3A-12 Playoff Preview: Benjamin Aims To End King’s Run

3A-12
Host: Benjamin High School

Tuesday, April 23rd

4PM – Game 1 – (3) Jupiter Christian vs. (2) King’s Academy @ King’s Academy High School

Wednesday, April 24th

Rain Date

Thursday, April 25th

4PM – Championship – Game 1 winner vs. (1) Benjamin

Full stats for 3A-12 can be found on the 3A-12 Stats Page

Overview

It was a year ago this week when Benjamin and King’s Academy played one of the best district championship games of 2012. The team’s had each won once during the season, and King’s won the rubber match and their first district crown in five years.

A little more than a week later, the teams met again, this time with a regional final berth at stake. King’s again got the better of Benjamin, before losing in the regional final.

A lot has changed since the two teams met last May, the biggest of which being that the teams have traded spots at the top of the district during the regular season. This year, it was the Buccaneers who won the regular season crown, and now both are looking to reclaim the district title.

Jupiter Christian, the third team in the district, has their sites set on an upset or two. Let’s take a closer look of what each team brings to the table in the playoffs.

There have been plenty of high fives for the Bucs offense this season.

1. Benjamin – The Bucs are the clear favorite to win the 3A-12 title next week. They swept both King’s and Jupiter Christian during the season by a combined 35-7 score. The lopsided run differential does not indicate the battle Benjamin had with King’s the second time around. The Bucs will also have the luxury of knowing that whether they win or lose the district title, they will be playing in regionals the following week.

The Bucs are a complete team, with plenty of offense and some of the top pitching in the county. As a team, they have seven starters who hit over .330 this season. Kody Ruedisili led the team in runs, and was tied with Matt Harris for the team lead in stolen bases.

D.J. Paone leads the team in RBIs and extra base hits. He has been a catalyst for the offense, along with his running mate, Bennett Sousa, who led the team in home runs. Overall, the Bucs hit over .360 this year against a schedule including some of the top teams in South Florida. To say the Bucs are battle tested would be an understatement.

On the mound, Benjamin is just as good as they are offensively. Sousa and Harris have been the one-two punch all season, and the Bucs have received strong mound work from Chad Swift, Matt Ellmyer, and Logan Taplett. Sousa have combined for 10 of the Bucs 18 wins, each carrying an ERA of under 2.5. The team ERA of just over two shows that the Bucs are ready to make a deep run into the state playoffs.

Benjamin has beaten ten teams with a winning record in 2013, and their biggest win of the year may have come just this week, when they knocked off a potential opponent in the playoffs, Broward’s number two team, Coral Springs Christian. The Bucs’ last tuneup of the year will come against one of Palm Beach’s best, PB Central on Wednesday afternoon.

Dominic Mercurio awaits a pitch for the Lions.

2. King’s Academy – The Lions head into the playoffs with the task of breaking through against Benjamin. Before they can get to the Bucs, they will have to defeat Jupiter Christian on Tuesday.
King’s has had little trouble with the Eagles, winning their two games by a combined 15-0.

The Lions season has been somewhat of a roller coaster ride. They began by going 5-1, including three wins in the Santaluces Slam. That start was followed by a four game losing streak. From there, King’s traded wins and losses, and have remained around .500 for most of the season.

The loss of some key pitchers from last year’s regional finalist squad has left the Lions in many shootouts this season. The good news for King’s is their pitching staff is averaging close to a strikeout an inning. The team ERA also does not look so bad, sitting just under four.

Jacob Krigbaum, Kyle Hanlon, and John Monte have done most of the heavy lifting, throwing 91.1 of the teams 118 innings. Matt Tucker and John Carpenter have also contributed on the mound. Monte leads the team with an ERA under 2.5.

The offense is led by Ryan Johnson, who has flirted with the .500 mark all season long. James Vaughn leads the team with 17 RBIs, while Monte is tops in home runs with three. Team speed has been somehwat of a problem for the Lions, with nobody on the team having more than 10 stolen bases.

The team does have some experience to draw from, with several players returning from last year’s battle tested playoff roster.

Jupiter Christian’s Garrett Shook.

3. Jupiter Christian – The eagles will have a tall task if they want to get out of districts, but it is not one that is impossible. The Eagles will face off with King’s Academy on Tuesday, and they have shown this season that they can hang with the Lions. Early in the year Jupiter Christian played King’s tough in a 4-0 loss. If they can string together some runs, they could make the district semifinal interesting.

Runs have been tough to come by for a young Eagles team. Jupiter Christian has been shut out eight times on the year, but have also scored at least five runs in eight of their other games. In order to compete with King’s, the Eagles will have to get big performances by some of their key hitters.

Will Roorda and Sean Farmer both hit over .300 for Jupiter. The pair, along with Clay Walker and Garrett Shook, all scored double digit runs for the Eagles.

The team does have some team speed once they reach base, and have been successful in using that speed to their advantage. On the year, the Eagles have converted on 53 of 58 stolen base attempts.

Nik Constantakos has been the horse on the hill, throwing over 40 innings, while holding his ERA under three. He has 49 strikeouts in 40.1 innings, and is capable of beating anyone on any given day.

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