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Baseball: Naples suffers 1-0 loss to Riverdale in 4A regional semifinal
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FORT MYERS — Hard to believe, first, when you consider the program, but especially when you consider the school.
Naples High, arguably sitting atop the Collier County prep sports mountain, has never had its baseball team win back-to-back state playoff games.
The streak continues.
A sixth-inning error in center field led to the game’s only run, which was scored on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Riverdale’s Ryan Connelly with one down in the sixth, as the hosting Raiders topped the Golden Eagles 1-0 in a Class 4A region quarterfinal.
Jordan Zech dropped Justin Richardson’s fly ball to start the inning. Richardson ended up on second. In the district championship game, Zech had thrown out a runner at second to end a 1-0 game.
“I think he relaxed,” Naples coach Rick Turner said of Zech’s drop. “I think he had it in the glove and he just rushed. You can’t let that one thing define him as a player. He always makes that play. He just rushed one.”
Turner opted to intentionally walk No. 3 hitter Ryan McChesney, then Nick Stewart sacrificed the runners over for the first out. Connelly fouled off three of the first four pitches he saw from Golden Eagles starter Josh Patton, then shot a grounder up the middle that shortstop Nathan Cox somehow tracked down and flipped to second baseman Tyler Koronas for the second out.
Koronas’ desperation spin-and-throw to first was a full stride too late, though, as Richardson crossed with the only run the Raiders (23-6) needed.
“It was a team win, with a lot of pride and determination,” said Riverdale coach Robert Pringle, whose team eliminated Naples for the second straight year to advance to the program’s first region final. “Connelly’s come up big for us with two strikes all season long, and he busted his butt to beat that throw. We scouted Naples last week, so we knew it was going to be this kind of game.”
The coaches also began to suspect, they said, that an air-tight pitchers duel would ultimately turn on a funny hop or misplay.
When it did, it spoiled Patton’s second sparkling effort in as many starts, as the lefty held the potent Riverdale lineup, which boasts four regulars hitting better than .500 for the season, to just four hits with two strikeouts and a pair of walks. Before Richardson got there to start the sixth, he’d allowed just two runners to reach second, at one point retiring eight straight and nine out of 10.
“I thought we did everything right, but they played a perfect game,” said Patton, who along with Ryan Sadler will return to form a formidable 1-2 for Turner’s team next season. “We learned that we’ve got to practice the small things if we’re going to get Riverdale next year. They’re a great team, and just to be able to play them in the playoffs is an honor.”
Unlike Patton’s district title-winning start last Thursday, when Golden Gate’s Stephen Grove made one mistake that cost him in a 1-0 loss, Riverdale lefty Nate Gahafer constantly wiggled out of trouble.
He was equally outstanding, having held Naples (19-9) to three hits with five strikeouts through six innings, but he walked five while the Golden Eagles just couldn’t come up with the big hit.
Naples stranded seven runners, had men on second and third in the third, and then loaded the bases with two down in the fourth, but both times, Gahafer escaped unscathed. Josh Berrios helped him in the sixth, when he made a running grab of Zech’s shot to deep left-center, then McChesney erased Patton stealing second after he led off the seventh with a walk.
Stewart entered and struck out Cox and Kyle Zech to save the game and end Naples’ season, yet again short of a region final berth.
“We had some early chances, then their defense was great when they needed it,” Turner said. “We made one mistake defensively, but Josh pitched a great game. You can learn from losing, though, and it just wasn’t our time. Maybe this little bit of hurt helps us next year.”
Naples 000 000 0 — 0 3 1
Riverdale 000 001 x — 1 4 1
Patton and Wingate; Gahafer, Stewart (7) and McChesney. WP — Gahafer. LP — Patton. 2B — Greenwell (R)
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