Big first inning propels Taravella past Western in 7A baseball regional quarterfinals
Check another goal off the list for the Taravella baseball team.
The young, talented, and fundamentally sound Trojans on Saturday took care of business and tripped up Western, 9-4, in the decisive third game of a Region 4-7A quarterfinal series.
JC Martinez powered Taravella with four hits, including a double and home run, and finished the afternoon with four hits and three RBIs.
Left-hander Joey Ghann allowed just one earned run in 4 2/3 innings, and Taravella now advances to the Region 4-7A semifinals against four-time, defending state champion Stoneman Douglas.
Game 1 of the three-game set will be on Wednesday at Douglas, the top seed in the region. Game 2 will be on Thursday, and if Game 3 is necessary, it will be on Saturday, May 3, at Taravella.
'We set two goals for the season,' Taravella first-year coach Jorge Miranda said. 'First goal was making it to regionals. We had a good enough regular season to get to regionals, comfortably, within the first four or five seeds. And win one series.'
Already, the Trojans accomplished those objectives.
Even though they lost 2-0 to Western on April 14 in the first game of the district tournament, Taravella entered the regional quarterfinals as the fourth seed. Western was fifth. The Wildcats forced a game three with a 9-3 win on Thursday at Taravella.
Taravella (17-11) seized control on Saturday with a five-run first inning. All the runs scored with two outs. Anthony Tizol opened the scoring with a two-run home run to right.
Western starter Ryan Schaefer was hurt by walks, issuing five of them, and the right-hander was lifted after recording two outs.
Sebastian Mayfield kept the inning alive with his two-out walk. Tizol followed with his homer.
'Scoring five runs with two outs set the tone,' Miranda said.
With a big lead early, Ghann pitched to contact, and let his defense work behind him. Third baseman Colton Dishman, especially, stood out at third base.
'I think rolling into the next couple of innings, and having ground ball after ground ball, and my third baseman making play after play, allowed us to kind of calm down,' Miranda said.
Zach Stephens had an RBI double for Taravella, and Jeremiah McFarlane added a run-scoring single, and the Trojans never looked back.
Western (13-16) trailed 6-0 before getting on the board in the fifth inning. Gavin Andreu had a single and scored a run.
For Western, Miguel Tapia and Taisuky Rodriguez each scored runs for the Wildcats.
A decisive blow came in the top of the seventh when Martinez blistered a two-run home run to left-center, making it 9-3, before Western added a run in the seventh.
Bryson Plante pitched the final 2 1/3 innings for the Trojans.
'In games like this, it's about putting balls in play, playing good defense and getting outs,' Miranda said. 'That's what we did.'
The regional semifinals should be filled with drama and excitement with neighboring Stoneman Douglas and Taravella.
Douglas' pitching has been dominant all season, and it's been especially strong in the postseason. In the two regional wins against Cypress Bay, they gave up just two runs. And Douglas pitchers tossed two shutouts in the district tournament.
Coach Todd Fitz-Gerald's team certainly is among the favorites to win the 7A state title.
'Douglas is a great program,' Miranda said. 'Deep pitching staff. Good athletes. Fitz is a great coach. We're going to go in there as underdogs.
'Not saying nobody is going to give us a chance, because, obviously, I think we're a good enough team to go out there and compete. We're going in there with the mentality of playing loose, playing free, and whatever happens happens.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indianapolis Star
6 hours ago
- Indianapolis Star
Center Grove gets off to hot start, buries Brownsburg for baseball regional title
Center Grove scored six runs in the first inning and never looked back, earning a 14-3 win over Brownsburg in the Class 4A regional championship game Saturday. The win clinches Center Grove's second regional title in the past three years. The Trojans advance to face Franklin next Saturday in the semistate semifinals. "The offense came out firing today," Center Grove starting pitcher Gannon Grant said. "I felt really comfortable. All I had to do was throw strikes and let my defense work." IHSAA baseball regionals: Statewide pairings, schedule, scores Elsewhere: North Central outlasts Greenfield-Central ace, wins first regional title since 1994 Grant allowed three runs over six innings, striking out six and walking one. Brownsburg did a great job getting hard contact on Grant, but the Trojans' defense made plays on the ball, limiting the damage. Colin McNeer and Ty Jarvis each had an RBI. Cayon Koonce had two hits and two runs scored. Carson Bush, Tristan Yerman and Hudson Stewart all drove in runs in the first inning. Bulldogs' reliever Ryan Murphy held the Trojans in check until the six innings when Center Grove scored four more runs. The Trojans added four runs in the seven as well. Yerman led Center four with four hits and seven RBIs. Gannon Grant had three hits and one run scored. Andrew Krupa had four hits and three RBIs. "That is a fabulous offensive team, so for us to come out and put six (runs) on them, maybe tighten them up a little bit, it was awesome," Center Grove coach Keith Hatfield said. "It really set the tone. Maybe we relaxed a little bit for a few innings, but when you build that kind of a lead it gives you a little leeway to not play well."
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Lincoln Riley reveals reason for USC football's recruiting surge
The post Lincoln Riley reveals reason for USC football's recruiting surge appeared first on ClutchPoints. Last week, the USC football team picked up a commitment from five-star tight end Mark Bowman. That was the before the calendar turned to June, and yet it was the 27th commitment that the Trojans have landed in the 2026 recruiting class. USC is on another level right now as it has far and away the best recruiting class in the country, and more commitments are likely on the way. Advertisement So, what changed? The USC football team has always recruited well, but never like this. The Trojans are on a different level right now, and NIL support is a big reason why. 'We were very behind,' USC head coach Lincoln Riley said, according to an article from On3. 'There's no other way to put it. The belief and excitement around this program, for all those who support us, is high right now. The more we've built and have had some of the success that we did early, it's just created belief and momentum. It's giving validity to what we're trying to do. And then all of a sudden, more people want to support it. More people want to come to work here. More recruits want to come here because they see what's happening, and they see that USC is really taking this seriously. This is not one of those things where it's a bunch of hollow promises, and things aren't being followed through. It's important to this university right now.' While the Trojans were behind other big college football programs, they were still in a good spot compared to other schools. Still, USC is expected to compete with the best of the best, and the program is starting to feel like it can accomplish that. 'Compared to when we started, there is a lot of difference,' Riley said. 'There was not a whole lot here at that point. We had to do a lot of work to build, not just to get it going, but to try to build an infrastructure to educate our fans, our donors, people around this program that care about it, and why this was important.' Advertisement Lincoln Riley is well aware of the lofty expectations at USC, and he knows that his team hasn't been good enough in recent years. He and the rest of the staff are constantly working to put the program in the best position possible. 'It can never come together soon enough,' he added. 'I know our expectations as a staff and at this place are as high as they get. You're just trying to push things along as much as possible. At that point, I was confident and excited about some of the changes that we had made and some of the progress that we had made. They're still going to continually be decisions that we have to make, moves that we have to make to continue to elevate this program. While no progress has been made on the actual football team, this USC team still feels like things are moving in the right direction. 'Every step right now feels good,' Riley said. 'You feel the progress within the walls right now, the ability to be able to go out. The progress has put us back in a position where we feel like we can have an opportunity to bring in the very best into our program, whether it's staff members, whether it's recruits. You go into this recruiting cycle, and you feel like you got a shot to go add the very best people in the business, the people that are going to help propel USC forward.' Advertisement Lincoln Riley and the rest of the USC football team are feeling good, but they know that there is still a lot of work to be done. 'I don't know if comfortable is the right word,' Riley admitted. 'I know we're making progress. I know it, and I feel it and I see it. I've compared it — when we got here, it's like you're looking up at a dam and there's leaks everywhere. You're just constantly trying to fix things and plug leaks over and over. That's all you have time for. I'm not saying it's perfect right now, but there are not nearly as many leaks. We're gaining ground and building momentum.' Recruiting at this level is huge for the USC football team, and it is certainly a good sign for the future. However, it means nothing unless the Trojans can actually start putting it together on the gridiron. Related: Michigan football WR coach reveals 'unique' Bryce Underwood traits Related: Former Boston College quarterback heading to Tennessee State
USA Today
20 hours ago
- USA Today
USC football countdown to kickoff continues—Shaun Cody in in focus
USC football countdown to kickoff continues—Shaun Cody in in focus The countdown to USC's 2025 football season is officially on! The Trojans kick off their new campaign 84 days from today. You need something to help you while away the days and hours in the spring and summer. This is one way to do so. In this new series, countdown to kickoff, we will be counting down the days by highlighting a notable Trojan who wore each number. Today, we take a look at legendary USC defensive lineman Shaun Cody. Position: Defensive line Years played at USC: 2001-2004 Career highlights: Cody was one of the first massive recruits of the Pete Carroll era at USC. Famously, Cody and his father were set on him going to Notre Dame, but Carroll and defensive line coach Ed Orgeron were able to change their mind and convince Cody to come to USC. The move paid off for both sides, as Cody became a standout on Carroll's early USC teams. Cody won two national championships with the Trojans, serving as a captain of USC's 2004 title team as a senior. That year, he was named a first-team All-American after recording 44 tackles and nine sacks. After USC: Cody was selected in the second round of the 2005 NFL draft by the Detroit Lions. He would go on to play eight seasons in the league, four with Detroit and four with the Houston Texas. He recorded double-digit tackles in all eight of his NFL seasons, including a career-high 38 with Houston in 2010. Cody currently serves as an analyst on the radio broadcast of USC football games. He is also a co-host of USC's official "Trojans Live" show, which airs weekly during football season (with some episodes during the spring as well).
