It was a situation Durant pitcher Tyler Danish doesn’t find himself in often – on the mound with runners in scoring position.
On Thursday, in the 8A Region 2 quarterfinals against Riverview (Sarasota), Danish faced a batter with the bases loaded in the fourth inning, with his 0.00 ERA on the line.
Then, a switch flipped. With the opposing team taking verbal jabs with chants of “All-Star,” Danish reared back and struck out Riverview’s Bradley Phillips to end the inning.
“My mechanics kind of got messed up there in the fourth and I got in a hurry, but once I got my mechanics down and focused in, I was right back in it,” Danish said about the inning. “I knew that one run could change the whole momentum of the game, so being able to keep them off the board was huge for us.”
Danish struck out 12 and allowed just two hits in a complete-game shutout Thursday as the Cougars defeated Riverview 2-0. The University of Florida commit has yet to allow an earned run this season.
According to Durant coach Butch Valdes, the fourth inning was just Danish’s second time this season facing a bases-loaded situation.
“We had a couple miscues on pitches, but that’s Tyler Danish, he’ll come back in focused and shut the door like he’s suppose to,” Valdes said. “They were trying to get his attention and antagonize him a little bit on the other side, but Tyler did what Tyler does. He shuts the door, shuts them up and sends them home.”
With the media, awards piling up and the prospect of the MLB draft looming, Danish said that he is used to all of the attention, but admitted that he let emotions fuel him in the fourth.
“I was always taught to keep a poker face,” Danish said. “I know I showed a little emotion in the fourth, but my parents taught me grow up with a poker face on the mound and not show any emotion. I think that has helped me a lot. I hear it every game with the trash talk, but I try and show no emotion and not let it affect me.”
Danish also delivered at the plate Thursday with two hits and a walk. Luke Heyer brought in the first run of the game for the Cougars in the third on a bloop single to shallow right, bringing in Garrett Wright. Paxton Sims then brought in the second run with a sac fly to center field.
Durant will face East Lake May 7 in the region semifinals. East Lake defeated Wharton 1-0 Thursday in 10 innings.
Thursday’s game was the first home playoff game Durant has hosted since winning the district in 2001. That year they also faced and beat Sarasota-Riverview.
“This is another historical event for us,” Valdes said.