Jupiter Christian Takes Advantage of Boynton Beach Mistakes for 5-3 Win

The Jupiter Christian Eagles took advantage of multiple mistakes to upend the visiting Boynton Beach Tigers 5-3 on Monday night.

Despite losing, the Tigers came out swinging early as leadoff hitter Chris Escobar laced the third pitch of the game up the middle for a single. Escobar followed by stealing two bases and wound up scoring on a two-run single by Victor Hughes, which gave the Tigers an early 2-0 lead.

However, they could not sustain the lead. In the bottom of the first, they committed one error and three passed balls allowed two runners to score, tying the game at 2-2.

Both teams struggled to find offense for the next inning and a half, but then the mistakes by the Tigers opened the door for the Eagles. After a triple by the Eagles’ Brandon Cormier, the defense slipped up again, committing three errors and allowing for two more unearned runs to cross. With a two-run deficit and the bases loaded, starter Ryan Tedesco struck out the next two batters to fend off the Eagles’ attack. His last two strikeouts gave him eight in three innings of work.

His counterpart Jon Shuba was equally up for the task. After his team gave up two runs early in the game, Eagles head coach Dave Loud did not waver and allowed for his young right-hander to get back on track.

“There was no doubt on our part,” Loud said about Shuba’s early struggles. “Sometimes he comes out and it takes him a few minutes to get loose, but I had full confidence that he would settle down and our team would come back up and score some runs behind him.”

Loud was rewarded for sticking by his guy. After making a few adjustments Shuba retired the next 10 hitters before giving up a two-out single to Isaac Cruz in the bottom of the fourth.

“I just needed to get back on track and finish my pitches,” Shuba said about his early nerves. “I was a little nervous before the first inning, but once I got my mechanics down, it was full steam ahead.”

That is exactly what he did as he went on to pitch a complete game, allowing three runs on six hits while recording six strikeouts.

His first win of the year did not come easy as the gritty Tigers kept putting pressure on him late in the game. Their tenacity and attitude is a reflection of their head coach Evan D’ Angelo, who did not stop inspiring his team until the last out was recorded. Even with a tough outcome, the coach remained upbeat about his team.

“We definitely have work to do, but our pitching came through. Our pitching looked fantastic,” D’Angelo said. “Our batters put the ball in play. We weren’t striking out. Last season we were putting up 15 plus strikeouts a game offensively, so we made many improvements. But even so, we are going to work hard, improve, clean up those mistakes and keep the runs off the board.”

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