DeAngelis' One-Hit Start Sends Nature Coast Tech to Sixth Straight 3-1 Win

Mario DeAngelis delivered a one-hit performance that keyed Nature Coast Technical High School’s 3-1 win at Hernando in Brooksville, extending the Sharks’ winning streak to six and moving Nature Coast to 6-0 while Hernando fell to 4-1, MaxPreps reported.

MaxPreps listed DeAngelis’ line as 5.2 innings pitched, one hit, zero earned runs and seven strikeouts, with those seven strikeouts marking a career high. The same MaxPreps game notes credited Noah Sanchez with a 2-for-3 night that included his first home run of the season and Aidan O’Nolan with a 1-for-2 performance that included a stolen base, a run and a double.

Hernando’s starter Cadyn Williams struck out seven batters over four innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits and one walk, MaxPreps reported, a stat line that left the Leopards 4-1 after the loss and marked their fourth consecutive defeat to Nature Coast Tech, according to MaxPreps’ head-to-head note.

A defensive turning point credited on the Hernando Sun page involved second baseman Bryce Hewell and a fourth-inning double play. The Hernando Sun also published a Feb. 20 photo showing Hewell wearing No. 4, with photo credit to Hanna Maglio and a separate name line for Patrick Yasinskas on the page.

There is an unresolved discrepancy between local coverage and MaxPreps on who made the extended start for Nature Coast. Hernando Sun reported that a pitcher identified only as Loeffler worked six innings, improved to 3-0, was perfect through four innings and allowed a fourth-inning single to Springstead freshman shortstop Connor Smith before escaping a jam with a strikeout and a ground-ball double play to Hewell. That Hernando Sun passage explicitly names Springstead as the opponent in the described at-bat, which suggests the Loeffler paragraph may refer to a different game; MaxPreps attributes the standout mound line for the Feb. 24 Brooksville game to DeAngelis. The official box score or team scorebook should be consulted to reconcile the differing accounts.

Coach Garofano emphasized pitching depth after the win, telling the Hernando Sun, “It’s going to be a big week for us. Hernando has a very good team, and I have a ton of respect for (Hernando coach) Tim Sims and his program. Pasco also has a solid team. We’re going to have to have all our (pitching) arms ready for next week. We need to have all the arms ready from here on out because we’ll be playing three games a week for the rest of the season.”

MaxPreps notes Nature Coast travels to face Pasco at 7:00 p.m. Thursday, a Pirates lineup averaging 8.7 runs per game, and Hernando goes to Lecanto at 7:00 p.m. Thursday, with the Panthers averaging 7.7 runs per game. That schedule sets up a tight week that will test Nature Coast’s pitching depth and give Hernando a quick chance to respond.