Jupiter Outlasts District Rival Dwyer 8-7 In Shootout

Victor Gonzalez hit a two-run home run in the third inning and scored three times for the Warriors.

Tuesday’s game featuring Dwyer at District 8A-9 rival Jupiter looked like a heavyweight bout with both sides trading punches. The teams combined for 15 runs on 18 hits, nine of which were for extra bases. Ultimately, Jupiter delivered the knockout punch with a go-ahead home run in the sixth as the Warriors downed the rival Panthers 8-7.

Dwyer drew first blood in the first frame off Jupiter’s 4-0 starter Kyle Keatts. First up, Bradley Emery hit a leadoff single to right and advanced to second on an errant throw after a Duke Stunkel line-out to third. Jamal Martin made it 1-0 Dwyer when he hit an RBI double down the third-base line. Martin was caught stealing third, however, and Keatts induced a ground ball to end the threat.

Dwyer starter Cheyne Bickel retired the first three Warriors he faced before the Panthers came to bat again in the second. Patrick Pinak hit a double to the right-field wall, and Hunter Hope followed with a single to left to put runners on first and third with none out. Keatts kept the ball down in the strike zone, resulting in a ground ball to first. David Tavilla turned it into a double play by stepping on first and firing to second base for the tag. However, Pinak scored from third on the play to give Dwyer a 2-0 lead.

Jupiter rebounded with a few runs of their own in the bottom of the second. Pat Walther started the inning with a single, and Victor Gonzalez reached on an error by the shortstop. Two batters later, David Tavilla hit a chopper over the third baseman’s head to drive in the Warriors’ first run. After a Hunter Halsey walk, Kyle Keatts roped a double down the left-field line that plated two more and gave Jupiter its first lead, 3-2.

Again in the third, Jupiter posted three runs after holding the Panthers at two. Ronnie Healey, who also threw out two runners at second during the game, reached base on balls. Next up, Walther hit a double off the left-field wall, and the courtesy runner for the catcher Healey, Logan Heiser, scored from first. Then Victor Gonzalez emptied the bases with his two-run homer out to left that gave Jupiter a 6-2 lead.

That seemed like it might be enough for Keatts, who was the beneficiary of three double plays on the night. However, Dwyer wasn’t done with the bats yet. Hope led off the fifth with a double to the warning track in right before the next two runners reached on a walk and an error, respectively. After a flyout by the number nine hitter, the Panthers rattled off three straight singles, followed by a double by Tim Lynch. All told, Dwyer scored five in the frame, took the lead 7-6 and chased Keatts from the game.

But the Warriors lived up to their school nickname as they continued to battle despite watching their rival take the lead. Gonzalez led off with a walk and advanced to third on a wild pick-off attempt. Scott Danek drove in Gonzalez in with a single and again the game was tied, this time 7-7.

With Keatts no longer on the hook, Lance Fry shut down the Panthers in the sixth with three strikeouts. Likewise, Fry’s counterpart Nick Szapucki struck out the first two Warriors he faced in the sixth. That set the stage again for Pat Walther.

Walther worked it to a 3-0 count, and with two outs in the inning and the ballgame tied, Jupiter head coach Andy Mook told the junior Walther to swing away. The delivery was a fastball, and Walther hit a towering fly ball over the left-field fence to give his team the 8-7 edge.

“I knew that when I got ahead 3-0, they would throw a fastball in the zone,” Walther said. “So when I got the green light, I hit it out.”

Mook’s confidence in Walther was justified, and it is just that type of poise that he most looks for from his team.

“The big thing is making sure that we believe,” Mook said.

“We had a loss against Jensen Beach where we got a little nervous, and we started kind of not believing and we were pressing. But we came back and learned from that, believing in one another and fighting for one another.”

The Panthers were also confident at the plate in tonight’s game. The Panthers were led by Jamal Martin, who was 2-for-3 with a walk, two RBIs and a run scored. Hunter Hope and Brad Emery also had multi-hit games.

“Offensively, I thought we did great. Coming back from 6-2 to take the lead, we showed a lot of character,” Dwyer head coach Frank Torre said. “Pitching-wise, we walked too many guys, and we made a few baserunning errors. But if we can just keep our heads and not get too frustrated — you know, we haven’t been playing so well lately — we’re going to be just fine.”

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