High school baseball | Lakewood Ranch Mustangs nip Huntsville 2-1

VENICE -- Patient Lakewood Ranch batters scored two runs on three hits in the bottom of the seventh inning to defeat Huntsville (Ala.) High 2-1 in the first round of the Sarasota Baseball Classic on Monday afternoon at Venice High School.

The Mustangs (10-6) will play Venice on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at VHS while Huntsville (9-14) will face Doral Academy Prep of Miami at 4:30 p.m. at Twin Lakes Park in Sarasota in a losers' bracket game. Caleb Williams of host Venice pitched a 3-0 no-hitter against Doral in the Monday nightcap.

Games are being played this week at VHS, Riverview High School, Sarasota High School and Twin Lakes Park (the Buck O'Neill Baseball Complex).

Starting pitchers Matt Ambrosino of Lakewood Ranch and Drew Talley of Huntsville were locked in a scoreless duel going into the top of the seventh inning, when the Panthers went up 1-0.

Graham Brady hit a two-out single to center field, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on a sharply hit single to left that three Mustangs had difficulty fielding.

Colton Zimmering then led off the Mustangs' seventh with a triple to right-center and pinch runner Tom Steier scored on a single to center by Ambrosino to tie the score at 1-1.

"It was a chopper that just barely got out of the reach of the shortstop," Lakewood Ranch head coach Ryan Kennedy said of Ambrosino's hit.

"(Steier) is one of our faster runners and I told him to be conservative. But as soon as I saw the high chopper I told him to go. It would have been a tough play either way, if he had gotten a handle on it. But the luck went our way."

After a sacrifice bunt by

Christian Lowe advanced pinch runner Justin Curtis to second base, and a strikeout, Cole Campbell drove in the winning run on a single to left. It might have been a close play at home plate, but the throw bounced off Huntsville catcher Austin Sharp's gear.

"When (the left fielder) got that baseball, Justin Curtis was rounding third," Kennedy said.

"With two outs, I'm aggressive. I'm going to make him throw you out. It looked like it was a good throw. It just took a short hop on that catcher.

"It bounced our way, so that's great."

Ambrosino pitched seven innings. He gave up one earned run on five hits, struck out one, walked one and hit one batter. In seven innings pitched, Talley allowed two runs on four hits. He struck out five, walked two and hit one batter.

Ambrosino "did a great job as far as pitching contact," Kennedy said, "keeping guys off balance. Coach (Brett) Holte did a great job as far as calling a game, pitching backwards, throwing (Ambrosino's) change-up. When he has his change-up down, it's pretty unhittable."

This story was originally published March 21, 2016 at 11:51 PM with the headline "High school baseball | Lakewood Ranch Mustangs nip Huntsville 2-1 ."