Calvary Christian coach Gil Morales handed the ball to star pitcher Irv Carter before Friday’s game against Bradenton IMG Academy, one of the best teams in the nation.
The Eagles got off to a fast start, going up, 5-0. Carter pitched two scoreless innings to start the game. But trouble brewed in the third.
IMG’s No. 9 hitter, Joseph Slattery, got the team’s first hit of the day and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Following him in the order were shortstop Drake Varnado, an Arkansas signee, center fielder Elijah Green, a Miami commit, and right fielder James Wood, a Mississippi State signee.
Carter struck out all three swinging, ending the threat.
“I’ve watched him do this multiple times this year,” Morales said. “He’ll get first [and] second, no outs, and then boom, boom, boom — strikeout three guys in a row. It’s like he gets better. The closer guys get to third, he gets better.”
Carter pitched five innings against IMG, giving up two runs on four hits while striking out eight batters. Senior Andy Painter relieved him in the sixth inning, and he pitched two shutout innings to seal an 8-2 win. The duo of Carter and Painter have lifted the Eagles to a 10-1 record so far this year with their eyes set on a title. Not only that, but the two pitchers are poised to be top picks in this summer’s MLB draft.
“There’s no one-two; they’re one-one to me,” Morales said. “There’s not a one-two punch. It’s heaven and Earth. They both can beat anybody in the country.”
Carter and Painter held one of the deepest high school baseball teams in the nation in check on Friday, and they did it with several rows of professional scouts watching from behind home plate.
“You just block it out,” Painter said. “You know they’re there. You see them. But when you get out on the mound, it’s just you and the catcher and the batter.”
Carter and Painter have started to get used to the hype. MLB.com ranks Painter as the No. 11 overall prospect, the No. 1 high school pitcher and No. 3 high school player eligible for this year’s draft. Carter is listed as the No. 79 overall prospect, No. 15 high school pitcher and No. 40 high school player. Both players were preseason Baseball America All-Americans.
Both Carter and Painter are committed to top-tier college programs. Carter signed with Miami, while Painter signed with Florida. If selected in the draft, the Calvary duo will have a choice: turn pro or play in college. Most high school players selected in the early rounds of the draft elect to sign with the team that drafts them.
“Those two guys have a great chance of being drafted super high, and the reality is that in the next eight to nine months, those guys will be pitching in professional baseball, and that’s the next level for them,” Morales said. “They have what it takes, physically, to be professional pitchers. Now it’s the mental side [to learn], and there’s a why: Why did you do this; why did you do that? And what I love about working with both of them is they’re open to that.”
Carter and Painter, who were both South Florida Sun Sentinel first-team All-County picks after their last full high school season (2019), are off to dominant starts to their senior years. They have pitched in five games each, and both have made three starts.
Carter is 1-0 with a 0.66 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 21 1/3 innings. Painter is 3-1 with a 0.88 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 16 innings. Combined, they have surrendered four runs in 37 1/3 innings — a combined ERA of 0.75.
“I don’t think there’s any better one-two punch — maybe in the world,” Painter said.
If either pitcher played for another local team, chances are he would still be among the best players in the nation. But Carter said pitching in the same rotation makes both players better.
“It’s amazing,” Carter said. “Andy makes me better. I make him better. We really just rally off each other every single game. He has amazing stuff. So just to really compete and just play each game by him, side-by-side, is amazing. I couldn’t ask for anything else.”
Said Morales: “Those two kids love each other, and they root for each other. They literally are each other’s biggest fans.”
There are several opportunities and career choices awaiting Calvary’s two star pitchers in the next several months. But the pair of aces are both focusing on their short-term goal for now: leading the Eagles back to the Fort Myers and winning a state championship.
“Really not looking too far forward right now,” Painter said. “Just focusing on one thing, and that’s just the rest of this high school baseball year and going out there and trying to win a state title. That’s kind of the one goal right now. The other stuff, I know it’s there, but we’ll get to that once high school’s over.”
