Atlantic Battles to Win GGI Baseball Classic

The Atlantic Eagles are the 2013 GGI Baseball Classic champions.

Forest Hill went into the GGI Baseball Classic hoping to defend the title it won last year.

The Falcons’ plan was working out as they went 3-0 in their bracket, defeating Palm Beach Lakes, Boynton Beach and host Lake Worth on their way to their second consecutive title game.

Then they met the Atlantic Eagles.

Atlantic also went perfect in its bracket, defeating John I. Leonard, Cardinal Newman and host Lake Worth on its way to the title game match up with the Falcons, to cap off a week of good fun baseball at Dave Manzo Field in Lake Worth.

“When you go into a tournament, no matter who you are playing, especially over spring break, it’s tough to stay focused,” Atlantic Manager Steve Wilson said. “We went through three tough games, and we came out on top of all of them.”

Wilson had his team focused and ready to go Friday night in the championship as his team went out and took care of business, beating Forest Hill 15-5 and winning the GGI tournament.

The game was a lot closer than the final score indicates as the two teams traded runs for most of the game.

Forest Hill got the first run of the night when Falcons first baseman Jesus Delgado hit an RBI single in the top of the second.

Atlantic, winners of 12 of their past 13, tied the game in the bottom of the third when Bobby Bourque scored on a throwing error.

The tie didn’t last long though as Forrest Hill immediately took the lead back in the top half of the fourth. That was the last time Forest Hill held the lead as Atlantic plated 14 runners in the next two innings.

The Eagles scored five runs in the fourth inning, highlighted by consecutive RBIs by 7-8-9 hitters Bruce Thomas, Daniel Metz and Michael Buckley.

Forest Hill rallied though, coming within a run in the top of the fifth with the rally highlighted by a two-run double by Falcons’ designated hitter Kylan Barnett.

Both coaches and captains meet with the umpires before the title game begins.

Those three runs were Forest Hill’s last of the night as the Falcons never got back to the plate. For the second inning in a row, Atlantic batted around, improving on their five runs from the previous inning by scoring nine in the bottom half of the fifth to end the game.

“They were staying with us for four and a half innings and then we were able to expose their pitching,” Wilson said. “The one thing we did do was we stayed focused on what we needed to do. We were hitting the ball and we started to wear them down, and it worked out.”

The winning hit ended up coming from Eagles second baseman Michael Buckley, who hit a three-run double in the bottom of the fifth.

“I didn’t realize that it was going to be the game-winning hit, so I didn’t try to do too much,” Buckley said. “I was just trying to get on base there, and I thought it was going to be a pop-up at first, and the ball just kept going.”

There were several positives from the game for Forest Hill, including a more aggressive approach at the plate, which is something that Falcons Manager Russ Milliken worked on with his team leading up to the tournament.

“We set up our batting practice so that we hit three stations in the cage and a long station on the field, and its really paid off,” Milliken said. “We faced some good pitching this week, and we put the bat on the ball. That’s what we are looking for.”

Milliken knows that there are still things to work on with this team though.

“Our big thing now is to make the adjustment defensively,” Milliken added. “You have to have the whole package if you want to win, and tonight they did.”

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