Playoff baseball: Thrush brothers, Jackson Miller help Dwyer 'bounce back' against Martin County

PALM BEACH GARDENS — A late-season rough patch paid off for Dwyer baseball and cost it all for Martin County in Tuesday's first round of playoffs.

Coming off of a district championship loss to West Boca at home, the Panthers came in with something to prove, and it showed with an 8-3 victory to advance to the region semifinals on Friday at Miami-Southwest.

"The loss to West Boca was a tough loss for everyone. Instead of holding our heads down, we turned it into fire and had a really productive series of practices leading up to our matchup tonight against Martin County," Dwyer senior Jackson Miller said.

"Tonight was a big bounce-back game for us, and just the start of a historical run."

Like Dwyer (19-7-1), the Tigers hit a speed bump of their own last month.

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Everybody vs. the umpires

Since April 15, Martin County (19-9 had taken four losses and the Panthers had suffered three, adding a tie to their record with a 3-3 final against Palm Beach Gardens. There was an insatiable hunger to get back in the win column, and a pent-up energy created by the rivals not having met since last February.

Frustrated foes they may be, but those in attendance could agree that Tuesday's officiating was ... something.

Martin County assistant coach Matt Schaeffer called out from the dugout in the bottom of the fifth inning after a delayed call on a foul ball, one of many contested rulings in the game. The umpire behind home plate nodded to the first-base umpire: "It's his call, not mine."

"He hasn't made a call all night," Schaeffer lamented. "Somebody has to step up and give signals."

Schaeffer's defense of his players was lauded by fans standing nearby, all still disgruntled by a contested play in the top of the inning that ultimately decided Martin County's fate.

Abrams, Thrush brothers dominate defense

Down 3-4, Martin County had loaded up the bases for the second time in the fifth inning. Junior Dalton French was walked, and sophomore Colin Ryan looked like he was going to make the jog home to tie things up.

However, Dwyer catcher Max Abrams had placed a careful eye on the latter to set up a pickoff at third.

"You know, I kept seeing the runner on third take a big secondary lead and after two pitches where I knew I could've had him," the junior said. "I trusted my third baseman Tyler Thrush, who stepped up in a big win as an underclassman, and finally just threw it and got the last out to finish the inning."

The sophomore Thrush's big brother, Dawson, an Air Force commit, had just taken the mound ahead of the inning's last at-bat. He earned the save with no runs, no hits, no walks and two strikeouts, supporting winning ace Nick Rovitti, who gave up one run on three hits and struck out five through four innings.

Cycling through seven arms and giving up 12 hits against the Panthers, Martin County's time on the hill was a little tougher. Freshman Frankie Brancaleone led the Tiger offense with one run on two hits in three at-bats.

"The Thrush brothers are a duo every team would want in their lineup," Abrams said. "Dawson is a lockdown defender and a guy you want in a tough situation to get the job done. Tyler takes after his brother in fielding ... also a lockdown defender and he's a great guy to get on base when needed."

Miller's momentum gives spark from the start

In the bottom of the inning, Abrams made it all the way to the hot corner on a ground ball when a third base error committed by Martin County saw senior Trevor Majer — who led the Panthers with two runs — and sophomore Dom Pecoraro reach home.

Just like that, the win was sealed. That outcome may not have been possible without Miller, though.

Dwyer's first at-bat of the day consisted of the Ole Miss commit blazing a home run through left field. By the bottom of the second inning, the Panthers were up 4-0 thanks to his RBI line drive to bring home senior Colin Haggerty.

"Being able to give my team the opportunity to come out and set the tone early was an example of how hard we had worked this past week," Miller said.

Now, he's looking forward the next game on the road at a similarly battle-tested Southwest (21-6), where Dwyer's roster of Divison I recruits will be met by Miami-Dade CC commits Albert Bell and Angel Lozada, along with Nova Southeastern signee Joel Cabrera.

"Friday night is just another step to our goal ... a state championship," Miller said.

"I'm extremely confident Dwyer baseball will be in the state tournament next week competing for a ring. Everyone in the dugout and stands wants it so bad," he said.

"Before the season started the goal was to finish with a state championship ring. It hasn't changed."

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: Playoff baseball: Dwyer makes 'big bounce back' with defeat of Martin County