Benjamin curbs Cardinal Newman on road to final four without Virginia signee Tristan Head

PALM BEACH GARDENS — Cardinal Newman won't be making the trip back to the final four of the Class 3A state championship. The same can't be said for No. 17 in Benjamin baseball, headed to a region semifinal for the first time since 2018 with back-to-back wins over the district rival Crusaders, including a dominant 8-3 on Tuesday.

Heading into the second round without Virginia signee Tristan Head, the Buccaneers have traded in their pirate hats to become "head-less horsemen" of sorts.

Head, a critical piece of the infield and the batting lineup, made his last appearance with Benjamin in the final game of the regular season against King's Academy. Shortly after the April 27 game, the 19-year-old shortstop aged out of high school eligibility, according to the FHSAA bylaws.

Just like that, almost as soon as Benjamin began competing for the pinnacle of its turnaround season, Head's varsity career came to an end. He was a member of last year's 8-15 team, immediately following his first season with the Bucs as a sophomore in 2020 when Benjamin finished 12-12 at districts.

In 23 games in 2023, Head batted .378 for 25 runs on 28 hits and 19 RBIs — including four home runs.

"Tristan was both leader on the field and a big bat in our lineup, so losing him meant that others on the team had to step up," senior teammate and Harvey Mudd pitcher signee Parker McGraw said.

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When the foes met for the district championship last Thursday, Newman mounted a three-run lead in the top of the second inning that the title-winning Bucs couldn't overcome until the bottom of the fifth.

"We've struggled scoring in the early innings offensively, so seeing us score four runs in the first inning was big for us," McGraw said. The 4-1 advantage, created by Nick Banner's three-run double to score Walker Buchanan, Rocco Gaeta, and Brodey Bitove, gave McGraw a little more wiggle room than he normally has when coming in to relieve ace and Virginia signee Freddy Beruvides.

As usual, McGraw didn't need the slack. He came into the fourth inning, bases loaded. Newman trailed by just two runs with three outs to go.

McGraw went on to face 14 batters, allowing just one hit, no runs and striking out three. His season earned-run average of 0.26 is fifth among pitchers throughout Florida and he has the lowest ERA of pitchers who have appeared in more than 40 innings.

"Freddy and Parker are a great duo on the mound together. Freddy is a hard-throwing lefty with a good curveball and Parker is a nasty sidearm pitcher," first baseman Walker Buchanan, another of the three Virginia signees on Benjamin's roster.

He's also another reason the senior slingers have been able to reach new heights this season, registering nine outs, highlighted by three straight in the top of the fifth inning.

"Our infield is incredible," McGraw said. "Walker is a huge kid so at first it seems like you can throw the ball anywhere and he'll be able to catch it while still being on the bag for the out."

At the plate, Buchanan went 4-for-4 and had the RBI double to put Benjamin on the board.

"Last week's district championship was a close game and we knew that Newman would be coming for us," Buchanan said. "It is tough not having Tristan, but our team is doing a great job adjusting."

Head's loss would probably be felt a bit more if Buchanan didn't have natural chemistry with Benjamin's new sophomore shortstop: Drew Buchanan, Walker's brother.

McGraw doubled down on Walker's praise of the team's younger counterparts like Drew, along with junior second baseman Ben Swank, who had four assists on Tuesday.

"Most of the balls hit off me are to the middle infielders and they are both so smooth and defensively sound that I have full confidence in them making the play, however difficult it may be," McGraw said.

In the bottom of the sixth, after cycling through four pitchers total and a promising 6-4-3 double play, Newman walked five Bucs: Drew, Gaeta, Beruvides, Bitove and Banner.

A wild pitch scored Beruvides and sophomore Jackson Miller nailed a sac fly to bring home Beruvides for the last run of the game and the 8-3 win.

"I think we knew we were going to go far in the postseason as long as we don't get satisfied and keep working to get better," McGraw said.

Benjamin will win or go home Friday when the third-seeded Bucs load the bus to go to two-seed and No. 13 overall Montverde Academy (24-3) west of Orlando.

"I feel like we've always known how good we can be," McGraw said, "and now we're displaying it to everyone else."

Emilee Smarr is the high school sports reporter for the Palm Beach Post. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Benjamin baseball stumps Newman's return to final four in first round