Home run derby for Florida commit Colton Schwarz and Jupiter baseball swamps Palm Beach Gardens

JUPITER — A windy Monday evening at Doug Ferguson Field saw revenge at last for Jupiter baseball.

Palm Beach Gardens fell 16-3 to the Warriors’ hot bats, which accounted for 15 hits. Three home runs to left field by Jupiter left the Gators (7-9) swamped.

Junior catcher Brady Blanks homered to get the Warriors (12-4) on the board, scoring a double by fellow 2025 prospect Colton Schwarz — who proceeded to take the score to 10-3 with a third-inning blast that brought home senior “birthday boy” Eddie Otero.

“Starting off with the homer really got the team fired up and just set the tone early,” Blanks said. “I knew Colton was going to get on and just did my job.”

From the top, the dub was a far cry from Jupiter’s 4-3 loss to Gardens in March.

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“My team and I had a lot of energy going into this game knowing that this was a district rival and not a team to take lightly,” Schwarz said.

Schwarz led his team with four runs on four hits and four RBIs. Navigating his first year in Jupiter’s dugout, the junior is swinging .453 behind a team-best .467 batting average for Blanks.

“I couldn’t be happier with how we performed tonight,” Blanks said. “I think that we are finally starting to play as a team and we know now that the game of baseball is a hard sport and you can’t take a single team lightly.”

Through 16 games this spring, the Warriors are hitting .323, and Monday offered their greatest margin of victory yet.

“Colton has made a huge difference in our program with his ability to play the game and his passion for the game,” Blanks continued. “The most important and beneficial part about him is his will to get better and be a good teammate on and off the field.”

Once a Gator, always a Gator for Jupiter’s Florida commit

Before the 2024 season, Schwarz was on the roster at Gardens. Yet, it was hard to sense much of the rivalry he spoke of considering the good sportsmanship he showed to his former teammates.

“Tonight was definitely one of our best hitting performances of the year, off a talented pitcher,” Schwarz said of Gardens senior Luke Hogue. The Gators’ lead batter contributed one run on one hit while battling out three innings on the mound prior to moving back to his natural position in the infield.

In a sense, Schwarz is still a Gator.

He’s been committed to the University of Florida since June 2022.

“I chose Florida early in my recruitment process because I knew it was my dream school,” Schwarz said.

“They have great academics and a great campus overall. Not to mention the awesome coaches, baseball program and facilities in Gainesville.”

Emilee Smarr is a 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: Florida commit Colton Schwarz and Jupiter swamp Palm Beach Gardens baseball