Ortiz leads HTRBA to rout of Florence
HAMILTON » Unless you were Florence, it was fun to watch Mekai Ortiz run around the base paths.
Ortiz went 3-for-5 with two extra base hits, two RBI and four runs scored in pacing HTRBA’s 12-year-old AllStars to an 19-1 win over Florence in a first-round District 12 game at Van Horn Field Friday night.
Ortiz had a double and triple, reached on an error and put tons of pressure on the defense with his speed.
The victory sets up an allHamilton Township winner’s bracket semifinal, as HTRBA will play host Nottingham at 10 a.m. Tuesday to start the Fourth of July off with some morning fireworks. Florence will play Friday’s Cranbury-Plainsboro/West Windsor loser Saturday at noon at Nottingham.
HTRBA’s first five runs were unearned over the first three innings.
In the first, Ortiz reached second on a throwing error and scored on two wild pitches. In the second, Cole Given was hit by a pitch and Tyler Weniger walked. One out later, both scored on a throwing error.
The hosts got their first two hits in the third when Ortiz doubled and Tyler Dunmeyer singled to put runners on the corners with one out. Uriel Sanchez then popped out, but the ensuing attempt to try and get Ortiz breaking from third resulted in a throwing error that allowed two runs to score. Later in the inning Given made it 6-0 with a run-scoring double.
Florence got one back in the bottom of the third when pinch-hitter Keair Johnson blasted a solo home run over the leftfield fence. The Burlington County squad then loaded the bases with two outs before winning pitcher Sanchez got a strikeout to keep HTRBA holding a comfortable lead.
The Mercerville squad added to that cushion in the fourth when Ortiz hit an RBI triple and scored on a wild pitch to make it 8-1.
Nick Csillan then came in for Sanchez, who allowed three hits and two walks while striking out four.
HTRBA kept adding to its lead and put the 10-run mercy rule into effect in the fifth. Given’s single, three straight walks and Ortiz’s single made it 10-1, and Noali Ortiz scored on a wild pitch to push the advantage to 10. The home team kept on coming on RBI walks by Sanchez and Given, an RBI single by Patrick Paterson, a two-run double from Tyler Weniger and sacrifice fly by Joe Lemly.
It turned out to be an 11run inning for HTRBA, and Csillan nailed it down in the bottom of the fifth. The big right-hander allowed one hit, two walks and struck out five in two innings.
Follow Rich Fisher on twitter @fish4scores
HTRBA 123 2(11) — 19 11 0 Florence 001 00 — 1 3 5 2B: H-M. Ortiz, Weniger, Sanchez, Given. 3B: H-M. Ortiz. HR: F-Johnson. RBI: H-Given 2, M. Ortiz 2, Milton, Sanchez, Paterson, Weniger 2, Lemly. F-Johnson