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The P.K. Yonge Blue Wave baseball team bounced back from a shut-out loss with an easy first-home win of the season against the Lake Weir Hurricanes last Thursday.
In chilly 39-degree weather, the Blue Waves looked to minimize their mistakes from the Gainesville High game Feb. 14 — specifically stolen bases, errors and walks — which they executed to almost perfection.
Scenes from Bobby Hawkins Field in Gainesville. P.K. Yonge (1-1) takes on Lake Weir (1-4) in their home opener. @ESPNGainesville pic.twitter.com/0BXfr42Zv3
— Quinn Hitchcock (@quinn_hitchcock) February 21, 2025
Masterclass On Mound
Freshman Sam DePaul (1-0) continues to look strong on the mound, striking out nine batters while only allowing just five hits, one walk, two earned runs and one unearned run over five innings. Senior Micah Gratto took over in relief and had a solid game in pitching two innings with zero hits and five strikeouts.
Scoring In Bunches
Lake Weir’s struggles were evident on the mound, where three Hurricanes pitchers combined to allow nine errors, nine walks and only five strikeouts. The Blue Waves made sure to capitalize with quality at-bats and smart baserunning. They posted a on-base percentage of .514 compared to the Hurricanes’ .344. The game cracked open in the bottom of the second when the Blue Wave scored five runs. Star performers included senior Josh Davis, who went 2-for-3 (double, one RBI) and an OBP of .750. Gratto also performed well with one walk, one hit and a run scored, while Nico Wheeler had two hits and two runs and Colt Kramer drove in three runs, two coming home on a single.
P.K. Yonge responds in a big way with a 5-run inning. Highlighted by back-to-back RBI singles from Colt Kramer and Darius Medley: pic.twitter.com/MDHOjKZCc1
— Quinn Hitchcock (@quinn_hitchcock) February 21, 2025
After the fourth inning, the Blue Waves led 12-1, needing only one more inning until the mercy rule took effect. However, Lake Weir refused to end early, scoring two runs in the top of the fifth to extend the game. With momentum building for the Hurricanes (1-6), Gratto shut them out in the last two innings to seal the dominant win.
Lake Weir scores 2 runs in the top of the 5th to avoid a mercy for the time being. P.K. Yonge 12, Lake Weir 3. pic.twitter.com/2R8AHMGe2q
— Quinn Hitchcock (@quinn_hitchcock) February 21, 2025
The Blue Wave (3-1) continued the scoring ambush Tuesday at Ocala Christian (0-4) by winning 15-0 in four innings. They return home for a 7 p.m. game Wednesday against
the Palatka Panthers (2-4) and close the week by hosting Saint Francis at 6 p.m. Friday.
