Lake Worth Christian Stays Hot, Captures 2A-12 Title

Matt Picardi had two hits and scored three runs to help Lake Worth Christian defeat Glades Day.

Pitching may win championships but don’t tell Lake Worth Christian or Glades Day.

“It was a race to 15 runs,” Lake Worth Christian Manager David Salley said.

And Lake Worth Christian won the race, surprising top-seeded Glades Day 17-12 to capture the District 2A-12 championship Thursday. It is their first district title since 2009.

Lake Worth Christian, seeded third, has scored 29 runs in their two district games, having defeated defending champion Boca Raton Christian 12-7 in the semifinals.

Offense wasn’t a problem for either team as pitchers from both team struggled.

The Defenders sent 20 batters to the plate in the first two innings and scored 11 runs.

The Gators countered by sending 16 batters to the plate in the first two innings and scoring seven runs.

Salley said he has focused on improving the team’s hitting this season.

“Last year, our focus was defense and learning the game defensively and this year the focus has been hitting,” said Salley. “This year our defense hasn’t been as strong as last year’s, but our hitting’s been a little better. So hopefully moving forward we find a nice balance between the two.”

Glades Day defeated Lake Worth Christian in both regular-season games, 13-6 and 4-2.

“They’ve been peaking,” Glades Day Manager Mike Underwood said. “Last time we played them, they gave us a great game. They’re peaking, they’re hitting the ball. My hat’s off to them.

“They came here to play and took it to us right off the bat. We fought back and I’m happy with that, but you just can’t keep giving them four, four, four, four. That just makes for a long day.”

Among the offensive stars for Lake Worth Christian (7-16) were Scott Lucas, who had an RBI single in the second, walked three times and scored three runs as well as Vinny Picardi, who had two hits, walked twice, scored three runs and drive in four.

Among the offensive stars for Glades Day (15-7) were Noel Figueroa, who went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and scored two runs along with Thomas Corzo, who had two singles, a walk and scored three runs.

“It was some clean hits by both teams,” said Salley. “The pitchers struggled a little bit, but both teams were hitting the ball. Some defensive miscues on both sides but really both teams hit the ball and hit the ball well.”

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