Pirates, Mustangs shine in Comcast Invitational

The Braden River and Lakewood Ranch High baseball teams each put together an impressive showing at the 2010 Comcast Invitational June 3-6.

The Pirates, who were playing with a host of young talent, finished 4-1 and advanced to the championship game where they fell 10-0 to Sarasota. Braden River defeated Naples Lely 9-5, North Port 10-3 and Fort Myers 12-5 in pool play. The Pirates then went on to beat Venice 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh inning of the semifinals to advance to the finals.

Third baseman Pedro Santana led the way for Braden River, going 6-for-13 at the plate with two doubles, a triple and four RBIs. Dalton Busby, Kevin Dillingham and Dylan Lee also had solid games for Braden River.

In Pool A, the Mustangs finished 4-0, defeating Lemon Bay 19-0, Island Coast 5-4, Port Charlotte 10-3 and Charlotte 11-1.

Seth McGarry went 8-for-10 at the plate and pitched six solid innings without giving up an earned run in Lakewood’s win over Island Coast. Zach Hoppe earned two wins for the Mustangs, pitching seven innings without an earned run. Hoppe also finished with five hits.