\n<\/p>\n
Carlos Gonzalez has pitched in big games before.<\/p>\n
Four years ago, he played for Venezuela in the U15 Baseball World Cup.<\/p>\n
But on Thursday night, the Taft junior was on the biggest stage of his life and delivered a performance to match.<\/p>\n
Gonzalez pitched a four-hitter with eight strikeouts as Taft beat Young 5-1 at Wrigley Field to win the Public League title.<\/p>\n
The right-hander, who moved to the U.S. from Venezuela two years ago, plays with plenty of emotion anyway. Pitching in the biggest game of the season in one of baseball\u2019s iconic venues just ramped up his intensity.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe adrenaline that you feel when you pitch in a game like that, all the people in the stands supporting me \u2014 I know my parents were there, I know my friends were there supporting me,\u201d he said. \u201cSo that gave me the energy to pitch today.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always pitch with my heart, always that energy.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was up in the air whether he\u2019d be able to finish the game because of the high-school pitch-count rules. He began the seventh at 111 pitches, but got the first two Young hitters to chase first pitches and make outs. Then a flyout ended it after 119 pitches, and the Eagles\u2019 drought was over.<\/p>\n
Sophomore right fielder Ethan Acosta provided all the run support Gonzalez needed with a two-run single to right in the first inning and a three-run double to the left-center gap in the third.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s surreal,\u201d Acosta said. \u201cThis is a place that you dream of coming to when you\u2019re younger. You always think Wrigley Field, the Friendly Confines. … So when you\u2019re really stepping into the stadium, it just brings me back to my childhood memories.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s some mystery over how long it\u2019s been since the Eagles\u2019 last city title. Public League records say it was 1964, but Taft officials cited a local newspaper story reporting a championship in 1968.<\/p>\n
Either way, it was a long time coming for Taf (14-14) and coach Matt Malarski, a 1990 alum who played for longtime coach Rich Pildes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s my mentor, coach Pildes,\u201d Malarski said. \u201cI owe everything to coach Pildes. He was with our school for 38 years and I\u2019m just sorry he never got one of these. But this means everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Eagles started slowly this spring, were 4-9 a month ago and didn\u2019t reach .500 for the first time till upsetting Jones in the semifinals.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe started to hit,\u201d Malaski said. \u201cAnd when you hit, you\u2019re in games.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just getting to the final was a big achievement for Young (18-13), which was denied its first city title since 2010. The Dolphins snapped Public League favorite Lane\u2019s 23-game winning streak in the semifinals, winning 7-5.<\/p>\n
Losing pitcher Isaac Stoelinga was 2-for-3 and scored Young\u2019s run.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve done this a couple times this year where we\u2019re hitting the ball hard, just up in the air, right at people, they\u2019re not dropping in,\u201d Dolphins coach Chris Cassidy said. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t our day. …<\/p>\n
\u201cKudos to them, they played a great game and just beat us.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n