Glades Day’s Figueroa Throws Complete Game In Win Over Wellington Christian

Freshman Noel Figueroa of Glades Day pitched a complete game, striking out eight.

Wellington Christian head coach Robert Pettet was smiling before the first game of his official coaching career.

Two hours later, he was still smiling, talking about the positives he saw in his team despite a 15-1 loss to Glades Day in a non-district game Tuesday at Seminole Palms Park.

“It was exciting because I see a lot of good things happening,” said Pettet, who has been a volunteer coach for rec league and American Legion teams in the Royal Palm Beach and Acreage area for more than 10 years. “In the short amount of time we’ve been working, I see these kids are picking up stuff that we worked on and they executed.”

Glades Day, however, executed at a much higher level, scoring 11 runs in the second inning to break open the game. The Gators (2-2) had six hits during the rally, including a two-run double by Noel Figueroa and RBI singles by John Barr and Colton Coates, in addition to five walks.

Glades Day head coach Mike Underwood began substituting liberally during that inning and throughout the game.

“I was happy with the young kids that haven’t got to play,” Underwood said. “They came in there and swung the bat and made contact, and that’s all we’ve got to do. If we make contact, we’re going to win more games than we lose.”

Underwood was especially happy with the performances of Thomas Corza, who started at second base and went 1-for-2, and Steven Williams, who started in left field and went 1-for-4.

Figueroa, a freshman right-hander, went all five innings in his first career start, finishing with eight strikeouts and three walks. He also went 3-for-5 with four RBI.

“He’s (Figueroa) going to be good for us, he throws a lot of strikes,” Underwood said. “That’s what we need. He’ll be a reliever and a third baseman for us. I was happy with the way he threw strikes today because there were a lot of small kids. It was hard to hit that strike zone.”

Wellington Christian has only 10 players on its roster and started three eighth-graders, one freshman and two sophomores.

“We’re very young, not just in body but in the mental part of the game,” said Pettet. “They just haven’t seen enough of it.”

Wellington Christian (0-1) averted a shutout in the fourth inning when Dustin Goff doubled down the right-field line with one out. He moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on an error.

Leadoff hitter Kyle Berkowitz and number two hitter Zach Rogers each had a single for Wellington Christian.

The Wellington Christian pitchers — starter and loser Connor Kelaher and Goff — combined to walk 13 and strike out only two.

Despite everything, Pettet is optimistic for the rest of the season.

“I like doing this,” said Pettet, “even if I wasn’t getting paid. This is what I do. I like the game. I like the kids. We’ll get better.”

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