Jupiter Takes Next Step Towards States

Anthony Servideo’s fourth inning homer proved to be the difference for Jupiter.

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The regional semifinal between the Park Vista Cobras and Jupiter Warriors became a nearly week-long affair. Beginning on Tuesday, the two teams battled it out to a 3-3 stalemate over the course of two-and-a-third action-packed innings before rain and lightning ultimately sent fans and players home with an unsatisfying cliffhanger. Imminent rain once again postponed the conclusion on Wednesday, but on Thursday a fourth-inning solo shot by senior Anthony Servideo paved the way for a 4-3 Warriors win.

While Servideo’s was the only homer of the night, it was the third of the game. The Cobras launched two long-balls of their own on Tuesday and needed them both to get back in the game after falling behind 3-0 early.

A bases-loaded single by Andrew Martinez that followed a lead-off walk by Servideo, a Ramon Machado double and an intentional walk to Brandyn Ward gave Jupiter a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning. Blake Disher reached on an error to start the second and later scored on a bases-loaded walk to extend the lead to 3-0.

The Cobras were without a hit through the first two frames despite reaching on an error, a fielder’s choice and a hit batter. They finally broke through in the third. Nine-hitter Dylan Ganci sent the initial pitch of the inning bouncing off the yellow line atop the left-field fence. After an out and a base hit by Hogan Townsend, Vista starting pitcher James Marinan went yard to tie the game. But, just as the ball passed over the fence, the sky opened up and washed away any momentum the Cobras had gained.

“I think when the first game was going on, there was a little tightness, there was some nerves going on,” Jupiter manager Andy Mook said about the two-day rain delay. “Park Vista tied it up and the momentum kind of went their way, then all of a sudden the rain came. I don’t know if they would have won if we played that game, but playing this game now, we went to a five-inning game where we started off with a free out.”

Park Vista manager Larry Greenstein admits that the postponement put a damper on the team’s rally but would not use it as an excuse.

Dylan Ganci put the Cobras on the board with a lead-off homer in the third.

“Momentum was definitely on our side but I’m not taking away from them,” Greenstein said. “That’s baseball; it was the same for both teams.”

When play resumed on Thursday, both teams came in with a fresh arm on the mound. For Park Vista, that arm belonged to Hunter Brennan, and the Jupiter line-up took an aggressive, free-swinging approach against him. Brennan only needed seven pitches to get through a three-up, three-down bottom of the third, but his ninth pitch of the game came on a 1-0 count to Servideo in the fourth. The Jupiter lefty pulled it hard and sent it over the right-field fence.

“The first pitch, he threw me a high change-up,” Servideo expained about his game-winning jack. “I knew he didn’t want to go 2-0 so I was just sitting on my pitch. I put a solid swing on it and it went out.”

For the Warriors, Kyle McMullen took Zac Sprankle’s place on the mound on Thursday and earned the win by striking out four and holding the Cobra’s scoreless on two hits while finishing out the game.

“It had the same feel as starting,” McMullen said about the unusual relief role. “It was nice only needing two outs to get out of the first inning.”

Park Vista’s Joe Kelly put the pressure on Jupiter’s senior hurler in the sixth. On a 1-1 pitch, the Cobra’s catcher dropped a ball just inside the right-field line and hustled out a lead-off triple to put his courtesy-runner 90 feet away from knotting things up again. McMullen induced a chopper to third base in the next at-bat, though, and his defense made the play at home to erase the threat.

“I was hoping that just that run would score and that’s it,” recalled Mook. “With no outs and a man on third, you’re looking for that guy to score. Once we got him out, that was huge.”

Kyle McMullen earned the win for Jupiter in an unorthodox relief role.

In what many expected to be something of a rebuilding year for Park Vista, the Cobras still managed to win their district and come within two wins of a third consecutive trip to states. Greenstein is excited about the experience his relatively young squad garnered and proud of all their accomplishment, but sad to say goodbye to his seniors.

“I’m proud of these guys,” said Greenstein. “They did a good job this year and nobody really had varsity experience so I was really proud of how they progressed. I’m sure people wrote us off at the beginning of the year and I don’t blame them, but these kids battled hard. I just feel bad because the seniors are graduating and I wont have a chance to step on the field with them again, so that’s always tough.”

Mook and his Warriors have now won 10 straight and are just one win away from their first trip to states since 2013.

“We just need to keep moving forward and fight for one another,” said Mook. “We’ll see, we have a game Tuesday against a very good team in Douglas.”

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