Taravella Rallies Late To Shock Gulf Coast

Sharks pitcher Colton Schlief receives the ball too late to stop a Trojan score late in Tuesday’s loss at Taravella.

The Taravella Trojans continue to be centered around pitching and defense. But Tuesday night it was the offense that made the difference, as the Trojans rallied late for a 9-3 comeback victory over the visiting Gulf Coast Sharks. Taravella scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth to gain the lead, and then added five runs in the sixth to extend the margin.

Taravella (7-3) has now won four straight, this last coming against a dangerous Sharks team that also stands at 7-3 on the season. Gulf Coast just had its own winning streak snapped in a loss to Archbishop McCarthy, which included quality wins over Sebring and Out-of-Door Academy. The Sharks have a very tough schedule still ahead, and there is plenty to be gained after licking the wounds from a tough battle such as this.

“It wasn’t pretty but it’s my type of baseball,” Taravella Manager Joe Giummule said. “It was a grind-it-out type of game, putting pressure on the other team, doing the little things offensively and making plays when it matters.”

The turning point for the Trojans came after they had rallied to erase a two-run deficit and even things up at 3-3 in the fifth. Gulf Coast made a pitching change to a left-hander with runners on the corners, and Giummule gave his guys the green light to attempt to steal home. Sophomore Marcus Crespo executed the play so perfectly that he swiped home without a throw. By the time the reliever stepped off the mound to address the runner off first Crespo had already scored.

Giummule has a deep bag of plays for most every baseball situation, and most times his guys respond well when they get to use one. That was again the case this time, as Taravella carried that momentum back to the plate in the sixth and piled on five more runs that effectively sealed the victory.

Louis Marsala is caught trying to score. The senior went 1-for-3 with an RBI for the Sharks.

Gulf Coast drew first blood by taking a 1-0 lead on an error that allowed John Kacinas to score in the third. After Taravella answered back to even it up thanks to an RBI single from Miranda in the bottom of the frame, the Sharks answered back with two runs in the fourth that put them back on top.

With two outs, Kacinas got it going with a base hit to center, and Will Kramer followed with a single to left.Louis Marsala then delivered an RBI single on a liner to third, and Payton Hale pushed across another run with an RBI knock to left.

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