Rhodes, Park Vista Shut Down Palm Beach Gardens 4-0

Last season, the Park Vista Cobras were left dejected after a crushing state semifinal loss to eventual Class 6A champion Tampa Alonso.

Park Vista appears to have put that loss in the past as it won preseason games against Broward powerhouses Douglas and Flanagan, outscoring the pair 16-1. Needless to say, the Cobras are up for any challenger in the region.

Enter the Palm Beach Gardens Gators, who finished last season 18-8 and were eager to kick off the season with a bang on Wednesday night.

But the Gators ran into a buzzsaw in the form of the Cobras, who picked up right where they left off last week, knocking off the Gators 4-0 at West Boynton Park.

Both staring pitchers Brandon Rhodes and Riley Colbath proved to be tough customers as they took aim at one other, matching each other with three scoreless frames to begin the game.

In the fourth, Rhodes walked leadoff batter Zion Bell, and for the first time in the game, the Gators opened an inning with a runner on base. But he was promptly picked off. After a single and an error put two runners on, the stage was set for the Gators to push across the first run of the game. With the added pressure of the extra runner, Rhodes was unchanged.

“I kept my same approach and tried to help my teammates out,” Rhodes said. “I always trust my teammates. I have faith in every one of my fielders, so I knew they’d make the plays behind me.”

When the lefty stepped back on the mound, he did not even blink and ended the threat with a strikeout and an inning-ending groundout.

The teams exchanged another inning of scoreless ball, but in the fifth, the Cobras broke through on Chris Wurster’s second hit of the game. His double down the left-field line brought around Taylor Walsh and Brett Lashley. The senior has been Mr. Dependable for coach Larry Greenstein.

“He played for us last year. He was sick, but he battled through it,” Greenstein said. “Last year, he was our nine-hole hitter, but was getting on base for us, so we moved him to the two spot, but then he got sick, so he was out for two to three weeks. When he got back, he was huge for us in the ninth spot and he has been ever since.”

Tonight was no different as he sparked the Cobras, who added two more runs on RBI singles by Tyler Kendall and Trey Amburgey before chasing right-hander Colbath in the bottom of the fifth. Despite the tough inning, Colbath finished the game throwing four and two-thirds innings, allowing one earned run with two strikeouts.

The four runs proved to be too much for the Gators, as Rhodes pitched six innings of shutout ball, recording seven strikeouts before handing the ball off to reliever Jeremy Graf.

Despite not having an answer for Rhodes, the Gators got two on early in the seventh, but it was too little, too late as Graf shut the door to record the save.

The effort was not one the Gators could hang their heads on, as they faced a tough, D-1 signee in Rhodes.

“It’s tough,” head coach Joe Russo said about facing Rhodes. “He’s solid. He’s right around the plate and commands all his pitches. You have to tip your cap to him, but it’s good facing tough pitching like that early in the season. It lets us see where we are. It’s tough, but we hung with him.”

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