Palm Beach Gardens Shuts Out Dwyer 7-0

Joey Boyd went 1-for-2 with a single and two RBIs.

The Palm Beach Gardens Gators came into their conference matchup against the Dwyer Panthers on a three-game losing streak.

You wouldn’t know it with the way they played on Friday night.

After managing to score only seven runs in their three previous games, the Gators’ bats came alive as Gardens won 7-0 to earn its second district victory of the season.

“It was a good district win,” Palm Beach Gardens Manager Joe Russo said, as his team improved to 6-3 overall and 2-2 in District 8A-9. “We found a way to score some runs and manufacture some runs and we fell pretty good about it.”

The Gator offense set the tone early in the game with a three-run second inning that saw a combination of hitting and smart play on the base paths.

Palm Beach Gardens got three straight singles from JJ Schwarz, Matt Williams and Joey Boyd to start the inning. It was Boyd’s single that brought in the first run of the game, scoring Harley Sanicky, who courtesy ran for Schwarz. Caleb Perez was hit by a pitch, loading the bases with no outs. Sendle Jean hit into a fielder’s choice, scoring Williams.

Boyd scored on a throwing error by the pitcher later in the inning to give the Gators a three-run lead.

“After that three-run second inning, it got the team motivated and led to more runs,” Boyd said.

Palm Beach Gardens added one more in the third before having another big inning in the fifth to put the game away. After a Nick Gallo single led off the inning, Nick Horvath reached on a throwing error. Panthers starting pitcher Chayne Bickel intentionally walked Smith to load the bases with no outs. He then walked Schwarz, bringing in Gallo.

Williams and Boyd proceeded to hit back-to-back sacrifice flies to drive in Horvath and Smith and give the Gators the 7-0 lead that ended up being the final.

Cheyne Bickel struck out seven in four and a third innings pitched.

It wasn’t just the bats that showed up Friday for Palm Beach Gardens, as its pitching was stellar on the night as well. Starter Pavin Smith and reliever Matt Williams combined to pitch a shutout on the night. They combined for 10 strikeouts and allowed only two walks. Although they did give up nine hits on the night, none of them proved too costly as Dwyer was not able to bring a runner in.

“I felt good out there thanks to my catcher [JJ Schwarz] being able to have trust in my curve ball,” Smith said. “Once I got a few 0’s on the board, I felt confident.”

Friday’s game was more than just a district game for Palm Beach Gardens. It was an opportunity to right the ship against a tough district opponent and for players like Boyd, and opportunity to re-establish its identity as a team.

“This is a big win,” Boyd said. “I feel like we had a loss of identity, and I think we found it. We found out who we were, and it was a great game to find our identity again.”

For Dwyer, its highlight on the night came from relief pitcher Tom Szapucki. He faced four batters in an inning and a third of relief and struck out all four batters he faced.

Panthers coach Frank Torre saw some improvements on the night but knows there is still some things that he needs to work on with his team from the mental side.

“We showed some improvement with nine hits today,” Torre said. “We seemed to make one mistake an inning that cost us. We always seem to mix in a bad at bat at the wrong time so in general the mental focus needs to improve. I have to do a better job of getting them mentally prepared to play the game.”

Dwyer has plenty of time to regroup and prepare for its next game, which will come next Saturday when it faces Park Vista at home. Palm Beach Gardens has a quick turnaround as it faces Seminole Ridge Saturday afternoon.

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