Buchholz Shuts Out Gainesville High 9-0

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The 9-10 Gainesville Hurricanes hosted the 13-6 Buchholz Bobcats Wednesday afternoon, falling 9-0.

This game would determine if the Hurricanes could break double digit wins for the season. After an away loss for the Bobcats, Buchholz hoped to rebound and get a win on enemy territory.

In this game, the Gainesville outfield was unable to get any respect from the high-powered Buchholz batting attack. The Bobcats were able to steal bases at will. Buchholz earned these bases outright through finding a spot between second and third base that the outfield was unable to reach on a consistent basis.

Buchholz’s 9-0 lead was earned by the end of the seventh inning.

Innings 1-4

The story of the first four innings of the game was the skill difference in outfields between the two teams.

The Gainesville outfield was simply more out of place and less settled into the flow of the game than the away team’s. This lead to big errors that gave away key plays. On top of a subpar pitching attack that led to multiple bases being taken, the Bobcats led 4-0 going into the fourth inning. 

The fourth inning onward showcased the Bobcats’s ability to shake the opposing team.

Big hits from the Hurricanes were all converted into outs by the Buchholz outfielders. Alex Cordazo’s consistent, accurate pitching work made it hard for any batters to thread the needle in the outfield. An error in the fourth inning gave Cooper Collins a huge double. This double gave the Bobcats their second run that inning.

At this point, the Bobcats lead by six.

Stolen bases were also a big factor in this inning, with Hurricane errors bringing multiple runners home. 

Innings 5-7

The fifth inning led the Hurricanes to bring freshman pitcher Cade Dixon on the mound. Dixon began his pitching work this game with a strikeout over Anthony Wilkie.

This positive momentum was cut off when a walk over Cedaris Smith led to two stolen bases by Smith.

Meanwhile, Kai So battled with the Gainesville pitching attack. A close single that was ruled safe by the referees was the perfect distraction to bring Smith home. This run brought the Bobcat lead to 7.

On the defensive end, Stuart Ding brought in a diving catch. This catch gave the Bobcats their second out that possession.

Cardozo struck out one final Gainesville batter to close the fifth inning on a seven-run lead. 

The sixth inning began with a solid hit between second and third bases from #9 Noah Hayse. Cade Dixon stayed on as pitcher in this inning, and was intent on throwing to any base that had even a slight probability of being stolen. No attempts on getting outs this way were successful. However, with the bases loaded, Buchholz was unable to capitalize and close out the game via mercy rule.

Clean pitching work from Cordozo and a great catch from Ryan Tomlinson ended the sixth inning the same way it started. Buchholz led 7-0 at this point.

The final inning of the game proved to be a big mountain to climb for the Hurricanes.

Kai So hit a big double off another error from the Gainesville outfield.

Austin Middleton brought So home with a big single to extend the Bobcat lead to eight. Middleton would take advantage of the home team’s spotty outfield when he stole a base the very next play.

Ryan Tomlinson would hit another single for the Bobcats to bring Middleton home. Buchholz was now inside mercy rule territory.

A big play from Gainesville kept their team from a tenth Buchholz batter crossing home plate. The Hurricanes had one more opportunity to put something on the board before the end of the game.

This attempt fell short, and Buchholz completed their shutout.