West Boca Edges Atlantic By A Run For Fourth Time

Joe White of West Boca homered and scored the winning run in the Bulls 7-6 victory.

Nick Siano wants his players to be aggressive, especially on the basepaths.

Junior second baseman Joe White listened to his manager.

White tagged up on a shallow flyout and scored the winning run to lift West Boca Raton over Atlantic 7-6 in the Class 7A regional semifinals Tuesday night.

It was the fourth time the Bulls defeated the Eagles this season, all by one run, including a 2-1 win in the district championship.

West Boca (21-8) will play the winner of Wednesday’s Nova-St. Thomas Aquinas game Friday night in the regional final.

White, who homered in the first inning, led off the sixth with a single to left. He moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Bradley Busch and, following an intentional walk to Sean Kuchta, advanced to third on as single to center field by Gary Garcia.

Atlantic starter Brad Myott was able to get to the fifth inning.

John Sanders, the designated hitter, who had an RBI double in the first, lifted a fly ball to shallow right field.

“I didn’t know if the ball was going to drop,” said Siano. “I knew it wasn’t going to be too deep to get a really good chance to tag.”

“I saw the right-fielder didn’t really look like he was getting ready to throw the ball so I just went on my own,” said White. “Coach has always said be aggressive on the basepaths, so I just went. I didn’t think about it — I just ran, I just kept running and I slid underneath. I knew I was safe.”

“High school arms are not as good as high school legs,” added Siano. “We always try to make them make the perfect throw.”

White’s run capped two rallies by West Boca, which had trailed 2-0 after the first half-inning and 6-4 at the end of the fourth.

The Bulls tied it at 6 in the bottom of the fifth inning by their 7-8-9 hitters. After two outs, Koby Pepia blooped a double down the right-field line and scored on an RBI single by Chris Busch, who moved to second on a bad throw home and tied the game on an RBI double by Angelo Dovas.

Atlantic (19-7) scored two runs in each of the first three innings, as seven of their nine batters had hits and forced Siano to use three pitchers to stem the offense.

West Boca’s Angelo Dovas pitched the seventh and got credit for the win.

Siano’s fourth pitcher, Dovas, pitched the seventh, allowing just a single to Jarren Pinkney, to close out the win.

“That was a helluva game,” said Siano. “We talked about that (the three previous one-run games) before the game. We told them this is the only game that matters. Because if you lose this one, you go home. So they knew the consequences and the magnitude of this game.

“That’s a good ballclub. To beat them four times in a year is tough. And to beat them all four times by one run. We’re pretty evenly matched. They’re a a tough team, a scrappy team. They do all the things right. You knew it was going to be a tough game.”

The Eagles used three pitchers. Starter Brad Myott, a senior, pitched four and one-third innings and was replaced by freshman Duane Cyr. He was replaced with the scored tied in the bottom of the fifth with two outs and a runner on second by ace Cody Bryant, a senior who had pitched a no-hitter in his previous outing.

Atlantic Manager Steve Wilson, who had argued an umpire’s call in the seventh on a foul ball down the left-field line, spent several extra minutes saying good-bye to his seniors.

“They (West Boca) played a great game,” said Wilson. “They’re competitors til the very end. We fought them all year, and unfortunately four times we lost to them either our last at-bat or their very last at-bat. I think they’ll continue to do well, and I think they will make Palm Beach County proud.”

Siano said his entire pitching staff will be available for Friday’s regional final.

“Everybody’s open,” said Siano. “At this point, it’s do or die. So I think everybody will be rested. Nobody threw too many pitches tonight. They will all be fully functional for Friday’s game.”

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