Prep baseball | Sarasota uses big fourth inning to end Manatee's season in district semis
SARASOTA -- Eric Crawford's first three innings for Manatee in the Class 8A-District 8 semifinal Tuesday gave the Hurricanes an opportunity at an improbable upset of Sarasota. The Sailors are one of the best teams in the state and until the fourth inning Crawford held them to one hit.
That was when, head coach Rob Viera alleges, an inconsistent strike zone finally bit the Hurricanes.
"Eric went out, pretty much dominated for three innings," Viera said. "Got squeezed a little behind the plate. The guy didn't know heads from tails, to be honest."
Viera didn't hold back about what he perceived to be an unfair strike zone after the Canes' 4-1 loss to Sarasota at Ronald K. Drews Field ended their season. A tremendous outing for Crawford turned into an abbreviated one after he gave up four runs -- three earned -- in the fourth inning and was pulled after recording only out. The senior struck out one and walked one in his final game for Manatee (11-15).
The bottom of the fourth inning began with an error before the Sailors started to square up against Crawford. Infielder Nick Derr rocketed a double to center field, and then Crawford walked his first and only batter to load the bases.
Grant Horwitz blew the game open with a bases clearing triple and scored two batters later when catcher Cole Madden singled him home to end Crawford's day.
"It's hard when your strike zone goes from here to here to here to here to here to here," Viera said, miming the varying widths of the strike zone. "He did a great job."
Zachery Rodgers pitched the final 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief, limiting Sarasota to three scattered hits. The Sailors fended off the Hurricanes' lone rally in the sixth inning to reach Thursday's Class 8A-8 championship game, where they will host Lakewood Ranch in Sarasota.
Crawford was also at the center the Canes' lone outburst when he drove in Co
lin Moore with a single to right field in the sixth inning. Moore created Manatee's opportunity with a one out single and moved into scoring position on a walk by Dillon Sullivan. The corner infielder was later caught in a rundown between third base and home plate for the second out.
The Hurricanes' chance officially ended with Chris Lehman at the plate. The second baseman fell victim to Leo Delatorre's seventh strikeout. The pitcher went the distance for Sarasota, allowing six hits and striking out eight.
"I thought he was throwing great, to be quite frank," Sailors head coach Clyde Metcalf, indicating he was choosing his words carefully. "I thought he was pounding the zone and I thought he was throwing great."
This story was originally published April 19, 2016 at 11:53 PM with the headline "Prep baseball | Sarasota uses big fourth inning to end Manatee's season in district semis ."