Atlantic Shocks Top-Ranked West Boca 5-4

Stefan Leclerc went 2-for-3 at the plate with a run scored, while also picking up the win on the mound.

Coming into Wednesday’s 7A-13 semifinal round, the Atlantic Eagles were akin to Frosty the Snowman in Florida: they didn’t have much chance of survival. Not against the mighty Bulls of West Boca who had lost just one game all season, had earned the number one seed in the playoffs and were the top-ranked team in all of Palm Beach County.

When the two teams took to Dave Manzo field on Wednesday evening, the result was sure to be the same as it had been the last six times they played. West Boca was going to win.

Except they didn’t.

The Eagles shocked the Bulls with a stunning, 5-4 upset of their perennial rivals, earning a berth in the regional playoffs and the right to play for the district title.

There was some poetic justice in the victory. In 2012, when Atlantic advanced all the way to the state semifinals, they were the team that ended the Bulls’ season. They beat them not only in the district final, but also in the regional semifinal. The Eagles had not been able to beat them since. Last season, the Bulls turned the tables, defeating Atlantic in the same two games, as well as sweeping the regular-season series. The 2014 season was more of the same, with West Boca taking both games by a combined score of 12-1.

“I don’t think anyone out here thought we were going to win tonight, except for us,” said Eagles center fielder Alex Cordes. “So, the energy we had tonight really showed up on the field.”

The game was a see-saw affair the whole way through, and Cordes made sure that Atlantic started it on the high end. He singled off of Bulls starter Sean Gabel in the first at-bat of the game to spark a three-hit first inning for the Eagles, and eventually came around to score the first run of the game on an RBI by George Engroff.

The early lead was short-lived. West Boca answered right back in the home half of the first when Joe White hit his first of three RBIs, a line shot back up the middle that scored Chris Busch, who had doubled in the previous at-bat.

Nicholas Cortese added two more for Atlantic in the third with a two-run, two-out single that scored Engroff and Duane Cyr.

Again, the Bulls had an answer. Busch hit Eagle’s starter Stefan Leclerc hard for the second time in as many opportunities, rocketing a ball deep over Cordes’ head in center field for a triple. Once again, White brought him home, this time with a sacrifice fly. Leclerc notched his third of five strikeouts in the next at-bat to limit the damage and maintain the 3-2 lead for Atlantic.

“I don’t have overpowering stuff,” Leclerc admitted. “I’m used to a couple of hitters here and there hitting it solid, but I just want to get the next guy out.”

Chris Busch hit a double, a triple and scored three of the Bulls’ four runs.

Gabel moved to center field after allowing his eighth hit of the night to the first batter of the fourth inning. Angelo Dovas took his place on the mound and finished the game. He received some run-support in the fifth when Gabel singled and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Ricardo Gonzalez. Busch then reached and advanced to second due to a throwing error, setting the stage for White to once again bring him home, which he did with a base hit into center field, giving the Bulls their first lead of the game, 4-3.

In a bit of irony, not only was the Bulls’ go-ahead run unearned, so to was Atlantic’s tying run in the next half-inning.

With Cortese on first and two away, Leclerc dropped a base hit into left field, where there was some difficulty picking it up off the turf. The delay allowed Cortese to make it home and Leclerc to round to second. Leclerc then put the Eagles back on top when Cordes ripped his third hit of the night and his first RBI, a hard grounder right back up the middle of the diamond.

With a one-run lead going into the bottom of the sixth, the energy in the Atlantic dugout was electric. It only intensified when the Bulls helped them out by hitting a first-pitch fly out to start the inning. The mood was dampened for a moment when Dovas drove a 3-1 pitch to deep left field. Engroff had to drift all the way back to the 330-foot wall to snare it, and when he did, the Atlantic dugout was once again abuzz.

“That really got my heart rate up,” said Leclerc. “But he (Engroff) cruised over there and when he got under it, it made my day that much better.”

Cyr one-upped Dovas’ display of power in the top of the seventh, crushing a ball to the right field fence for a triple that, with one out, put the Eagles in good shape to tack on some insurance. A failed suicide squeeze in the next at bat resulted in a double play, and Atlantic had to rely on Leclerc to bring them home.

Despite being on a pitch count, Atlantic manager Steve Wilson sent him back out for the seventh.

“It was Stefan’s game and he wanted it,” explained Wilson.

Leclerc did not disappoint, pitching a 1-2-3 inning, each out raising the anticipation and excitement as the players and fans waited for their moment to erupt in triumphant celebration.

Alex Cordes went 3-for-4 with and RBI and run scored.

“Coach Wilson told me I was going to go seven innings and throw 49 pitches,” Leclerc joked about his heroic performance. “Now, I know that didn’t work out, but he didn’t throw anybody else in the bullpen. I know that I wanted to go seven and I was glad I could finish it off.”

For Jarren Pinkney, one of Atlantic’s top hitters, the win is an enormous weight off his shoulders.

“They’re one of our biggest rivals,” Pinkney explained. “It took me my junior to senior year just to beat them one time and it feels so good.”

Engroff seconded that emotion.

“It was a good victory for us,” Engroff said. “They took four from us last year and ended our season, so to just get a little revenge on them feels good.”

After such a successful regular season the early departure from the playoffs is a tough pill for West Boca and their manager, Nick Siano, to swallow.

“We just didn’t have our “A” game tonight,” Siano said. “And you have to give a lot of credit to Atlantic, who made the most of their opportunities.”

While it can be hard to remain positive after such a devastating loss, Siano did his best.

“I talked to these guys after the game,” he said, “and told them to be proud of what they accomplished this year and the four years that they’ve been at West Boca. It’s definately a tough way to go out.”

Wilson gushed afterwards, and admitted he could not be more proud of his team.

“I’m just so pleased with my team,” said Wilson. “This was a magnificent team, and for us to defeat them was a major step for us. Tomorrow, we’re going to do everything we can to beat Dwyer.”

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