CORAL SHORES HANDS MARATHON FIRST LOSS OF SEASON

It didn’t take long for the Key West Conchs to reestablish the winning machine after a pair of losses to West Broward. On March 10, Key West stacked up 12 hits against the Yellow Jackets of Bartow, who traveled nearly seven hours to meet the Conchs on the diamond.

When they arrived, they faced Andrew Barroso and Felix Ong, who teamed up to pitch a no-hitter, walking just one batter each. Senior Jack Haggard had the magic bat Friday night, going 3-4 at the plate and driving home two for the Conchs. Wyatt Kuhn and Andrew Lariz each had a pair of hits, with the rest of them coming from Caden Pichardo, Anden Rady, Jose Perdigon, Matthew Greenberg and Gabe Williams. Rady made it to first four times after being hit by a pitch and walking twice.

One night later, the Yellow Jackets did some regrouping, narrowing the score, yet the result was still the same. Key West added another win at Rex Weech field, defeating Bartow 2-1. In Saturday’s outing, Greenberg had two base hits and the Conchs added one each from Haggard, Pichardo, Kuhn, Williams and Noah Burnham. Burnham started on the mound, facing 19 batters over five innings pitched. Lariz combined with Marlin Takovich to close the game. The Conchs protected home plate until the sixth inning, when Bartow scored their lone run. Key West will be busy over spring break with a pair of home games on March 17 and 18 against True North Classical Academy and a tournament.

By: Tracy and Sean McDonald