Eagles take down a national power
Calvary Christian avenges earlier loss to top-ranked foe
FORT LAUDERDALE — On March 13, Calvary Christian traveled to Bradenton to face IMG Academy’s touted baseball program.
The Ascenders handed the Eagles their first loss of the year.
IMG visited Fort Lauderdale on Friday, and Calvary Christian returned the favor. The Eagles beat the Ascenders, who are ranked No. 1 in the nation by Perfect Game and No. 5 by MaxPreps, 8-2 thanks to strong pitching from the duo of Irv Carter and Andy Painter and a solid offensive performance.
“It is a big win for our program right now,” Calvary Christian coach Gil Morales said.
The Eagles faced IMG senior Mason Albright, a Virginia Tech commit whose fastball has been clocked in the mid-90s. Calvary wasted no time in hitting him hard.
First baseman Johnny Lane led off the game with a double, and he scored on a single by shortstop Alex Ulloa. Ulloa reached third on his hit, thanks to an error by IMG center fielder Elijah Green, and he scored after drawing an errant throw on a popup to Ascenders shortstop Drake Varnado.
Calvary tacked on three more runs in the second inning. Lane drove in two with an RBI singl, and Ulloa drove in his second run of the game on an infield hit.
“Johnny Lane’s our captain ... and once we named him captain a few weeks ago, he’s taken the lead,” Morales said. “Managing this team is not easy. You’ve got a lot of personalities, and he keeps these kids together. But he is that kind of guy.
“He’s just a good, old-fashioned dirtbag. He just goes out there and plays hard. He’s one that’s always going to have his jersey dirty at the end of the game.”
Albright came out of the game after four innings, having surrendered four runs (three earned) on eight hits.
“Mason Albright, he’s the real deal,” Morales said. “We just went out there and beat one of the best pitchers in the country.”
Carter, Albright’s opponent on the mound, worked his way through IMG’s talented lineup with less trouble. He retired six of the first seven batters he faced.
Carter, a Miami Hurricanes commit and one of the top high school pitchers in the nation, allowed his first hit — a single to No. 9 hitter Joey Slattery — in the third inning, and Slattery reached second on a wild pitch.
Facing the top of the order, Carter struck out Varnado (an Arkansas commit), Green (a Miami commit) and James Wood (a Mississippi State commit) in order to get out of the inning.
“Those guys are good,” Carter said. “You really just have to be on your game and make each pitch the best you can. Those three guys were just great at-bats. It was just great sequencing all around.”
Carter gave up two runs in the fifth inning, but Calvary still held a 6-2 lead. He finished the game having allowed two runs on four hits while striking out eight batters and walking three.
“Everything [was working],” Carter said. “The changeup felt good, fastball felt good, slider and curveball all felt good. Rene [Lastres] called an excellent game.
“We had a really good approach coming into the game, and I’m just glad it all worked out.”
The Eagles tacked on three runs in the final three innings. The first came on a fielder’s choice off Lastres’ bat in the fourth. Lane, who finished the game 4-for-4, drove in his third run with an RBI double in the sixth, and the Eagles scored a run on a wild pitch.
Painter, a Florida commit and also one of the nation’s best high school pitchers, closed the game out with two scoreless innings. He gave up no hits, struck out two batters and walked two batters in his two innings.
“The job’s not done yet,” Carter said. “We still have to go to states and win that. This was obviously a big game for us, but the goal is to win states and get a ring.”