“It’s not over yet!”, a parent screams to our Jaguars, discouraged and down significantly 8-2 at beginning the 4th inning. With little time to prove themselves, the Pines Charter Baseball team turned what could have been a big loss into a 10-8 win against the Cypress Bay Lighting. The hard-earned comeback was a much needed win to finish off the first home game of the season. 

Starting off strong with a confident 2-0, pitcher (Junior) Sebastian Gonzalez voices that, “both defensively and offensively the team started the game off strong with the first two innings.” 

Gaining momentum in the 3rd inning, Cypress Bay put up 8 on the scoreboard. “We sort of got comfortable letting off the gas too quickly in the game and started doing the wrong things”, says Gonzalez. 

Switching up the outcome of a possible loss, Sophomore Dean Jaworski stepped onto the mound ready to save the game. Pitching 3 strong innings, Jaworski was able to hold back Cypress Bay’s six run lead.

 However, Charter was able to come back offensively with clutch hits and soaring energy from the dugout. Cypress’ pitching staff soon led up many walks, allowing the Jaguars to go around the bases to tie up the game. “When that started happening for us, we took advantage and made them pay for it”, states Sebastian.

Junior catcher Gianfranco Mejia stepped up to bat, driving in two runs for the win. He further explains that “this win really brought us together as a team.” The Pines Charter Baseball team’s rough start to a 0-2 season with losses against Western and St. Thomas have been a setback. Mejia believes that this game was a turning point for them. “As soon as we won that game, we knew that was going to be the start of our winning streak and us going big as a team,” he says confidently. 

Mentionable players with several hits and walks such as Justin Probst, Rocco Mendez, and Justin Providence, assisting the team’s 10-8 win. Going into the season with what is now a fresh 1-2 overall, the Jags have more to offer and this is just the beginning of a long season.

Gallery • 4 Photos

Marcus Deane