Patriots’ Markowicz has no-hitter magic on Florida trip

ORLANDO – Alex Markowicz and the Christian High Patriots made some big memories on their trip to The Magic Kingdom during Spring Break.Markowicz, a sophomore, ended a personal six-game losing streak by firing a no-hitter at the Niagara-Wheatfield Falcons, of Sanborn, N.Y., at the ESPN/Disney Wide World of Sports Complex on Wednesday as the Patriots won, 6-0.

Markowicz registered five strikeouts for the victory.

“Today we finally figured out everything as a team,” Markowicz said. “We were hitting great, there were no errors on defense, and we were having a great time along with that. I feel like my curveball was definitely on today and my defense was stellar.”

Markowicz threw 88 pitches – 45 of them for strikes – walking five batters. He ended up facing four over the minimum.

“Maybe we are just relaxed because we are going to Disney World every day,” Markowicz said. “But we are finally relaxed and having fun playing the game.

“We had a great time today and we look forward to the rest of the season.”

Patriots (8-15) leadoff batter Carson Stroman went 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI on a double, while Fisher Ransom added two base hits.

Braden Ross, of Christian, had a hit, walked twice, scored a run and drove in a pair of runs.

“Man it feels great, the team is really starting to gel and it will be super exciting,” Ross said. “Our team is super excited to get back to league play and hopefully surprise some people.”

The Falcons (1-1) were playing just their second contest of the season. The upstate New York school is located north of Buffalo, within viewing range or Toronto, Ontario.

SUMMIT COUNTRY DAY (Cincinnati) 5, CHRISTIAN 2: At ESPN/Disney Wide World of Sports Complex, the Patriots were limited to five hits by the Silver Knights, which scored five times in the 7th to overcome a 2-0 deficit.

Patriots pitcher Braeden Ross carried a 2-hit shutout through six innings before running out of gas, then was hindered by a pair of errors.

“We had Summit Country Day on the ropes throughout the whole game,” Ross said.

Christian (7-15) received run-scoring singles from Clay Wehsener and Fisher Ransom. Summit CD moved to 8-5.

“Braden Ross threw very well, but we misplayed a ball and they beat us late,” Christian High head coach Mike Mitchell said.   “We went 2-1 and there was improvement in some areas.

“The team had a blast at all the amusement parks and it was a great team bonding experience.”

Elsewhere

LEMOORE 5, SANTANA 4: At Clovis High near Fresno, the Tigers (8-14) of Kings County upset the Sultans (9-11) at the Fresno Easter Tournament.