Prep Baseball Report

Thompson Delivers Late In McCarthy Win



By Doug Freeman
 Florida Scouting Director

Despite a sixth inning rally in which Chiles would tie the game 4-4, they would not be able to hold off the high powered offense of Archbishop McCarthy who would regain the lead on a two RBI single from Michael Joseph Thompson in the seventh to win a back and forth game 6-4.

The game would feature two potential draft picks in June in Harrison Francis for Chiles and Joe Perez for McCarthy. Both guys would struggle a bit early with command. Perez pitched at 89-92 mph for his 2.2 innings striking out nine, giving up two runs on three hits with four walks and two hit batters. Perez would also have a big night at the plate going 2-3 with an RBI.

Francis gave up four runs in the first three innings, but would settle in and go five innings while striking out nine and only allowing four hits. His fastball worked in the 89-92 range riding 93 mph throughout the night. Though he struggled a bit with command early, the fastball showed arm side life with some effort. He also featured a plus changeup at 81-82 mph that he threw to both right and left handed hitters with great arm speed and depth to the pitch which he would use for five of his nine strikeouts. He would also mix in a 74-77 mph slider.

Chase Hatfield and Garrett Mathes would have big nights at the plate for Chiles. Hatfield would go 3-4 with a double and a walk, consistently finding the barrel and making hard contact. Mathes would go 2-4 with a home run, double and the RBIs.

Johnny Leone would get the win for McCarthy in a great tuneup for the big district matchup against American Heritage on Friday.