GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - Sophomore pitcher
Josh Silvestri was spectacular on the mound, helping the Harford baseball team (53-10) win the first World Series contest in program history. The Fighting Owls never trailed in a 7-4 victory over Santa Fe and advance to play on Monday at noon eastern.
The offense broke through with a four-spot in the opening frame on three hits and three walks, and, after Silvestri struggled in the second, the righthander found his comfort zone and cruised. Given a four-run cushion with a three-run third inning, Silvestri (12-0) scattered three hits over the next five innings, retiring 14 of the next 18 batters, including a pair of perfect frames.
Silvestri went eight innings, striking out eight batters and allowing nine hits. He went back out for the ninth inning, and after a leadoff double, he signaled to the dugout that his day was done. Head coach
Tom Eller went with
Will Reed, who hadn't pitched since April 14 due to an injury. Reed walked the first batter he faced and tossed a wild pitch, allowing the leadoff runner to score, but settled in and retired the final three batters for the win. Silvestri set the single-season wins and strikeouts records on Sunday, with his 12th victory and 97th strikeout of the season.
Joe Burton blasted his 16th home run of the season to leadoff the third inning, as the Grand Junction faithful was finally able to witness the Fighting Owls' power. Harford entered the tournament as the most powerful of the 10 teams in Colorado, hitting 113 home runs, a total that ranks third in the nation.
"I was gonna be upset today if we didn't hit a dinger," Eller laughed. "We hit 113 on the year. We can't come in here and get shutout, so I'm glad he got it."
Dominic DiSabatino connected on a double off the wall in deep center field to open the bottom of the first. He scored on a wild pitch and David Lee walked three of the next four batters and was chased after getting just one out. With two outs,
Ben Bomberger floated a single to shallow center that plated two runs and
JP Vail singled through the right side to give the Fighting Owls a 4-0 lead.
The Saints responded with three runs on four hits, but Silvestri was able to limit the damage, getting the top two hitters in the Santa Fe order out with runners in scoring position and hold the lead.
Burton's home run in the third was followed by a
Jack Hamner double and another run-producing single by Bomberger. After a pair of walks loaded the bases, DiSabatino's sacrifice fly scored Bomberger for a 7-3 advantage. Harford drew nine walks in the win.
The Fighting Owls play Delgado (LA) on Monday at noon eastern.
