Kings Academy Blanks Jupiter Christian 4-0

Lions starting pitcher Sean Hart goes four innings, allowing one hit while in the win.

The Kings Academy Lions used solid pitching and timely hitting to beat the Jupiter Christian Eagles 4-0 in the district opener for both teams.

The Lions used three pitchers who combined to throw a one-hit shutout while striking out nine and walking three. Connor Hart started the game and got the win, throwing four innings, striking out four and allowing the only hit of the game for Jupiter Christian.

“I came out a little rough, but I made my adjustments and settled in and made it through the fourth inning,” Hart said.

Matt Tucker came in and pitched the next two innings, retiring all six batters he faced in order while striking out two of them. Jacob Krigbaum pitched the seventh to record the save and preserve the win.

Overall, the Kings Academy pitchers faced more than four batters only twice and had three 1-2-3 innings. Their pitch location and command of the strike zone is something that is preached constantly, and for Manager Doug Magaw, tonight was no different.

“Our pitching coach constantly talks to our guys about locating and focus, and that’s a big part of what we try to accomplish out there,” Magaw said. “We build on it, and we will continue to build on it.”

Jupiter Christian third baseman Garrett Shook records the team's only hit on the night.

While the pitching staff and defense were taking care of business on their end, the offense got them the few runs that they needed to secure the victory. The Lions didn’t waste much time getting going either. After a quiet first inning, and Dominic Mercurio getting picked off at first for the first out of the second inning, James Vaughan came up and hit a single. Despite Kings Academy not getting another hit, or even putting the ball in play, Vaughan came around and scored on three wild pitches from Eagles starting pitcher Jon Shuba.

They kept the scoring going in the second. After second baseman Nick Bates reached on an error and shortstop Joe Gomez lined into a double play, Ryan Johnson walked and John Carpenter hit a single to put runners on the corners with two outs. Left fielder John Monte came up and crushed a ball deep to the outfield for a triple and scored both Ben Lowinski (who ran for Johnson) and Carpenter to give the Lions a 3-0 lead. They added one more in the fifth as an additional insurance run when Johnson started the inning off with a double and came around to score on two separate ground outs.

John Monte hits a two run triple in the third to give the Lions a 3-0 lead.

Overall, it came down to hitting with runners in scoring position, which is something that Magaw expects his team to go out and do based off of how they prepare in practice.

“When we practice, we practice with runners in scoring position so that way the guys can picture driving runs in,” Magaw said. “Basically we expect them to go out and hit the ball hard in those situations.”

For the Eagles, third baseman Garrett Shook recording the only hit tonight when he hit a single off of Hart in the fourth. Despite the loss, Jupiter Christian never gave up, and Manager Dave Loud said that there are several positives to take away from the game.

“We kept it close for most of the game, but we have to finish.” Loud said. “It’s a young team, and they are not accustomed to that. We need to finish plays not only when we are winning but when we are losing, too.”

Kings Academy returns to the field on Thursday when it will take on the Trinity Christian Warriors, while Jupiter Christian is off until Friday when it faces off against Cardinal Newman.

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