Bishop Verot Wins Back And Forth Battle With Fort Myers

Gunnar Byrd celebrates with his teammates after striking out the last batter of the game.

Cross city rivals Fort Myers Green Waves and Bishop Verot Vikings faced off Friday night in a spirited game. The Vikings struggled to get any offense going early, while the Green Wave were able to gain an early one run lead. Later in the game, solid pitching and aggressive offense helped the Vikings gain back the lead and eventually claim a 5-4 win.

The Vikings (2-2) showed their desire to win in the fifth inning when the offense did not let up. Gunnar Byrd reached base on a single and moved to second on a wild pitch. Trevor Cramer then had a patient at-bat and walked to put runners on first and second. Fort Myers brought in Mason Brooke to try and get out of the jam. He gave up a single to Michael Richey, scoring Byrd and moving Cramer to second. A wild pitch moved both runners over and a double by Piatigorski brought them home.

“I was looking for a fastball and I got a good piece of one,” said Piatigorski.

The Green Wave (2-4) came out ready to face Vikings starter Drew Dwyer. After a single by Jason Schumbacker and two walks, third baseman Jack Mora hit a sac-fly to bring in the first run. Dwyer was then able to pitch himself out of the inning. Dwyer found his rhythm after the first and and made it through the fourth only allowing one hit and striking out four.

In the fourth the bats came alive for the Vikings in the fourth after designated hitter Nico Piatigorski singled and stole second putting him in scoring position. A single by Bryce Glasgow brought home a run while he advanced to second on the throw home. Third baseman Michael Green singled to left and brought in Glasgow, giving the Vikings the lead going into the fifth.

“We talked about having energy, which was easy going into a rival game,” said Bishop Verot manager David Nelson. “We were able to adjust to the pitcher and we started hitting the baseball hard.”

Jack Mora hits a sac-fly to bring in the first run of the game for the Green Wave.

In the fifth the Green Wave answered back with three runs of their own. Gabe Trank and Wes Wiles both reached base on a single and then were moved over after two walks allowing Trank to score. The score was tied at two and the bases loaded when a hit batter allowed Wiles to score and kept the bases loaded. A passed ball brought in Jack Mora and moved the runners into scoring position. Avery Hall then walked, loading the bases again and the Vikings brought in reliever Gunnar Byrd. He was able to get two consecutive outs and end the inning before any more runs crossed the plate.

“I went up to the mound thinking outside,” said Byrd. “I was locating my fastball all game, so it was my go-to.”

Byrd showed control in the sixth and seventh. He struck out one in the sixth and two in the seventh while only allowing two hits. He closed the game out by retiring Milan Tucker for win.

“We tell our guys that this is a long season and we have more games,” said Fort Myers manager Brooks Beisner. “This game means a lot but districts is where it matters.”

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