Spanish River Eliminates Rival Boca Raton 10-0

Boomer Saraga of Spanish River had two hits and scored two runs in the Sharks 10-0 playoff victory.

What a difference a year makes.

Spanish River took advantage of eight hits and eight walks en route to 10-0, five-inning rout of crosstown rival Boca Raton in the opening game of the District 8A-10 playoffs Monday night at John I. Leonard High School.

The start of the game was delayed two hours because of lightning.

The fourth-seeded Sharks (12-12) play top-seeded Park Vista in the first semifinal today, followed by No. 2 Seminole Ridge against No. 3 John I. Leonard.

Last year, Boca Raton upset Spanish River 11-3 in the district semifinals even though the Sharks had swept the regular-season series.

“Obviously, it’s a Boca thing, but it’s a little more than that,” said Spanish River Manager Bill Harvey. “This goes back to last year. We came in a two-seed and we’re seven innings away from going to a regional. Boca just jumped up and beat us around like they owned us.”

So Harvey wanted to focus his players on not repeating the past since the Sharks had won both regular-season games against the Bobcats, 1-0 and 5-2.

“We can’t let what happened last year happen to us again,” Harvey told his players.

They listened.

The Sharks jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. One-out singles by Ryan Berger and Boomer Saraga and a walk to Anthony Acino loaded the bases.

Fenway Parks was plunked on a 2-0 pitch, forcing in Berger. Austin Hurwitz’s infield grounder on an 0-2 pitch was mishandled, allowing Saraga and Acino to score.

“Getting out to that 3-0 lead gave us a lot of confidence right there,” said Harvey.

Senior Alex Demchak of Spanish River shut out rival Boca Raton for the second time this season.

Senior left-hander Alex Demchak, who beat the Bobcats 1-0 in the team’s first meeting, took over. He only allowed two hits, striking out two and walking three. He hasn’t allowed a run in two games against Boca (11-14).

“I’ve been able to locate my pitches really well, stay on top of the ball, throw a lot of strikes, and let the defense work,” said Demchak, who labeled his performance as “sub-par.”

The Sharks put away the game with five runs in the fourth inning, highlighted by two-run singles by Saraga and Hurwitz. They were the only two Sharks with two hits, although leadoff hitter John O’Connor walked three times and scored twice. Berger and Acino had one hit, two walks and scored two runs apiece.

Demchak struggled in the third inning as the Bobcats loaded the bases with two outs but couldn’t get the key hit. Carlos Leon doubled to the fence in right field with two outs and advanced to third on a wild pitch, where he was stranded. Leon had attempted to bunt on the first pitch.

“He (Demchak) kept pounding away at the zone and he did it to us twice,” said Boca Raton Manager Rick Clagett. “They’ve got a quality ballclub, and I wish them all the best of luck in the rest of the districts.”

The first-year manager was pleased with the effort, despite the result.

“We hit some balls hard and they were just at some people,” added Clagett. “We had the bases loaded with two outs and just couldn’t find that hit. That’s kind of been the story of our season. We have just struggled to get that one hit. You get that one hit, you get it to 3-1, 3-2, maybe that game stays a little bit closer.

“I appreciate the guys playing hard all year. Obviously you don’t want to end the season this way, but you hope you can build on the future with some of the younger players.”

Eliminating Boca Raton meant a lot to the players, if Demchak is the measuring stick.

“It’s good to repay the favor,” said Demchak.

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