Vastine homers, pitches shutout in Bartow win

It wasn’t quite a one-man show, but it was close.

Bartow senior Jonathan Vastine made his presence felt with a home run to lead off the first inning then made sure Strawberry Crest remembered him the rest of the game on the mound.

Vastine went on to hurl a two-hit complete game shutout to lead Bartow to a 3-0 victory over Strawberry Crest on Thursday night in the Class 6A, Region 2 quarterfinals at Strawberry Crest.

Vastine struck out nine and issued just one walk, and he also went 2-for-2 at the plate. His home run in the top of the first gave the Yellow Jackets the only run they would need behind his dominant effort on the mound. His teammates, however, chipped in too as they piled up 10 hits and added a run in each of the second and third innings. Dalton Ogilvie and Matthew Delledonne each went 2-for-4.

In the second inning, Gage Allen singled with one out, and pinch-runner Johnnie Womble later scored on a wild pitch.

Brandon Martell singled home Rainer McKinzy in the third to make it 3-0.

Bartow will play at rival Winter Haven in the regional semifinals on Wednesday.