TAMPA - The bus transporting Hillsborough to King on Tuesday arrived behind schedule, pushing the first pitch between the Terriers and Lions back almost 20 minutes. Like their bus, the Terriers' bats arrived a little late, but Hillsborough scratched out two fifth-inning runs and Michael Garcia made it stand in a 2-0 district victory.
"I don't know what it is," Hillsborough coach Pat Russo said. "It's like the fifth time it's happened this season. But this is the second time we haven't been able to take infield and the second time we've won."
The Terriers (14-6, 5-4) got all three of their hits against King starter Stephen Locke (5-2) in the fifth. Garcia doubled down the leftfield line and courtesy runner Mike Burgess came around to score on freshman Todd Brazeal's looping liner into rightfield. Hillsborough loaded the bases on two hit batters before Devon Cason lined a run-scoring single for a 2-0 lead.
"Todd Brazeal has stepped up," Russo said. "He's getting some pretty good at-bats as a freshman against some pretty good pitchers. But his approach at the plate has been tremendous."
Garcia (5-2) went the distance for the shutout, scattering four hits and striking out eight while escaping every jam he encountered. The senior right-hander twice got out of bases-loaded situations in the first four innings as the Lions (12-5, 6-3) stranded 12 for the game.
"Michael Garcia is, to me, the best pitcher in this town by far," Russo said. "When's he's on the mound, if we make plays, we can beat anybody."
The Lions had a final chance in the seventh as Jeff Bromley and Ralph Quintana singled with one out. But Garcia got Joe Cole to flyout and Ronnie Cosse on a strikeout to end the game and avenge a 4-3 eight-inning loss to King earlier this season.
"We have a lot of pretty good individual players," Russo said. "But what I'm trying to tell them is that if we put it all together, nobody's going to want to play us."
