West Orange Defeats The First Academy In Late-Game Thriller

Tension was high during Thursday night’s matchup between two of Orlando’s biggest powerhouses.

The #1 West Orange Warriors squared off against #4 The First Academy Royals during a St. Patrick’s Day bout, with the final score coming out 5-4 in favor of the Warriors in dramatic fashion.

In one of the turning points of the game, West Orange manager Jesse Marlo put Jerry Brown in to pinch hit.

Brown did exactly what he was put in to do, and connected for a clutch home run that made the Warriors’ bench and cheering section erupt.

“He’s been doing an amazing job for us,” said Marlo. “We’ve been trying every way we can to get him in the order because he’s good enough to be in the line-up.”

When asked what was going through his mind during the at-bat, Jerry said, “Only just to stay up the middle, and not do too much.”

The First Academy (11-2) struck first, with Cash Case connecting in the bottom of the first for a home run over the right field fence. The very next inning, he drove in three more runs with a bases loaded double to put the Royals in front, 3-0.

Both starting pitchers did well. The Warriors (13-1) came into the game averaging 9.5 runs per game, and The First Academy’s Garret Milchin held them at bay for the most part.

On the other end, the Warrior’s Tyler Baum had to go up against a First Academy team that has scored 10 runs or more in eight games this year. He exited after two innings of work.

In the top of the sixth inning, Ethan Jones knocked some life back into the Warriors, hitting a home run in the second at-bat of the inning. Two batters later, Roberto Gullen hit a double, earning him an RBI and cutting The First Academy’s lead to two.

“They kept battling,” Marlo said of his offense. “Milchin had our number for the first four or five innings. To continually go out there and try to grind out at-bats, and stick to the game approach — I was happy to see that.”

Perhaps the unsung hero of the game was Warrior relief pitcher Cole Beavin. Coming in during the top of the third inning, he pitched five scoreless innings to shut out a hot Royals offense. It was his contributions that kept the Royals in the game until the end.

“I don’t feel pressure too much,” Beavin said after the game. “It just feels awesome to keep our team in the game.”

It was a wild game to say the least, and a wild end to St. Patrick’s Day for the Warriors squad.

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