Palm Beach County baseball digest: Boca Raton Christian showing they're no longer a cakewalk
King's Academy baseball coach Jarrod Saltalamacchia had a feeling his players might be a little complacent when they saw their opponent for Senior Night last week.
"They showed up with 11 players, they came late," Saltalamacchia said. "I think (our) minds weren't in it and it showed."
By the time the Lions figured out that Boca Raton Christian, a lightly regarded Class 2A team, could play, it was too late. The Blazers – who actually dressed only 10 players – put down a seventh-inning rally to shock the Lions 6-5 on Tuesday night.
"This feels like our states," said senior EJ Velez, who pitched six strong innings and drove in a run.
It was a signature win for a program that has been gaining momentum under second-year coach Syvel Lowery. King's is an established Class 3A program that has beaten 7A heavyweights Boca Raton and Palm Beach Central this season.
Just a few years ago, the Blazers couldn't even field a team. When Lowery took over, they had been taking double-digit losses against mostly small-school opponents, so he wasn't surprised to learn that King's had scheduled his team for Senior Night.
"They thought it was going to be a cakewalk," he said. "Most teams we play, they think we're the old Boca Christian from years ago. We've come a long way in a short period of time, and it's only going to get better."
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Last year, the Blazers went 14-8, losing in the semifinals of the District 14-2A tournament. Under the FHSAA's power ranking system, they did not qualify for the regionals.
This year, Boca Christian is 8-4, and Lowery is hoping to erase all doubts about a playoff berth by winning the district. For the first time in more than a decade, that appears to be a realistic goal, since perennial Class 2A power Trinity Christian has been scuffling through a rare losing season.
Lowery said the win over King's Academy was "probably one of the riskiest games I've ever coached."
With the score tied 1-1 in the top of the third, Lowery called for a steal of home. Senior center fielder Brady Wall broke for the plate, apparently startling the Lions pitcher, whose throw sailed to the backstop as Wall scored easily.
In the bottom of the seventh, King's mounted a two-out rally, scoring two runs to close to 6-5. With the tying run at third, Lowery ordered an intentional walk to Nolan Feyereison, the Lions' best hitter. That meant he was putting the winning run on base – a no-no under conventional baseball wisdom.
But it worked. Junior closer Nathan Walters retired the final batter on a groundout to earn the save.
"I had to do something different to get something different," Lowery said of his aggressive approach.
Velez, who's committed to Division III Eastern University in Pennsylvania, leads the Blazers on the mound and at the plate. He's 3-0 with a 1.59 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 22 innings. He's also batting .568 with five doubles, two triples and 17 RBIs.
Lowery admits it's a challenge managing a 10-player roster – without a JV program to fall back on.
"A lot of prayer and a lot of belief," he said. "It's a very coachable team. They respect me, they love me and their energy is drawn from me. … We have to make sure we're precise in what we're doing because we don't have a lot of players, so I have to make sure I give them rest when we need to rest and get it on when we need to get it on."
So far, it's been a winning formula.
One streak ends …
Entering Friday's game, Suncoast junior Brady Benevides had the distinction of being the only Palm Beach County pitcher to win every start this season. He was 6-0 with a 0.19 ERA (one earned run in 36 innings) and 50 strikeouts.
Hot-hitting Jupiter was not impressed.
The Warriors jumped on Benevides for six earned runs in two innings and routed the Chargers 11-3. The onslaught included solo home runs by Colton Schwarz and Jake Finnegan and a bases-loaded triple by No. 8 hitter Mason Barela.
Benevides, who had walked only six batters all season, walked four in the second inning. His ERA rose to 1.29.
"Our guys had the mentality that they knew we were getting the No. 1 (starter), like we do with most teams," Jupiter coach Kyle Young said. "They're confident right now – it doesn't matter who we're facing. One through nine, any of those guys can come in and have a big hit."
The Warriors went 3-0 for the week, scoring in double digits in each game. They're batting .336 as a team with 15 home runs, led by Schwarz (.483, 4 HR, 23 RBI) and Brady Blanks (.453, 3, 17). Schwarz, a slick-fielding shortstop, is a University of Florida commit.
Young also sounded a warning for the rest of the county: "We haven't played our best baseball."
… and another continues
Cardinal Newman also went 3-0 last week, extending the county's longest winning streak to 11 games.
The Crusaders opened the week with a 6-5 road win over Martin County, the Treasure Coast's top team, tying the score in the seventh and winning it in the eighth. It was their fifth one-run victory of the season. With the county's deepest pitching staff, they didn't need late-inning heroics to beat Jensen Beach 7-2 and Trinity Christian 8-2.
When the Crusaders advanced to the state Class 3A final four two years ago, their longest winning streak was 10 games.
Week 7 standouts
Jhon Abreu, Wellington: Pitched five innings, hit a triple and drove in three runs in a 5-3 upset of Broward County power Taravella.
Troy Burke, Dr. Joaquin Garcia: Went 5-for-9, scored five runs and drove in two as the Bulldogs went 2-1.
Marquis Clarke, Glades Day: Went 6-for-8 with two doubles and a triple, scored eight runs and had six RBIs in three victories.
Dylan Dubovik, St. Andrew's: Went 3-for-5 with two doubles, a home run and four RBIs in a 16-6 win over Oxbridge Academy.
Ben Dulin, Jupiter Christian: Went 4-for-6 with two doubles, a triple and a home run in victories over Port St. Lucie and Somerset Academy-Canyons.
Finn Duran, Cardinal Newman: Went 6-for-13 with two doubles, a home run and five RBIs as the Crusaders went 3-0.
Samir Hurtado, Santaluces: Hit a pair of two-run homers, including the game-winner in the seventh inning, in a 5-4 victory over Palm Beach Central; pitched four innings of one-hit ball in a win over Park Vista.
Jackson Miller, Dwyer: Went 6-for-8, scored three runs and drove in two in victories over Benjamin and Boca Raton.
Colton Schwarz, Jupiter: Went 4-for-4 with two doubles and a home run in a 16-3 win over Palm Beach Gardens; for the week, went 8-for-9, scored nine runs and had eight RBIs.
Week 8 top games
Monday
Jupiter (13-4) at Dwyer (12-4), 6:30 p.m.: North county powers split two earlier meetings.
Park Vista (9-9) at Boca Raton (12-5), 6:30 p.m.: South county rivalry renews.
Thursday
Benjamin (10-6) at West Boca Raton (10-8), 6:30 p.m.: Both teams coming off 0-2 weeks.
Cardinal Newman (15-3-1) at Miami-Pace (14-2), 7 p.m.: Crusaders face one of Miami-Dade's best.
Rick Robb's Top 10
Cardinal Newman (15-3-1)
Jupiter (14-4)
Dwyer (12-4)
Suncoast (13-4)
Boca Raton (12-5)
Benjamin (10-6)
West Boca Raton (10-8)
Park Vista (9-9)
Palm Beach Central (9-8)
Dr. Joaquin Garcia (10-8)
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Boca Raton Christian baseball showing it's no longer a cakewalk
