Canterbury Continues Perfect Start With Huge 3A-6 Victory

Tuesday night showcased some of the best baseball in the area when the Evangelical Christian Sentinels went on the road to face their 3A-6 rival Canterbury Cougars. The two teams, both in the top 10 of the HSBN SWFL Power Rankings came into this game undefeated within the district. Remarkably, the Sentinels scored the first run all season against the Cougars, but that was not enough as Canterbury scored early and held on late for the 4-1 victory.

Coming into the game, the Cougars (7-0, 6-0) had outscored their opponents an astonishing 70-0 during their six-game winning streak. The Cougars got on the board first, scoring two runs in the opening frame off the bat of Geovanny Lorenzo. Lorenzo sent a line-drive into left-field for a double that brought home Sam Keating and Levi Shuck for the 2-0 lead. The Cougars increased their lead to 3-0 when junior Cooper Swanson scored on a sacrifice by Carter Smith.

The Cougars went with a pitcher by committee approach as four pitchers, none of whom pitched more than two innings, combined to stifle the Sentinels. The combination of Keating, Swanson, Michael Matter, and Bryan Eberle threw 118 pitches, allowing just two hits, one run, and striking out 11 batters. Eberle, who struck out two and walked two, picked up the victory.

The Sentinels (7-3, 5-1) finally broke through in the top of the fifth against Swanson. After moving to third from first on two wild pitches, Billy Genter came around to score on a sacrifice by Sebastian Genter. It was not enough as the Cougars matched the Sentinels fifth inning run with one of their own and held on for the victory. With the loss, the Sentinels suffered their first district defeat in the ultra-competitive 3A-6.

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