District 7A-13 Preview: Pitchers Set The Tone

A glance at the teams in this district will allow you to see the commonality among them.

Nearly all of the teams will be ready on the mound this year as pitching is the shared strength.

Here is a preview of what to expect from the district competitors this season.

FOREST HILL FALCONS
2012 Record: 16-9
Head Coach: Russ Milliken
Key Returners: Christopher Batista, Anthony Batista, Jose Crespo, Madison Milliken, Abraham Tatis, Tyler Withington
Newcomers to Watch: Jesus Delgado, Dustin Workman, Michael Rosario, Alex Hernandez, Juan Iglesias
Team Strengths: Defense, pitching
Team Weaknesses: Lack of depth
Something people not around your program need to know about your team…

“We have a new pitching staff that has been working hard all summer.”

Forest Hill is coming into the 2013 after a winning season and are looking forward to this season after falling short to Royal Palm Beach for the district title and to Atlantic in regionals.

The Falcons have a very talented mix of players this year and are looking to cause some damage. There is plenty of experience from the returning seniors to make this season a memorable one.

The Falcons’ returning seniors have plenty of game experience and leadership. They are looking to senior catcher/pitcher captain Madison Milliken to lead the way this year as a player and a leader. He will be calling the game from behind the plate and playing an important role within the pitching staff as well.

“I’m very excited about this year,” Forest Hill Manager Russ Milliken said. “We have seven seniors returning. As long as we can keep our confidence high, we will be a tough team to beat. The talent is there.”

The Falcons’ offense is looking promising and will continue having some pop in the lineup with first baseman Jose Crespo and third baseman Chris Batitsta. Madison Milliken and Alex Hernandez are aiming to possibly being the one-two punch of the pitching staff this year with Tyler Withington coming in as needed from the outfield.

“The pitching staff will be tested early,” Coach Milliken said. “As long as the confidence is there and defense making plays behind them, we will be OK.”

PALM BEACH LAKES RAMS
2012 Record: 3-16
Head Coach: Dorwin Lynch
Key Returners: Ronald Wilson Jr. (Sr., C); Greg Hester (Sr., RHP); Dominic Hale (Sr., SS); Garrett Manning (Sr., CF); Michael Elis (Sr., LF); Gio Martinez (Jr., 3B); Wesley Thomas (Sr., 1B)
Newcomers to Watch: Roberto Rodriguez (Jr., 2B); Adrian Peeples (Sr., RF); Jesus Campos (Fr., RHP)
Team Strengths: Defense and Team Chemistry
Our season will be a success if… the players maintain a strong work ethic in practice.

The fire is lit at Palm Beach Lakes.

For years teams have feasted while the Rams struggled to compete at the high school level. But 2013 will be a memorable and perhaps even historic season at Lakes.

Manager Dorwin Lynch has never been more excited about his team, and it is a special season having a roster full of seniors most of whom he has coached for the last four years. After years of struggling each season simply to field a team, it has been this group that has made the commitment to rebuild this program, as nearly every starter has returned this year. This is a special group of players, a team that embodies the family concept, and a team that loves playing baseball together.

This passionate and enthusiastic group now also brings some experience. Last season the Rams broke a 70-game losing streak in starting to turn this program around, and the majority of the starters have now logged several years playing at the varsity level. Players now stay late at practice, and sometimes they have to be forced off the field.

This season Lynch has challenged them to strive for a .500 record.

“Who knows? Maybe I am reaching for the stars,” Lynch joked. “I never let them tell me what they can’t do. Tell me what you can do.”

Over the years Lynch and his players have developed a strong bond, and much like any concerned parent he has been there to help them develop into better men as well as better ballplayers. He is fond of joking with players at the conclusion of practices, or discussing life lessons while the team stretches. The players listen to him and they trust him.

Roberto Rodriguez bats while Ronnie Wilson Jr. catches during Rams practice on Thursday January 24th.

“I tell them to treat winning and losing like they are the same,” Lynch said. “Don’t get too high and don’t get too low. You should always be disappointed when you lose and you should always be excited when you win.”

Everybody is on board this season, which includes more support from the administration. This year the Rams have an assistant coaching staff, made up of Roberto Rodriguez, Phillip Brooks, Kendall Jones and Coach Kerry. Lakes will also have the school’s first junior varsity team in eight years.

“They want to play, and that is were it starts,” Lynch said.

Senior catcher Ronald Wilson Jr. is the unquestioned leader on the team, the type of player whom any coach would beg to have on their team. Wilson has anchored the defense the past four years, and he also has a great relationship with their top starter, right-hander Greg Hester.

Hester, affectionately known as “Big Cat,” emerged last season as the team’s big-game, go-to guy. His ability to throw deep into games and consistently throw strikes will feed perfectly into the defense’s hands. Freshman righty Jesus Campos brings a raw but live arm to the rotation.

Senior center fielder Garrett Manning covers a lot of ground, and fellow seniors Michael Elis and Adrian Peeples round out a speedy and athletic unit. Junior Gio Martinez returns to man the hot spot at third base, while senior Wesley Thomas continues to hold down first base.

Senior shortstop Dominic Hale is the grit of the team, pound-for-pound their toughest player. Lynch has never forgotten how Hale had first arrived to practice four years ago, thinking he was at football practice.

“I had to explain to him what baseball was,” Lynch joked. “But to his credit he just kept showing up to practice everyday. He never quit, and just like the rest of them he just kept working hard.”

Junior second baseman Roberto Rodriguez transferred to the school this year, having previously played at Summit Christian. This seasoned switch-hitter has raised the bar for the entire team by approaching everything at a high level of play. Rodriguez has meshed perfectly with Hale at shortstop, and has helped the entire team develop its knowledge of the game.

So many times in years past just such a player has been known to transfer out of the school, rather than into it. Now Rodriguez serves as the catalyst for a team that believes in themselves and knows they are capable of competing.

“Baseball ends for everybody eventually,” Lynch admonished. “But I tell my guys I will give you everything I have to see you can go as far as it will take you.”

ROYAL PALM BEACH WARRIORS
2012 Record: 22-5
Head Coach: Bart Wible
Key Returners: Kyle Houck, Justin Douglas, Jordan Lauginiger, Brandon Hernandez, Brandon Houk, Christian Hetzel, Freddie Passcelli
Newcomers to Watch: Triston McKenzie, Jessie Stebbins, Chris Rodriguez, Kevin Cordero, Bryant Miranda, Sean Malynn, Cruz Alcazar
Team Strengths: Starting pitching, defense
Team Weaknesses: Relief pitching, speed
Something people not around your program need to know about your team…

“This is a group of experienced ballplayers with a strong desire to
win. They are working on buying into the program, doing what coaches ask and teach, and gaining confidence in trying situations.”

Former assistant Bart Wible takes over a strong program at Royal Palm Beach.

Royal Palm Beach is facing several major challenges to repeat as district champion, their first in school history.

Last year’s ace, right-hander Justin Lauginiger, will miss the 2013 season after having Tommy John surgery. As a junior, he went 10-1 with a 1.01 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 62.2 innings.

And starting shortstop Kyle Houck is battling tendonitis in his (right) throwing arm, limiting his role to designated hitter early on. He is expected to return by the start of the regular season. Houck and sophomore Brandon Hernandez, who was the starting catch last season but will split time between the outfield and infield this year, are expected to spark the offense.

New manager Bart Wible says he has a trio of candidates to take over the No. 1 role, including Justin’s twin, Jordan, who was the team’s closer last season.

“Starting pitching is still a major strength,” said Wible, the former Forest Hill manager who was an assistant at Royal Palm Beach for the past two years. “We’re got some depth there.”

Wible believes that junior Brandon Houk and sophomore Tristan McKenzie will compete with Jordan Lauginiger for the No. 1 spot.

“Whoever ends up being the No. 3 will be that big-game relief pitcher,” said Wible. “So they’ll get those third-game starts during the week.”

Sean Malynn hits grounders to first while Brandon Houk (middle) and Jesse Stebbins wait their turn.

Houk, a 6-1, 150-pound right-hander, went 4-2 last season as a starter and knows the road is tougher without Justin Lauginiger.

“We’re all working our butts off,” said Houk, who relies on hitting spots and using his change-up effectively. “We all know what it takes. We have to learn from our mistakes. It was a bummer losing our first game (in the regionals). We want to repeat and go farther.”

The Wildcats were eliminated in the regional quarterfinals, a memory that they want to erase with a better playoff performance in 2013.

“Our goal is to get better and be better,” said Wible. “We play a little bit tougher competition during the regular season and pre-season. We’d love to equal our wins of last year, and if we do, we definitely improved. We make take a couple more losses because of the toughness of the schedule. But as far as the post-season, we want a lot more.”

SANTALUCES CHIEFS
2012 Record: 11-15
Head Coach: Nick Franco
Key Returners: Dominin Teresi (Sr. RHP/C), Cody Wager (Sr. RHP/3B), Peter Strzelecki (Sr. RHP), Troy Stark (Sr. LF/RHP), Stephan Patti (Sr. 3B/1B), Dylan Love (Jr. SS/RHP)
Newcomers to Watch: Dalton Scragg (Sr. CF/LHP), Sean Steele (Sr. RF), Joe Strzelecki (Jr. C), Justin Tworek (Jr. IF/RHP), Jonathan Wake (Jr. 2B/RHP), Jaxon Scofield (Jr. 1B/LHP)
Team Strengths: Pitching depth
Something people not around your program need to know about your team…

“We have two alumni who are now full-time big leaguers, Darrin Downs and Tony Cruz. We also have Josh Bell, who has seen big-league time the
past two seasons.”

Santaluces is a threat to be reckoned with. Having a winning tradition in the last few years, the Chiefs have one thing in their mind: winning the district title.

This year the Chiefs have a few fresh faces joining the team. Pitcher Jaxson Scofield transferred from Summit Christian, brothers Troy and Shaun Steele a long with speedy Dalton Scragg from Lake Worth.

Franco is excited to bring these players on board since they will be bringing in more experience and energy to the team. Key focus for the Chiefs this year is figuring out how to finish games.

“Last year, we were up and down,” Santaluces Manager Nick Franco said. “We lost a few games by one run. We were in a lot of games, we just couldn’t figure out how to finish them.”

One way is improving the defense. Defense was definitely the weakest link last year that caused the Chiefs to lose a few close games and is on the priority list in order to be able to put teams away and hold leads.

Franco is also stressing on timely situational at-bats and hitting since Palm Beach County has a lot of great pitching, and with the BBCOR bats, small ball becomes a key to success. The Chiefs have a solid pitching staff with a few JV pitchers moving up in ranks showing a lot of promise. Leading the staff will be Pete Strzelecki, who has committed to Palm Beach State and had a great year last year.

In addition to Strzelecki, newcomer Jaxson Scofield and Dominic Teresi may give the Chiefs and great 1-2-3 punch along with center fielder/pitcher Cody Wager when called upon.

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