of batters to bring his offense back out onto the diamond. This time, the Sharks were almost out of harm’s way with a pair of outs before the senior pitcher was walked to load the bases. Gallagher ran another two players across the plate before Timby finished off the scoring in the fourth with a bouncing shot to the outfield.

The senior pitcher’s night was not just impressive for throwing seven strikes, a complete game, and a shutout. He also put the icing on the cake for the visitors in the sixth inning. Leading 6-0 at the top of the frame, Maggy blasted a ball past the fence and into the trees to the left of the scoreboard. The home team would threaten with a runner on third later in the period, but the senior held firm in the next to hold the Sharks scoreless.

“We did not strike out much,” said Coach Garofano. “I do not know how many times it was, but it seemed like we did not strike out as many times. We put the ball in play a lot, especially with two strikes. That is kind of what we have been working on: trying to limit our strikeouts and make the defense make plays. Tonight, they made the plays.”

The team in Columbia blue will look to continue not striking out or beating themselves moving forward. They will have an opportunity to get back to their winning ways against the Bishop McLaughlin Catholic on Monday. They will face the Hurricanes that evening in game one of the Farm Bureau Tournament at 7:00.