Smalley sends ODA baseball to regionals

LARGO -- Reliever Cameron Smalley picked the potential tying run off third base to end the game and deliver Out-of-Door Academy a 3-2 victory against Shorecrest Prep in the Class 3A-District 5 semifinals on Thursday at Indian Rocks Christian School.

With the victory, ODA advances to Friday's district final and earns a berth in the regional playoffs, which begin Wednesday at a site to be determined.

Duncan Cappar pitched six shutout innings for ODA but ran into trouble with a 3-0 lead in the seventh. He recorded one out but allowed both runs before exiting.

Smalley found himself with runners at second and third, two outs and a full-count on the batter when he executed the game-ending pickoff play. The right-hander earned the save for this efforts.

Brady Moore, Nick Saranczak and Austin Brinling all had a hit as ODA was held to three hits overall. The Thunder took a 1-0 lead in the first on Moore's single and pushed across two unearned runs in the fifth.

This story was originally published April 21, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Smalley sends ODA baseball to regionals ."