Central Comes Back For 4-2 Win In GOTW Thriller

Palm Beach Central’s Raige Hasko drove in the winning run in the Broncos 4-2 victory Saturday.

Typically a win is its own reward.

Yet for the Palm Beach Central Broncos, Saturday’s 4-2 comeback victory over host Royal Palm Beach in the HSBN Game of the Week held a far more significant meaning.

This victory was the chance for the team to pay tribute to someone near to the heart of their program the best way they know how.

The Game of the Week concept was created by HSBN with the intention of raising money for the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundation, while also giving fans something to get excited about each week.

As part of the festivities each team selects someone to represent the program by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch, and the Broncos had bestowed this honor on Johnnie Meiers in honor of his son, Cody. Cody Meiers is a 17-year old Palm Beach Central student who this past August lost his battle with Ewing’s Sarcoma, a malignant bone tumor that is a rare form of cancer that typically affects children.

To help bring awareness and support to fight against the disease Johnnie Meiers helped to create Cody’s Angels, and he remains close to the Broncos after his oldest son Jake formerly played on the team when he was in high school.

“We prayed for Cody in the outfield before the game, and we did everything for him,” Broncos right fielder Shane Sawczak said. “This game was for him, and for our friend Danny McCauley who died last year. We just do it every game for those two and I’m glad we got the win today.”

Even with all the other excitement surrounding the rivalry and the Game of the Week, the magnitude of what the team was also playing for and the memory of Cody Meiers is something that is very important to Broncos Manager Scott Benedict.

“I was honest with them about the way I felt,” Benedict said about talking to his team before the game. “I’m close to the Meiers and it was admirable the way Cody fought that disease. He showed a lot of courage. I know I was out there competing with my heart and I think they were too. We knew it was for charity. We know how fortunate we are to play this game and I think they had the right attitude about it. We feel honored to be a part of being a little bit of help to the Joe DiMaggio Foundation and also bringing awareness to Cody’s Angels. There was some emotion involved and it was a good night for baseball.”

Playing in such a game against a local rival was an honor not lost on either program, and the host Wildcats know they also did not disappoint in bringing their full passion onto the field with them Saturday.

“We were up the whole game and we were intense,” Wildcats Manager Bart Wible said. “Whenever you’re playing a rival and somebody who is challenging it’s easier to get excited. They had chances and we made some plays and I think intensity plays into that because it just keeps you ready.”

Despite their intensity, the Wildcats (5-7) struggled defensively to the tune of five errors. Wible would not attribute that to over-aggressiveness or pregame jitters, as errors have dogged the team throughout the season.

The Wildcats’ Justin Douglas connects for a single in the first.

But even while the game started off rough for both defenses, in the end it became a battle of attrition between two ace pitchers as Broncos starter John Padich locked into a pitcher’s due with Wildcats stud Jordan Lauginiger.

“Whenever your errors equal your hits and surpasses your runs, it’s tough to win ball games,” Wible admitted. “But Jordan has done a great job of stepping up. He’s stepped into that ace role and really performed in every big game we’ve had. Guys have confidence with him on the mound that even with the mistakes we’re making he’s got what it takes to get them out with another ground ball or maybe get a strikeout.”

Lauginiger was true to his form on Saturday, holding the Broncos (10-2) to only two earned runs through six innings of work in which he threw 60 of his 92 pitches for strikes.

Despite working from the stretch often, Lauginiger (1-3) helped minimize the damage by limiting Palm Beach Central to five hits and two walks while striking out four to raise his team-leading total to 29 on the year.

“I like to play for a rally early and a run late, but that guy had me thinking about playing for a run towards the middle of the game because it was awful tight,” said Benedict.

Fortunately for the Broncos, they literally had an ace up their sleeve as well.

Padich went the distance for his third complete game and his third victory on the season, improving to 3-1 overall. The lefty struck out six on 104 total pitches, while surrendering five hits, walking one and hitting one batter.

After his team came back to give him the lead, Padich responded by retiring the final seven batters in order to seal the victory.

Palm Beach Central supporter Johnnie Meiers threw out the ceremonial first pitch in honor of his late son, former PB Central student Cody Meiers.

“John Padich did amazing,” Sawzcak said. “We know he’s going to hit his spots every single time and just get ground balls where we can make plays for him. He kept us in the game early and we got him some runs late.”

After left fielder Raige Hasko drew a bases-loaded RBI walk to give the Broncos the lead in the top of the sixth, it was Sawzcak who came through to help them add a coveted insurance run with a perfectly-placed bunt on a suicide-squeeze that scored Danny Hernandez from third base and put Sawzcak on with a single when the ball died on the infield grass on the play.

“Shane did a good job of handling the bat there. He put it in a place where he could be safe and we could get that insurance run,” Benedict said. “We invest a lot of our time in our bunting, and baserunning is the most neglected part of the game so we spend time on that too.”

Sawczak finished 2-for-4 on the day, and Jameel Edney went 2-for-2 and also walked to reach base in all three attempts.

It was Edney who tied the game at two apiece in the fourth inning, when he roped the ball just inside the left field grass for an RBI double that drove in Ian Hagenmiller. Hagenmiller led the inning off with a scorching shot to right field for a leadoff single, and both he and Hernandez scored twice in the contest.

The Wildcats jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first inning, as their first three batters all connected for hits to start things off with a bang.

Bryant Miranda slapped a single to center field leading off, and Brandon Hernandez followed by roping a double down the third baseline to put both runners in scoring position for Kyle Houck.

Houck lined to the shortstop to bring Miranda in when the fielder opted to attempt to throw Hernandez out heading for third base, and then reached with the RBI single after Miranda was ruled safe on the play.

Cruz Alcazar lined a fielder’s choice RBI to first base to help Miranda complete his trip around the bases and put the hosts up 2-1.

Former MLB and Wildcats pitcher Kason Gabbard throws a knuckleball for Royal Palm Beach’s ceremonial first pitch.

But once Padich settled into a groove, the Wildcats scoring chances were limited.

“We’ve got a lot of confidence when Padich is on the mound,” said Benedict. “He was a little uncomfortable in the first few innings but he made some adjustments and figured it out. I knew if we could get the lead we could get it, so we had to manufacture some runs since we weren’t exactly hitting. We moved some runners over to get them in and then John kind of took over.”

Hosting the Game of the Week was an honor that Wible hopes will help be a springboard for the team’s success going forward.

“Being asked to host something like this shows our program is headed in the right direction,” Wible said. “It’s something that we feel is based upon our success last year, and now we want to continue that. We just want to keep it headed that way.”

The hosts did not disappoint in providing a great atmosphere for the event, as former Wildcats and Major League player Kason Gabbard tossed a knuckleball to catcher Jessie Stebbins for Royal Palm Beach’s ceremonial first pitch, and WBZT 1230AM’s Sara Spiritual sang a riveting live rendition of the National Anthem to kick the game off.

For information on how you can help find a cure for Ewing’s Sarcoma, please visit Codysangels.com.

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