By FRANCIS FEDOR
Sumner opened the week winning its second in a row, a 6-0 shutout over Brandon, on senior night in the Tank. The Stingrays honored seven seniors, many having played their entire careers at Sumner, building a baseball tradition. Sebastian Peralta, Luke Parson and Isaiah Welch formed a strong core for head coach Kennedy Duran and have served as leaders on and off the field. Each team had early inning threats to score, but it was the ’Rays that pushed through in the fourth after loading the bases and getting a ball hit in the infield that handcuffed the Eagles second baseman for the game’s first run. A lead-off double by Peralta was key in that first score. Parson doubled and tripled in the game and scored from third in the fifth inning. In the sixth they added another four runs that served as insurance runs as Welch, Parson and Calderon locked down the shutout. Juan OValle threw four strong innings to keep the Eagles off the scoreboard to notch the victory.
Stingray senior Isaiah Welch nearly beats out the throw in 6-0 win over the Brandon Eagles last week.
Sumner #14 gets hit by the pitch from the Eagles hurler in Stingray win over Brandon last week.
Stingray head coach Kennedy Duran and seniors Luke Parson (3) and Sebastion Peralta (7) return to the bench after meeting with the umpires prior to the game vs. Brandon last week.
The ’Rays continued to roll with a 6-5 win on the road over the 14-win Steinbrenner Warriors. Sumner got off to a hot start, scoring its six runs in the first two innings. Eric Farmer ignited the offense with a pair of doubles in three at-bats, driving in one of the Stingray runs. Senior Isaiah Welch drove in two with a key hit. Warrior’s pitching held the ’Rays scoreless after the first two innings. Welch also took the hill and tossed four innings of two-run baseball, keeping the Stingrays in the game and extending the Sumner winning streak to three games as district playoffs near.
Sumner played Alonso on Monday to open district play. If they won that game, they will move to play Newsome in the semi-finals. District playoffs are a one-and-out scenario. The ’Rays matched-up against the Wolves once during the regular season, dropping a tight game, 5-3; Strawberry Crest is the #1 seed in the 7A District 7 bracket, and Sumner has faced the Chargers twice without a win, nearly winning the first game but dropping a 3-2 decision.
Francis Fedor Photos
Seniors (L-R) Daniel Dugarte, Luke Parson, Isaiah Welch, Sebastian Peralta, Jesse Robledo, Naldiel Calderon and Juan Ovalle pose with their framed jerseys as part of their senior night celebration.
Stingray softball also extended a winning streak with a 3-2 extra-inning win over Steinbrenner, moving its record to 13-8 on the season (4-1 in districts). Sumner opened the game with a run in the first and added another in the fifth. Karlee Salisbury and Victoria Rudolph each had two hits. Salisbury, Riley Wine and Aliyanis Stubbs contributed an RBI each. Stubbs threw 4.1 innings, and Victoria Baker earned the win with 3.2 innings in the circle. The girls still have four games before they reach playoff action.
For more South Shore action, look for Steve Jackson’s write-up covering the other South Shore HS games.
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