Palm Beach Gardens Eyes Another State Run

While Palm Beach Gardens won the district title in 2013, their ultimate goal is a state championship.

For the past 20 seasons, manager Joe Russo has been at the helm at Palm Beach Gardens. Russo has put together a winning program over the years, and that continued last year as his Gators topped rival Jupiter to win another district title.

But a home loss to Seminole Ridge in the regional quarterfinals left a bitter taste in everyone’s mouth going into the offseason.

“I’m really happy with the way our team has responded to the loss,” senior catcher JJ Schwarz said. “I can speak for all of us when I say we’ve been working our tails off to make sure that never happens again. We are going to come back ready to win this year.”

Despite their season ending earlier than they might have liked, the Gators still won a district title in a very difficult district.

“Winning the district championship brings some pride,” Russo said. “We did accomplish that in a tough district and we feel good about that. At the same time though, if we aren’t playing for a state championship then our expectations aren’t fully being met. When we don’t, it is always going to be a disappointment.”

Russo and his Gators should have a good opportunity to achieve that goal again this year as they return all but eight players from last year’s district champion team. Most were also members of the team that made it all the way to the state championship in 2012.

J.J. Schwarz will be one of the players that will be called on to be a team leader.

“A lot of these guys are one year removed from the Final Four,” Russo said. “That’s a huge plus when you look at experience, the fact that they know what it takes to actually get to the Final Four. It is something you can tell them year in and year out and they don’t really get it until they have been through a regional and won a regional and made it to a Final Four. So that’s a huge huge plus for us.”

While the Gators are returning a majority of the team, they will have a different look and feel in 2014. The Gators lost their two top starting pitchers in Riley Colbath and Joey Boyd and their closer in Matt Williams. They also lost their starting shortstop Nick Gallo. Russo will lean on his veteran guys like Schwarz and Pavin Smith to anchor his team on both sides of the ball. Some of the younger players also saw some playing time last year and a chemistry that the team has built will be the key for the Gators to make their run back to the State Championship.

“The chemistry we have built is unmatched,” Smith said. “The district is tough but we work together so well that we should get that advantage.”

Schwarz lead the team in on base percentage and was near the top for batting average last season, while Smith was over .400 in batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. Their performance on the field, combined with the fact that they are now seniors with several years of varsity experience is a big reason why coach Russo will look to them and the other upperclassmen to step up and take on a leadership role this year.

“We tell our guys that when it’s their senior year it’s their turn to be leaders,” Russo said. “You look at JJ Schwarz as our catcher. He is going to be a guy that will have to be vocal and be a leader defensively on the field. Pavin Smith is a proven player that the kids will look up to as well. Caleb Perez has leadership qualities. He’s a tough, hard-nosed guy and even as an underclassman he wasn’t afraid to speak up. Those three seniors will really be the key to us leadership-wise.”

It’s not just Russo who is looking to his senior players for leadership. The players also know that they have a responsibility to be team leaders.

“There’s a huge responsibility on us,” Schwarz said. “We are team leaders and we have to be good examples for the other guys. Coach Russo always tells us leadership is the key so Pavin and myself and some of the other seniors are stepping up.”

One of the breakout performers from last year’s team was freshman Sendle Jean. Even though Jean was the newest and youngest guy, he stepped up and batted .300 against some of the toughest competition not only in Palm Beach County but also in the state. As a result, expectations are high for the sophomore outfielder to continue to grow and blossom.

Sendle Jean will look to replicate a great freshman year.

“We are going to ask a lot more of him this year,” Russo said of Jean.  “He is probably going to move into the infield, so defensively is where he is going to show how important he is to us. He is a natural hitter and will be a tough out as well. His running game will improve this year and so will bunting for a base hit.”

In addition to him stepping up in the field, his mystery factor is now gone. Last year he batted low in the lineup and pitchers had not seen him before. Now he will be called upon earlier in the batting order and pitchers will be better acclimated to his style at the plate. Russo and the Gators are confident they have a guy in Jean who is capable of continuing to mature and stay ahead of his opposition as he improves.

With the 2014 season now just around the corner, the focus has been turned back on the field as the team prepares to defend their district championship. For Gardens, that all starts with strength and conditioning, and repetitions.

“Our strength and conditioning program has been unbelievable,” Russo said. “It is all sports specific, so it is baseball specific stuff and I think that is going to really pay off.”

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