BROOKSVILLE – The Hernando Leopards (8-5) fell 4-3 to the Hudson Cobras (4-8) in the final frame on Monday evening. After building an early three-run lead, the Purple and Gold surrendered four scores in the seventh inning to fall on the first night of the Farm Bureau Classic tournament.
Hernando was one of several schools to play host in the Spring Break competition, and that seemed to help for much of the matchup. Unfortunately for the home team, they narrowly failed to put the Cobras away and were sent into the lower bracket against the East Lake Eagles on Tuesday.
After the game, Leopards Head Coach Tim Sims detailed what led to the sudden change in result for his squad.
“The last game, the Hudson hitters did a very good job of two-strike hitting and putting it in play, and we didn’t make plays,” Coach Sims said. “They put it in a difficult place to make and did a good job of not striking out. They did an excellent job.”
The first two innings looked like a pair of teams getting a feel for each other before Hernando broke the ice with an Austin Knierim single after a walk, a steal, and a sacrifice hit set up Senior Mason Morgan at third.
Two frames later, the Junior Knierim would blast an in-the-park home run deep down the first base line to bring the score to 3-0 in the top of the fifth. Ironically, it would be a nearly identical hit in the bottom of the seventh inning that would knot the score at 3-all. On the very next play, Freshman Aiden Shuster would steal home on a wild pitch to end the contest.
“[Hudson] did not quit at the end,” Coach Sims said. “They kept fighting. So, you got to tip your hat to a team that does that, and they did. We had our chances early and could not get a knock with people on base. They hung around and made things happen in the last inning.”
A positive the head coach took away from Monday’s result was the “excellent” play of Senior Gage Blade. After a couple of stray pitches in the first inning, Blade locked in and did not surrender a single run.
“Gage played through a heck of a game for us, put us in a good situation,” the Leopards head coach said.
As Blade’s pitch count neared 100, Coach Sims went to his bullpen and tabbed Junior Pitcher Michael Saltsman to deliver the final two outs of the evening. To the home team’s chagrin, the relief pitcher fell one strike shy of delivering a win before the Cobras made their final push.
“We are feeling out young guys throwing,” Coach Sims added. “You have to experience good, bad, and ugly, and tonight was all three. That is the best way to say that. They will bounce back. They are kids. They will forget about it in 24 hours.”
Coach Sims and company are going to have more youth starting on the mound in their next outing. The Leopards will take on the Eagles (8-5) at 4 PM on Tuesday. Hernando’s staff will look to see consistency from their junior pitchers moving forward as well.
