Sickles edges top-ranked Ravens

Posted Feb 17, 2010 by Adam Adkins

Updated Feb 17, 2010 at 12:36 PM

It didn’t take long for the nation’s top-ranked high school baseball team to suffer its first loss.

It happened Tuesday night at Alonso, where Sickles went on the road and handed the Ravens, the defending Class 6A state champions and No. 1 ranked team by MaxPreps.com, a 4-3 loss in the season-opener for both teams.

“It was a tremendous win,” Sickles coach Bob Pagano said. “It had to be unexpected. They are the champs. And we haven’t beaten them in quite a few years. They’ve been our nemesis of any team we’ve played. It was great. It really was special.”

One big reason in Sickles’ victory was the performance of pitcher Will Kirby. In his first career varsity start, the right-hander rebounded from a tough first inning – in which he allowed a three-run homer to Thomas Dorminy – to go the distance and earn the win. Kirby allowed just three hits, walked one and struck out three in a complete game.

“Will didn’t get upset (after the first inning). We just talked to him when he came off and said the character of a good pitcher is just go back out there and do what they know they can do,” Pagano said. “And he did that. He didn’t let it bother him and he just gained confidence (as the game went along). It really shows the kind of character the young man has.”

After scratching out a run in the third, the Gryphons broke through with three runs in the sixth to take their first lead, and Kirby made it stand.

“We just chipped away at them,” Pagano said. “We didn’t have any errors, had great defense. They played very smart. They just played within their ability and they were able to pull it out. It was a great win.”

Adam Zions, Logan Grosso and Tripp Merrell each drove in runs during the game for the Gryphons.

Sickles wasn’t the only team to pull out a big win Tuesday. First-year program Steinbrenner also earned a big road win at Gaither.

You can read more about that game HERE.