West Boca Pulls Away Late For 11-1 Victory Over Pope John Paul II

West Boca’s Michael Mule bats during the second inning of the Bulls’ 11-1 victory over Pope John Paul II.

After playing a tough and emotional contest on Friday night in a tough 7-6 loss to American Heritage, the West Boca Bulls appreciated the fact that they were able to get right back on the field and play again Saturday.

The host Bulls opened an early lead and then poured it on late in pulling away with an 11-1 victory over Pope John Paul II in a non-district contest played Saturday afternoon at West Boca High.

“Last night was an emotional one, it was a playoff atmosphere, and we came up on the wrong end of that,” West Boca coach Nick Siano said. “We did not let last night’s letdown affect us, and we played an all-around good game today.”

The Bulls (12-8) opened the scoring in the second inning on Koby Pepia’s bases-loaded RBI single that scored courtesy-runner Angelo Dovas, who came in to run for starting pitcher Ryan Owens after he led off the inning with a single.

After Bradley Busch and Michael Barash led off the third with back-to-back walks, both came in to score on fielder’s choice RBI groundouts from Thomas Stallone and Sean Kutchta to extend the lead to 3-0.

The Eagles (9-10) chipped into the deficit with a run in the top of the fourth on an infield error that scored Evan Schaffner after the freshman shortstop reached on a two-out single on a high chopper up the middle that he was able to beat out to first base.

But Pope was unable to threaten again, as reliever Matt Warren closed out the final two frames in scoreless fashion to preserve the win.

Owens earned the victory in his first start of the season, allowing four hits and a pair of walks while striking out five.

“Our pitching has been here all year, and the defense has been pretty consistent,” Siano said. “Our offense has been suspect here and there. But the offense is just starting to come around and we’re clicking at the right time now.”

Pope’s Stephen Gogreve bats against the Bulls’ Ryan Owens.

The Bulls capitalized to put the game away in the bottom of the sixth inning as the first seven batters reached and they batted around the order to score six runs to end it. Barash, Stallone and Owens had consecutive singles and each came in to score during the frame.

Owens helped stake his own win in going 2-for-3 with an RBI, and Bradley Busch was also 2-for-3 with two runs.

“We played well defensively, but we just walked too many batters today,” Pope coach Peter Graffeo said.

Despite the loss, Graffeo was pleased with both the effort and also with his player’s approach. As the team consists primarily of freshman and sophomores, the chance to play up against a tough Class 7A program on their home field served as invaluable experience for a team that has continually grown and improved throughout this season.

“Obviously, we want to go out and win every game, but it’s not always just about that when we go out and play these teams,” Graffeo said. “They’re a good team and we played well against them. This was good for us.”

Robert Gerdung went 3-for-3 to lead the Eagles’ offense.

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