Olympic Heights Starts Howell Era With 11-3 Comeback Win Over Palm Beach Lakes

Palm Beach Lakes’ Roberto Rodriguez bats in the first inning.

Heading into its first real action of the new season Tuesday evening, first-year Olympic Heights Manager Sam Howell was not completely sure he was still the right man for such a job anymore.

But once the legendary coach found himself back on the field it was hard to tell if he had ever been away from the game to begin with.

Playing with an up-tempo and aggressive style befitting its new manager, the Lions came back from an early deficit to defeat the host Rams 11-3 in the season-opener for both clubs.

“When this team fell behind in the past they quit, but now they’re buying into it,” Howell said as he celebrated his first coaching victory on the baseball diamond since walking away in 2004. “It’s a nice win for the school, but I hope to win a lot more games. It’s going to be a slow process but these guys have really bought into it. Everything is starting to fall into place.”

Trailing 3-2 heading into the third inning, the Lions (1-0) increased its aggressive play-calling to spark a four-run rally for a lead they would not relinquish. Batters swung away to get on base, and once they did reach they were quick to chance for the steal early in counts. Howell also called for many hit-and-run plays, as well as a suicide-squeeze play that helped push a run across.

“I like to put pressure on the other team,” Howell admitted. “We put the ball in play and make them make a play. If you don’t then you just sit back. You’ve got to manufacture runs.”

This attacking style of play is a far cry from strategies the Lions have relied upon in the past, and is something the players have quickly embraced.

“We used to just show up, play our seven innings and then we left,” left fielder Vincent Scambone said. “This year it’s about showing up and doing what we have to do.”

Scambone helped to ignite Heights’ rally by crushing a shot to the far left field corner for a standup double leading off the third, and added an RBI single as the Lions pulled away with five more runs in the fifth.

“I was just waiting for a fastball belt-high,” Scambone said. “It’s the best feeling in the world.”

The Olympic Heights’ Conor Archer, Vincent Scambone, John Ricca and Sean McClaskie enjoy the team’s new uniforms for the 2013 season.

Senior catcher John Ricca found a hole through the left side to push Scambone home and Bryan Greff also had an RBI single in the third. Sal Beltran drew a walk and eventually came home on the perfectly-executed suicide squeeze from Casey Furnas.

After that the Lions never looked back.

“It’s a game we should have won, but we just let it get away from us,” Rams Manager Dorwin Lynch said. “When our pitchers were throwing strikes we were on and we did a good job. I liked our approach at the plate; we strung together some hits and fought back when we needed to.”

Trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the second, the Rams (0-1) rallied back for the lead. Garrett Manning laced a line-drive up the middle for a base hit leading off, and then advanced to third base when Ronnie Wilson Jr. blooped a single into shallow left field. Wilson then stole second base uncontested, and both runners came in on an outfield error off the bat of Kevin Higgins.

Senior shortstop Dominic Hale followed with the biggest hit of the inning as he looped the ball into shallow left field just out of the reach of the diving Vincent Scambone, sending Higgins across home with the go-ahead score.

But the Rams managed just two more hits the rest of the way and were unable to mount another comeback.

“The positives are that we can improve,” Lynch said. “I am not satisfied with what I saw, but I did see enough to know where we can improve. It’s not going to be like that every night.”

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