Game Of The Week: King’s Academy At Heritage

James Vaughan has been one of the key players this season for the Lions.

The announcer for Saturday’s game between King’s Academy and American Heritage might want to consider cranking up the 1979 Peaches and Herb hit Reunited.

The teams, longtime district rivals who played in different districts the past two years, will be reunited in the High School Baseball Network Palm Beach Game of the Week, and it will feel so good.

King’s and Heritage have had one of the best rivalries in Palm Beach County for a long time, but because of state reclassification in 2012, they were put in separate districts. They still played each other once the past years with each winning one of those games, but Saturday’s game, set for 2 p.m., will have meaning again as it is a 4A-13 district contest.

Both teams are 3-3, and each has a district win with at least one district game before they face each other.

King’s has beaten Atlantic 6-5, Jupiter 3-1 and district opponent St. Andrew’s 19-0. The losses have come against Trinity Christian 5-0, Palm Beach Central 3-2 and Cardinal Newman 4-3.

The Lions displayed resilience and the ability to rally in the game against Atlantic, scoring three runs in the top of the seventh to erase a 5-3 deficit to secure the win. Nick Bates went 2-for-4 and hit the clutch single to drive in the winning run. It was one of two hits Bates had on the night. Dominic Mercurio, Bobby Biskupiak, Ryan Arendas and Sean Hart also had two hits in the win, which was earned on the mound by James Vaughan.

Andrew Goodlet led the way against Jupiter, going 2-for-3 with a RBI. Biskupiak picked up the win.

An 11-run second inning and a seven-run third paved the way to the huge win over St. Andrew’s. Drew Kendall went 3-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs, and Mercurio went 4-for-4 with two RBIs. Arendas went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and three runs, and Sean Hart, Connor Hart, Vaughan, Bates and Ryan Johnson each had two hits.

Anthony Hotjec has had a solid start to the season on the mound.

King’s has another important game before Saturday as it has to square off against Pope John Paul II, another district rival, Thursday. Heritage has two district foes to contend with before Saturday — Cardinal Newman on Tuesday and St. Andrew’s on Thursday.

Earning wins in those games against Newman and St. Andrew’s will continue Heritage’s rebound from consecutive losses to Benjamin 3-2, Palm Beach Central 12-1 and Boca Raton 5-1. Heritage was able to turn it around in a district game against Pope John Paul II, winning 5-1 Friday.

Anthony Hotujec struck out 10 in six innings to key the win over Pope. Brenden Brundage went 2-for-2 with a pair of stolen bases, and Hunter Bowling went 2-for-3 with a run, RBI and stolen base.

Hotujec also was key in a 2-0 win over Jupiter to start the season as he went the distance, allowing four runs. Jonathan India hit a homer in the bottom of the seventh as the Stallions got two runs to win the game.

In the 10-2 win over Santaluces the next day, India went 2-for-2 with a walk, four runs and two stolen bases, and Tyler Frank 3-for-4 with two runs, two RBIs and two stolen bases. In all, the Stallions swiped eight bases in the game, showcasing their speed and baserunning skills.

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