Jupiter Holds Off Ferguson In Selective Recruiting Invitational

Andy Mook knew as soon as he was named head coach at Jupiter this past offseason, the Warriors would be making a return trip to the Selective Recruiting Invitational Tournament in Miami.

“We aren’t on spring break right now, so we are traveling back and forth,” Mook said. “I knew it would be tough, but to get the exposure and the experience against these good teams, I knew it would be worth it. Also, we will see the character of these kids and get a little grittier.”

The Warriors started the tournament with a solid performance from pitcher Kyle Keatts as he dominated on the mound for most of the night. Keatts struck out 10 and helped lead the his team to an 8-6 victory over Ferguson on Monday night.

The Falcons were not able to start this week-long tournament the way they would have liked, making four errors and walking a number of batters to fall behind early on.

“We just walked too many batters, and we didn’t field very well,” Ferguson head coach Jose Novas said.

Ferguson showed some promise early on in the first inning as it strung together a few hits. Carlos Tapia hit a hard line-drive to left field with Jesus Fuenmayor on first base after drawing a walk. Alfred Rodriguez came up and drove in Fuenmayor with two outs. Rodriguez was a bright spot for the Falcons as he finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.

After the first inning Warriors’ starting pitcher Keatts took over, settling down after giving up an early run and not allowing another base-runner until the sixth inning. That base-runner got on after a passed ball on a strikeout.

“I was just trying to focus on my catcher, hit my spots and trust the defense,” Keatts said. “Against teams like this that get loud and try to get in your head, I just get tunnel vision and focus on the batter.”

Keatts got some help from his teammates at the plate as well. Victor Gonzalez reached base safely all four times he went up and scored two runs. Logan Heiser also played a big role at the plate Monday night when he drove in two runs with a double in the first inning to give the Warriors a 3-1 lead.

The Falcons, who are known for their late-inning comebacks, tried to come away with another one. In the top of the seventh inning, Ferguson was finally able to get some hits off of Keatts. Alfred Rodriguez and Chris Medina started the inning with back-to-back singles. Kevin Rodriguez had a huge double with the bases loaded that drove in two more runs and started to make Jupiter a little worried.

Mook decided to bring in relief pitcher Scott Danek to get the final out of the game. However, the Falcons would not go away easily as Pablo Nieves managed to hit a double down the right field line to clear the bases and make the game 8-6. Danek weathered the storm and struck out the next batter to end the game.

“We dug ourselves a hole early,” Novas said. “Their pitcher did a good job tonight, and we got to him early and late but just not enough in between to beat a good team like Jupiter.”

Both teams have a quick turnaround and play games today. Ferguson will play Westminster Christian at Monsignor Pace, and Jupiter will take on Braddock at Coral Springs High.

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