8A-9 Playoff Preview: Anyone’s Game

8A-9
Host: Palm Beach Gardens High School

Monday, April 22nd

7PM – Game 1 – (5) Wellington vs. (4) Dwyer

Tuesday, April 23rd

7PM – Game 2 – (3) Palm Beach Central vs. (2) Palm Beach Gardens

Wednesday, April 24th

7PM – Game 3 – Game 1 winner vs. Jupiter

Thursday, April 25th

Rain Date

Friday, April 26th

7PM – Championship – Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner

Full stats for 8A-9 can be found on the 8A-9 Stats Page!

Overview – In a district where beating up on each other has become a habit the past two seasons, only one thing is known for sure. The two teams that come out of 8A-9 will be battle tested and well-equipped to handle the pressure of a state run. All five teams have had their moments of greatness at times this season, but all that goes out the window on Tuesday when only the strong will survive. Here is a look at how the teams stack up going into the playoffs.

Jupiter’s Lance Fry sizzles on the mound.

1. Jupiter – If there is one team in the district that has stood out above the rest, it has been the Warriors. Jupiters played nearly perfect through their district games, losing only once along the way. The team is loaded with pitching, and has an offense that can put up runs when needed. It is a similar situation to the one Jupiter faced last year come playoff time.

The difference this year may be the consistency that the Warriors have shown. At no point in the season did the Warriors lose two games in a row. They started the year with a 13 game winning streak, and really never looked back. Their toughest stretch was a four game run in late March and early April where they went 2-2. Outside of that, Jupiter has been the class of Palm Beach throughout.

The aforementioned pitching staff has a team ERA of 2.46. They are led by the duo of Lance Fry (1.31) and Scott Danek (1.25). who each went 6-0. Kyle Keatts also spent time on the mound for the Warriors, going 3-1, while striking out 27 batters in just over 20 innings.

As a whole, the staff struck out more than a batter an inning in 2013, with the 143 strikeouts more than doubling the amount of walks allowed.

Offensively the Warriors were impressive as well with a team average of .326, and an on-base percentage hovering near .450. The 167 runs show that Jupiter can score with the best teams in the county.

Among the starters, Peter Sitaras (.510), Johnny McCarthy (.426), and Logan Heiser (.418), led the team in several statistical categories. McCarthy led in RBIs, with 30, and Heiser led in runs (24). Sitaras’ 16 walks was second on the team to Kyle Vesnesky’s 22.

If anyone was to search for a possible weakness it could be on the bases, where the Warriors were successful only 22 of 34 times they attempted a stolen base.

Joey Boyd will be key on the mound for the Gators.

2. Palm Beach Gardens – Last season, the Gators had to do things the hard way, coming into the playoffs having to win two games to advance. They not only won those two games, but tacked on a state appearance as well, capping a magical playoff run.

This year, the road to the regionals has only one team in the Gators’ path, Palm Beach Central. The two teams have split the season series, including an epic two-day, extra-inning affair a few weeks ago.

Gardens began the season on a five game winning streak, then fell three straight times. That short losing streak was followed by the Gators’ longest winning streak of the season, a ten game run that began with a 7-0 victory over Dwyer, and ended with a 3-1 win over Jensen Beach. The teams streaky ways continued, with Gardens losing three of their next four.

The team has received strong starting pitching, and has been in most of their losses. Six of their seven losses have come by three runs or fewer. A couple of timely hits along the way and the Gators very well could have found themselves at the top of the district standings.

The Broncos are hoping to celebrate a district title next week.

3. Palm Beach Central – The Broncos have been near the top of the rankings all year in Palm Beach, and for good reason. Central has a pitching staff that has been stingy with giving up runs, and the offense has been efficient.

The bread and butter of the Broncos is their pitching staff, led by John Padich. The senior has thrown most of Central’s big games, and is 5-1, with an ERA of 1.45. His 45/6 K/BBs ratio is one of the best in recent history, and he has struck out more than a batter an inning.

Joining Padich at the top of the staff in innings have been Shane Sawczak (25 IP), and Jorge Alonso (18.1 IP). Alfonso is 5-0 on the year, and Sawczak’s seven appearances is second on the team behind Padich.

Overall, the Broncos team ERA is 2.15, with an equally impressive WHIP of 1.15. Without issuing free passes (41 walks in 117 innings), opposing teams have had little chance to mount any type of sustained offensive innings against Central.

The offense has had to be efficient with a combined team home run total of only two. They still managed to scrap out 97 runs and a .300 batting average. Gage Morey and Joe Shue are the team’s batting average leaders at .346 and .340, respectively. Ian Haganmiller led the team with 15 runs scored, while Shue’s 13 RBIs was tops on the squad. The running game was a big part of the offense as the Broncos tallied 30 stolen bases through the course of the season.

To advance to regional play, the Broncos need to win the rubber match with Gardens on Wednesday. manager Scott Benedict is seeking his first state title since launching the Central program a decade ago.

Hunter Hope and the offense are looking to catch fire in the playoffs.

4. Dwyer – The Panthers were a team that many fans thought would be at the top of 8A-9 this season. They had Cheyne Bickel returning at the top of the rotation after a strong junior season, and many thought they were poised to ride their pitching to the top.

The season, however, did not go according to plan. The Panthers started in a hole, losing five of their first seven games, with three of those games being against district opponents. By the time the Panthers got things together in the district, they could only win enough games to pass Wellington for the fourth seed.

Despite the fourth seed, Dwyer remains a legitimate district contender. With the pitching expected to be there this week, the Panthers need only find a way to scrap out some runs. In their two meetings with Wellington, Dwyer lost 8-2, and then won the rematch 3-0. Should they get past Wellington, they would face a Jupiter team that beat them 10-0 early in the year, but one in which they got revenge with a 12-6 win earlier this month.

The Panthers have been a hard team to figure out in a game-by-game basis. They have lost to an under .500 Boca team, but have beaten Jupiter, Broward’s University School, and Miami powerhouse Monsignor Pace.

Michael Cusenza and the Wolverines are looking for a couple of upsets.

5. Wellington – The Wolverines shocked everyone when they came out in 2013 with four wins in their first five games. The trouble began when district play commenced, and Wellington dropped their first two district battles with Palm Beach Gardens and Palm Beach Central, before winning their first district game against Dwyer.

Just when the Wolverines season looked like it was taking a turn for the worse, the team rolled off four wins and a Central Florida Slam championship over Spring Break. During that run, they beat perennial Orlando state contenders Dr. Phillips and West Orange, along with Key West.

The team came back from that trip riding a wave of momentum, and was subsequently brought back down to earth in a 16-0 loss to Central. That set off three straight district losses, and sealed the Wolverines’ fate as the fifth seed in 8A-9.

As was the case after their first losing streak of the season, Wellington again rebounded and has won two of their last three heading into the playoffs.

To advance to the regional playoffs, Wellington will need to beat Dwyer Tuesday, and then upset the top seed in the district, Jupiter.

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