Boca Christian Holds Off Lake Worth Christian For District 2A-12 Title

RJ Walsh pitched a complete game three-hitter to lead Boca Christian.

Boca Raton Christian and Lake Worth Christian threw out the record books when it came to the District 2A-12 title game Thursday.

The Blazers were the preseason favorite and beat the Defenders 13-3 two months ago.

None of that mattered as Boca Christian held off Lake Worth Christian 3-2 to win its second consecutive district title and fourth in five seasons.

Boca Christian will host Master’s Academy next Thursday, and Lake Worth Christian travels to Community Christian.

Boca Christian (11-8) took a 3-0 after five innings but could never put together a big inning as they stranded six runners against starter Trevor Huffman.

Lake Worth Christian (3-15) rallied for two runs in the top of seventh against a tiring RJ Walsh.

Austin Sharkey reached on an error and Scott Lucas followed with a single to shallow center. After a double steal, Matt Picardi lined out to third and Ryan Adair flied out to shallow center.

Shane Lee singled to right center on an 0-1 pitch to cut the margin to 3-2.

But Walsh got Dustin Lee to pop out to shortstop Ryan Taylor, who made a tough catch in shallow left field to clinch the win.

“I got a little nervous,” said Walsh, a junior right-hander who pitched a complete game. “It seemed like it was going to fall over (Taylor’s) head. I knew the guy was on second and he was running and I’m like no he’s can’t to score and then Ryan made a nice play and he reached up and caught it. I was like ‘yes’. My heart stopped for a second.”

Before the game, Boca Raton Christian manager Clint Erickson said he was planning to switch pitchers midway through the game. That changed after talking with Walsh.

“I just decided halfway through the game,” said Erickson. “RJ said I really want this game. He’s a junior and I respect that. I know his ability level and it took him a few innings to settle in. Unfortunately he hit a few batters early on in the game but he was able to work through it and make a few adjustments. He really found it, got in the zone and I wanted to keep him in the zone.”

Walsh had a no-hitter through five and two-thirds innings, threw 116 pitches and improved to 5-2 on the season. He finished with a three-hitter, striking out 10 and walking one.

“I have pretty good stamina,” said Walsh, “but I got a little tired toward the end.”

He also hit four batters in the first three innings

“That’s never happened to me,” said Walsh. “I kept losing the ball inside. I moved over to the left side of the mound more and it helped me keep the ball more on the outside of the plate. After the third inning or so I kind of figured it out. I don’t know what was happening there. I was terrible.”

Boca Christian won the 2A-12 title Thursday.

“It was definitely an up-and-down game,” said Erickson. “I think the emotional swing at the end really gave our guys a lot of intensity to just bear down. I think RJ showed a great amount of concentration to finish a close ball game. I’m very proud of him.”

Boca Raton Christian defeated Lake Worth Christian 13-3 two months ago.

Reaching the district final represents a huge step forward in the fledgling program, according to Defenders manager David Salley.

“It’s been a bit of a goal of ours to get to the district finals and win them,” said Salley. “They’ve had some tough games this year. Not a game for them to hang their hats on. It’s more of a game to build on. I worked them like a horse. I think they’re getting used to having a program in place. We’ll build off that. We have a great staff. Somebody might assume that they would be OK with the outcome of the game because of the record, because of the season, maybe some of the baseball history but I’m proud of them for not accepting the outcome of the game. They want to win.”

“There’s great pride in playing the game of baseball, but there’s an accomplishment to winning the game. And I told them we’ve had a tough season and we’ve definitely gotten a lot better. And I told them winning wouldn’t be so sweet if losing wasn’t so bitter.”

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