Early Burst of Offense Paces Dwyer In 6-1 Victory Over Jupiter

Duke Stunkel was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI in the win for Dwyer.

In the first of the District 8A-9 semifinals, it was the Dwyer Panthers moving on with a win over the two seed Jupiter Warriors.

The win gives Dwyer a berth in the regionals and the opportunity to play for a district title on Thursday against the winner of tonight’s game between Palm Beach Central and Palm Beach Gardens.

Facing Jupiter for the fourth time this season, the Panthers were well prepared for Jupiter starting pitcher Kyle Keatts. Dwyer applied the pressure early in the top of the first as Duke Stunkel and Tim Lynch strung together back-to-back singles with one out. After Jamal Martin grounded into a fielder’s choice, Hunter Hope came to the plate with runners on first and third. Hope delivered a two-out double that scored the game’s first run and gave Dwyer a 1-0 lead through one inning.

The Panthers picked up where they left off in the top of the second as Bobby Nichols reached via base on balls. Marcus Garbounoff laid down a sacrifice bunt but an error on the throw to first left two on with none out. Another walk loaded the bases for starting pitcher and leadoff hitter Bradley Emery. Emery drove in one with a single and Stunkel followed with a single of his own that plated two more. The Panthers added one more before the frame was done and took a commanding 5-0 lead.

Meanwhile, Emery went to work with a big lead.

“[Emery] competed and battled. He’s the best at that,” said Dwyer head coach Frank Torre. “If you give him a lead, he’s not going to give the other team too much.”

On the other side of the field, the sentiment was the same about Emery.

“We thought we had a pretty good game plan [against Emery],” Jupiter coach Andy Mook said. “He throws a lot of offspeed stuff and we tried to lay off that until we had two strikes, but we kind of got away from that game plan.”

Emery pitched six strong innings and allowed the Warriors to score just one unearned run on a throwing error in the bottom of the sixth, while scattering five hits.

Dwyer added one more run in the seventh on a bases-loaded walk to make it 6-1 before Tom Szapucki slammed the door on any Jupiter hopes of a comeback. Szapucki allowed one hit and struck out three in the final inning.

Jupiter finished the season 19-7 and graduates just five seniors. One of them is Victor Gonzalez, who pitched three and two-thirds innings in relief Tuesday.

“The seniors are great kids,” Mook said. “I’ve got two really good pitchers that are moving on, and I wish them the best of luck. These guys are going to be successful in life. But we’ve got some good talent returning, so hopefully we learn from this and we can move on. Hopefully, we can put it all towards next season.”

The Panthers, on the other hand, have the district crown squarely in their sights.

“We’ve been runner-up, but haven’t won anything in the three years I’ve been here, and all year we’ve talked about winning something,” said Torre. “So I think that should keep the guys motivated.”

Emery echoed his coach’s desire.

“We’ve put Coach Torre through a lot this year and put a lot of stress on his shoulders,” Emery said. “So to win the district would mean a lot to him, to us, to the parents, to the school; it would mean a lot to everybody. But to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best.”

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