Palm Beach Gardens Cruises To 7-1 Victory Over Dwyer

Palm Beach Gardens catcher JJ Schwarz went 2-for-3 with two runs scored in the game.

As predicted, District 8A-9 has turned out to be a battle royale. Palm Beach Gardens defeated Dwyer 7-1 in convincing fashion Tuesday night.

With the win, Gardens improves to 2-2 in district play. The Gators pull even with Palm Beach Central and the Dwyer Panthers in the district standings behind 3-1 Jupiter.

Palm Beach Gardens was impressive on all fronts Tuesday night. The Gators got a nearly spotless start from Brooks de Montluzin, who went six innings and was responsible for just one run and three hits. The senior has emerged this season as the Gators’ number one starter after injuries plagued the staff early in the year.

“Every time Brooks has taken the mound, he has given us a quality start. He’s been our most consistent guy all year long,” Gardens head coach Joe Russo said.

“We have a couple more games coming up this week, so I was hoping he would go deep. I really couldn’t have asked for anything more from him. He’s just been money for us.”

Dwyer starting pitcher Cheyne Bickel didn’t fare quite as well. After cruising through three scoreless innings, the Gators got to Bickel in the bottom of the fourth. First up, Zion Bell reached first base on an error by the second baseman. JJ Schwarz kept the inning alive with two outs by singling into left field. With two on and two out, James Jean battled to a full count before taking a Bickel fastball over the left-field fence to give his team a 3-0 lead.

“I was thinking fastball in that count,” Jean said. “Coach always tells me expect fastball and adjust off-speed, but he threw me a fastball.”

“I didn’t know it was out, but that’s why I always sprint my home runs,” Jean joked.

Although Jean has hit four home runs in the past five games, he credits the pitching for the team’s nine-game winning streak.

“Our pitching has been phenomenal,” Jean said. “Brooks has been holding it down for us, and the relievers come in just peppering the zone with strikes. That’s what we need.”

Matt Williams scored on a fielder’s choice in the fifth inning to make it 4-0. Schwarz reached on a double down the line in the sixth before scoring on an error two batters later. Jean and designated hitter Darren Hansen scored two more on a Nick Oberg fly ball that was dropped in left field.

With the Gators leading 7-0 heading into the seventh, Dwyer managed to get on the board when Shane Olive scored on a passed ball, but that was the lone bright spot for the Panthers. With Ole Miss commit Cheyne Bickel on the mound, and numerous other division one signees on the Dwyer squad, the Panthers just never looked sharp.

“This was one of the worst games I’ve seen my guys play, all around,” Dwyer coach Frank Torre said. “For a rivalry game, to come out like this is pretty bad. I’ve got to take the blame for not getting the team ready, but they’ve got to take some responsibility too. We have to do a better job.”

Dwyer will need to bounce back quickly as it faces off against Suncoast today and follow that up with a big district matchup at Palm Beach Central on Friday. Gardens will look to continue its winning ways against The Benjamin School on Thursday.

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