Playoff baseball: West Boca rolls in second round, eyes revenge against Dwyer

Lefty pitcher Matt Pagan and shortstop Tyler Lichtenberger played their last games on the West Boca diamond Friday night. But they made sure it wasn’t their last games of their high school careers.

Pagan was nearly perfect, allowing just one hit, zero runs with six strikeouts in six innings. Lichtenberger was all over nearly every West Boca rally with three hits and three RBIs as the Bulls posted a methodical 9-1 romp over South Broward in the FHSAA 6A regional semifinals.

“Last year we didn’t make it past the regional semifinals," Pagan said. “So It’s pretty cool."

The team that stopped West Boca in last year’s regionals semifinals was Dwyer. And the two rivals meet again Monday.

West Boca scored at least a run in each of the first five innings, built a 6-0 lead after three with aggressive base running and set up a sweet rematch against Dwyer in the 6A regional final in Palm Beach Gardens.

The winner moves on to the state semifinals in Fort Myers.

West Boca beat Dwyer last year to win the district title before losing to them in the regional semis. This year, West Boca again topped Dwyer for the districts and destiny has them together in the regionals.

“We saw them once this year," Lichtenberger said. “We know their pitching. We’re prepared and a confident group. We want to go out there and put it on them."

Pagan may come out of the bullpen Monday but he won’t start. The West Boca ace is flamethrower James Litman. But Litman has a tough act to follow after Pagan’s perfecto.

Pagan only allowed one runner to third base and allowed no hits after the second batter. South Broward, which had upset the No. 1 seed Doral Academy in the prior game, scored its lone run in the seventh and last inning off West Boca’s bullpen.

“My fastball, I threw it 95% of the time," said Pagan, who is headed to Santa Fe College near Gainesville. “I got a few curveballs in for strikes but I kept working my fastball all game, getting easy ground balls and pop-ups.’’

Head coach Jerry Albert, who has resuscitated the West Boca program since coming over from Belen Jesuit with his disciplined approach, enjoyed the Pagan pitching performance.

“His ball always has great movement," Albert said. “He found his breaking ball midway through the game. But he was just throwing strikes and making them hit the ball. He’s deceptive, hard to pick it up out of his hand."

The Bulls’ attack was more water torture than floodgate. Pagan was 2 for 3 with a walk and lefty Parks Fucci also chipped in with two hits, including leading off the game with a hard-lined single and stealing second.

After a double steal, Lichtenberger knocked in a run with a groundout and another one came home when Alan Hernandez reached base on a throwing error.

“I don’t think it was a trouncing because we manufactured every run we got," Albert said. “That’s what I liked about. It wasn’t big hits but guys getting on, getting them over and getting them in. We were efficient when we had guys on the bases."

West Boca scored three times in the third. Pagan opened the inning with a double and later scored on a wild pitch. With second and third and two outs, pinch-hitting Austin Weissman bounced into a groundout but it resulted in both runs scoring due to a throwing error to third base. It was 6-0 and all but over.

“It was part of the game plan coming into it - to run," Lichtenberger said. “A lot of teams they played earlier — we know a couple of guys — they said 'run.'"

Lichtenberger, who will attend Appalachian State, was thrilled his last game on this field was a smash. “I’m feeling good and seeing the ball well," Lichtenberger said. “It was fun being out here for the final time on this field after four years here."

By all accounts, West Boca is a close-knit team with chemistry. The players hang out on and off the field.

“We take it very serious," Lichtenberger said. “We practice very well. Our pregame BP, we take serious in the cage. The teamwork, machine work is serious. It’s starting to show on the field."

And they need to do it one more time if the Bulls are getting to Fort Myers. “They beat us last year in the second game to end our season," Pagan said. “But we’ve beaten them for two district championships in a row so we’re coming back."

Albert downplayed the rivalry, saying he didn’t care about the identity of the next opponent.

“‘The teams are very even," Albert said. “They’re a lot like us — good arms on the mound and a nice lineup. I’m sure it will be a great game."

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: West Boca Raton baseball rolls in second round, eyes revenge on Dwyer