Palm Beach County baseball digest: How Boca Raton proved it's a legitimate contender
Move over, Dwyer and Jupiter. Make room, Benjamin and Park Vista. There's a new team nudging its way into Palm Beach County's high school baseball hierarchy.
Boca Raton, under first-year coach Christian Benhart, is off to a 7-1 start. Any doubts about the Bobcats' legitimacy were eased Thursday night when they beat perennial power Park Vista 2-0 behind senior right-hander Kaden Bartlett's no-hitter.
An easy victory over Port St. Lucie-Tradition Prep to end the week extended the Bobcats' winning streak to six games.
Beating the Cobras was "huge," Benhart admitted.
"I don't think their record reflects the quality of team they have," he said. "We knew Park Vista was going to be that test for us to really see where we stand at this point."
Here's where they stand: Best record in the county. Tied for longest winning streak. Two starting pitchers, Bartlett and senior right-hander Zach Stefan, who didn't make the preseason watch lists but now rank among the county's best.
Last week's edition: Park Vista's ace dominates, Benjamin reloads and much more
Bartlett (3-1, 0.94 ERA) already has thrown two complete games, opening the season with a shutout of Benjamin and then dominating Park Vista, which reached the final four in Class 7A last season. He walked only one and struck out seven.
"He's not overpowering, but he has great command," Benhart said. "He's really good at mixing up his pitches and keeping hitters off-balance. When he's on, he's just really tough to figure out, and he was on (Thursday) night."
Amid a playoff-like atmosphere where "everybody was on the edge of their seat all game long," Benhart said, Bartlett and Park Vista senior right-hander Frank Sgarlata were locked in a no-hitter duel until the sixth inning. Boca Raton finally broke through when Jack DiSalvo singled and Mylo Pereira hit a two-run homer – the team's first home run of the season.
Stefan (3-0, 0.00 ERA), meanwhile, has not given up an earned run in 11 2/3 innings. He pitched six shutout innings in a victory over Coral Springs Charter.
When Benhart joined the Bobcats in August after four years as an assistant at Palm Beach Central, he knew he had some holes to fill.
"Coming in, I heard we lost our center fielder (Parks Fucci) to West Boca and our third baseman (Preston Bielec) to Calvary Christian, and then the top two arms from last year both graduated," he said. "So when I got the job, there were people telling me it might be a rebuilding year. But once all the pieces showed up at the beginning of the spring, I could see there's talent here."
There is still work to be done. The Bobcats need to develop more pitching depth and improve on their .263 team batting average. The schedule gets tougher in the second half with games against Dwyer, Cardinal Newman, Suncoast and St. John Paul II, plus a rematch with Park Vista.
"As long as our pitching and defense stay consistent, we can beat good teams, as we've shown," Benhart said. "If our bats get going, I think we can become an extremely dangerous team that teams won't want to face in the playoffs."
Double heartbreak
Park Vista's loss to Boca Raton wasn't its most gut-wrenching of the week. On Tuesday night, the Cobras (5-6) were on the wrong end of one of the most dramatic comebacks in recent memory.
Entering the seventh inning against Palm Beach Gardens, senior left-hander Ethan Mattison was working on a perfect game and Park Vista held a 4-0 lead. Mattison opened the inning with his 13th strikeout, but the ball got away from the catcher, allowing the runner to reach base.
That's when things really began to unravel for the Cobras.
Luke Hogue singled up the middle to break up the no-hitter. Jomari Philostin beat out an infield hit. Mattison fielded a one-hopper but threw wildly to the plate, allowing two runs to score. Reliever Taro Pustilnik gave up an RBI single.
With runners at first and third, Gardens coach Matt Judkins called for an "early break" steal and the Cobras "went after the wrong guy," Judkins said, allowing the tying run to score. One inning later, Hogue's two-run homer gave the Gators a 6-4 walk-off victory.
"I don't think I've ever seen a momentum swing like that," Judkins said.
Sam Lovitz's revival
Cardinal Newman coach Joe Russo may have found the missing piece to his starting rotation.
Junior right-hander Sam Lovitz hasn't really been missing. He's been with the Crusaders since his freshman year, when he threw eight hitless innings in his first two starts (with 13 strikeouts) and committed to the University of Florida.
But Lovitz developed arm problems that year and was unable to pitch by the time the Crusaders reached the state tournament. He spent his sophomore year watching from the dugout, attempting a late-season comeback that lasted one-third of an inning.
Now, after two surgeries, Lovitz is regaining his dominant form. Against Seminole Ridge last week, he pitched five shutout innings and struck out 13, giving up only two hits and walking two. His numbers after four appearances: 14 innings, 0.50 ERA, 25 strikeouts.
"It's just great to see him out there after what he's been through the last couple of years," Russo said.
Lovitz, 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, is happy to be back on the mound.
"I haven't felt like this in years," he said. "Each start is getting progressively better."
Lovitz's return gives pitching coach Zach Miner all sorts of options. Wellington transfer Blake Anderson, Jaden Martin and Max Gonzalez have made quality starts, and Alex Thompson, Carl Calixte and Finn Duran have been effective in relief. All are juniors.
"There's a reason he's going to the University of Florida," Miner said of Lovitz. "He's got a special arm. ... Anytime you can add an arm like that to a high school staff, it's obviously going to make the team better."
Week 4 standouts
Tanner Barfield, King's Academy: Pitched a complete-game five-hitter in a 5-1 victory over Palm Beach Central.
Brady Benevides, Suncoast: Pitched a four-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts – and went 2-for-2 with two RBIs – in a 4-0 win over Spanish River.
Joseph Connor, Lake Worth Christian: Went 5-for-9 with seven runs scored and five RBIs as the Defenders won two of three.
Emmanuel Lantigua, St. John Paul II Academy: Went 5-for-10 with two doubles, a triple and three RBIs as the Eagles won two of three.
William Mencho, Palm Beach Central: Went 6-for-9 with two doubles and two triples as the Broncos went 1-2.
Trevor Palmieri, Dr. Joaquin Garcia: Scored five runs, had five RBIs and pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings with six strikeouts as the Bulldogs went 3-0.
Dawson Thrush, Dwyer: Went 4-for-8 with a double and home run, scored four runs and had six RBIs as the Panthers went 3-0.
Ethan Trivison, Jupiter: Pitched a complete-game two-hitter with five strikeouts in a 5-1 victory over Lakeland-George Jenkins. The sophomore left-hander, a Clemson commit, needed only 71 pitches.
Week 5 at a glance
During spring break, some teams are off to tournaments, some are playing in-county and a few are taking the week off.
West Boca Raton and American Heritage-Delray are headed to Sanford for the Florida League High School Invitational. Cardinal Newman is headed to Viera for the Prospect Select Spring Break Classic.
Locally, Dwyer, Benjamin and Palm Beach Gardens will play a round-robin series for the unofficial title of city champion. The schedule: Gardens at Benjamin, 11 a.m. Monday; Dwyer at Benjamin, noon Wednesday; Dwyer at Gardens, 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
Rick Robb's Top 10
1. Boca Raton (7-1)
2. Dwyer (8-3)
3. Jupiter (8-3)
4. Benjamin (7-3)
5. Cardinal Newman (7-3-1)
6. Suncoast (8-2)
7. Palm Beach Gardens (6-5)
8. West Boca Raton (5-5)
9. Park Vista (5-6)
10. Spanish River (7-6)
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach County baseball digest: Boca Raton proves it can contend
