TAMPA – It was clear how well the Jesuits night would go when left-handed Dominic Castellano took the hill in the championship game of the Saladino tournament on Wednesday, throwing nine spots, all for strikes to end the inning in a flash.

The UCF senior commit had a no-hitter in their last game against Sarasota High almost a week ago, and he only extended that streak against Durant, throwing 3 ⅔ hitless frames. That defensive dynamic continued with the Tigers on the plate, and Jesuit scored six runs in the first inning en route to a 10-2 win.

In four full innings against the Cougars, Castellano gave up just one hit and hit eight. It was the third championship of the Tigers Saladino tournament and the second under coach Miguel Menendez.

“He throws four fields for strikes and can throw pretty much any field in any way. He was really excellent, ”said Menendez of Castellano. “He may not have the best things on the team, but he is the best competitor we have and you can see that when he goes up the hill.”

Castellano put the Cougars (9-3) in order in the first three innings, and of the seven strikeouts he counted in those frames, six came on just three pitches.

And when Durant thugs were made nervous by the senior south paw, the Cougar defense got off to a similar start.

Jesuit Junior AJ Nessler celebrates after knocking out an RBI double in the first inning. [ SCOTT PURKS | Special to the Times ]

Durant made three mistakes in the first inning and Jesuit (11-1) added three hits, including an RBI double from infielder AJ Nessler to take them 6-0. The Tigers made it 8-0 in the second with ab RBI from infielder Nick Rodriguez and another from Nessler. Rodriguez scored his second RBI in the third, making it 10-0 in favor of the Tigers after starting the inning with two consecutive singles.

After that, things slowed down offensively for the Jesuits. Castellano came out of the game after four complete frames, hit a batsman and then gave an RBI single to older infielder Javy Quintana.

“It honestly made life a little easier for me when he gave up the goal and the run and then I could get him out and bring other guys into play,” said Menendez. “As long as he threw a no-hitter, he was not out of the game.”

Jesuit helpers started where Castellano had left off. In the last three frames, Durant had only one hit and the Cougars scored their second run with a tiger error.

In the late innings, Menendez got almost all of his benchers into play. No matter who was inside, the tigers were hard to stop.

That’s the part that gives Castellano hope for what’s to come.

“We did a really good job tonight. We hit one to nine well. We’re not even at the peak of what we can do, ”said Castellano. “If everyone starts to hit, if everyone does well, there is probably no one who can beat us.”

Wednesday’s results

Gold Division

Newsome 15, Leto 1

Sickles 21, Lennard 11

Gaither 10, Riverview 0

Plant 13, Jefferson 3

Plant City 4, Alonso 2

Wharton 14, Strawberry Comb 3

Steinbrenner 11, Bloomingdale 7

Jesuit 10, Durant 2

Silver Division

Robinson 16, Armwood 3

East Bay 7, King 2

Brandon 11, Carrollwood Day 1

Hillsborough 8, Liberty 1