Danciu’s One-Hit Gem Leads West Boca To 1-0 Victory Over Boca Raton

West Boca’s Sean Kuchta had a double in its 1-0 win over Boca

It’s the kind of decision any baseball coach gladly would be forced to make.

West Boca coach Nick Siano wrestled with whether he should keep his ace starter in the game despite his high pitch count. Senior left-hander Parker Danciu had shut down crosstown rival Boca Raton through six innings, but it had taken 90 pitches.

Ultimately, the ball coach turned it over to the team’s closer, sophomore Sean Gabel, who retired the Boca batters in order to preserve the team’s 1-0 shutout on Friday night.

“Anytime Parker is on the mound, we know we’re in the game. He brings a different energy level, and he’s a gamer,” Siano said. “Parker threw a great game today. He is a bulldog on the mound, and he just battled tonight.”

Danciu was perhaps more than great on this night and nearly perfect. The lefty picked up right where he’d left off last season in leading the Bulls (1-1) to their first state championship with a shutout performance in that title game. Danciu mowed down the first dozen Boca hitters in order and allowed only two baserunners all night.

After Bobcats junior Marcus Sierra drew a leadoff walk in the top of the fourth inning, Danciu responded by striking out the next five batters he faced. He finished with 11 strikeouts.

West Boca’s Parker Danciu warms up before the game.

“All my pitches were working tonight, and I was mixing my pitches well,” Danciu said. “We came off a tough loss to Spanish River the other night, and we really wanted this. This team, we bounce back. That’s what it’s all about.”

The 6-foot-4 left-hander, who already has signed with the University of Florida, mixed a combination of his fastball and change-up with a curve ball that seemed unhittable.

Danciu’s no-hit bid was broken up with one out in the top of the sixth inning, when sophomore Mike Smicklas lined a single into the left-field gap.

“I gave it my best, but he was a good, scrappy batter, and that’s how it goes sometimes,” Danciu said. “I wanted to stay in, but Gabel closed it out for me. He did a great job of throwing strikes and making them get themselves out.”

Gabel needed just 11 pitches to record a 1-2-3 seventh inning that ended with back-to-back strikeouts, earning him his first save of the season while sealing the loss for the Bobcats (2-1).

West Boca’s Parker Danciu pitched a shutout and was 2-for-3 at the plate.

“It was a good week, and defensively, we can’t ask for any better,” Boca coach Jeff Rosa said. “It was a long first week, and it’s tough to get the body conditioned for it. But it will really help us down the road.”

West Boca scored its lone run in the bottom of the third inning on an RBI single by senior Griffin Cornwell. Junior catcher Michael Barasch had a one-out double that just fell in the field of play down the right-field line, and Danciu followed with a single to center that put runners on the corners. Junior Sean Kutcha then loaded the bases after being hit by a pitch, bringing up Cornwell.

The Bulls had eight hits in all but managed just the one run because of a solid defensive effort by the Bobcats.

“It was a great outcome. Tonight we pieced it together,” Siano said. “We hit the ball really hard, but their third baseman was playing like A-Rod over there.”

Boca third baseman Marcus Sierra recorded six putouts in all, the biggest coming when he started off a 5-2-3 double play to escape a bases-loaded jam in the top of the first inning.

Neither team committed an error in the contest.

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