Gardens Advances to Regionals with 5-2 Win Over Central

Pavin Smith threw five innings while striking out nine.

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For the Palm Beach Gardens Gators, successfully navigating through the district tournament and advancing to regionals is just the beginning of the team’s ultimate goal. On Tuesday night, in front of a boisterous crowd featuring friends, family, fans, and even some scouts, the Gators moved one step closer to reaching their ultimate goal.

“This game is always the toughest,” Palm Beach Gardens Manager Joe Russo said. “You really want to give your team the opportunity to go to a regional and be three games away from being in the state tournament. Ultimately our goal is to get to Fort Myers.”

Behind another solid start by senior Pavin Smith and some clutch hitting throughout the game, the Gators defeated Palm Beach Central 5-2 in the 8A-9 semifinals. The win guarantees Palm Beach Gardens a spot in the regional tournament and one step closer to getting back to Fort Myers.

“It’s our dream {to get that state championship},” left fielder Harley Sanicky said. “Hopefully we can just keep going and keep pushing away and get that state title.”

While the win put the Gators in the district title game and earned them a berth to regionals, it didn’t come without a fight from the Broncos. The two teams battled back and forth for all seven innings, electrifying the capacity crowd and adding intensity to a match-up that already had a lot on the line.

“It’s typical for the district and we knew it was going to be a tough battle,” Russo said. “High intensity and a close game. Our guys are used to that all year long. It feels good to be one of two teams moving on and getting out of this district.”

Gabe Hernandez went 2-for-3 with an RBI

Palm Beach Gardens started things off early when Smith helped his own cause by hitting a double and advancing to third on a throwing error. Catcher JJ Schwarz came up and drove Smith in with an RBI single.

The lead wouldn’t last long for the Gators though. In fact, it wouldn’t even last a full inning. Palm Beach Central came up to bat in the top half of the second and brought seven batters to the plate, the most that Smith would face from the Broncos in an inning on the night. Singles to start off the inning by Jorge Alfonso and Manny Morales would lead to RBI hits from Gabe Hernandez and Andrew Zipp.

The two runs were also the only two that Smith or any of the Gators pitchers would surrender on the night. Smith finished the night pitching five innings, allowing those two runs while striking out nine Bronco batters.

“I felt my command was good tonight,” Smith said. “I was able to throw it where I wanted to and especially throwing it in they were taking it every time.”

Harley Sanicky went 3-for-3 with a home run

Palm Beach Gardens tied it up in the bottom half of the second on an RBI double by Hunter Sanicky before breaking the game open in the fourth. After two quick outs by Palm Beach Central reliever Kyle Giragagos, Hunter’s brother Harley came to the plate and connected on a solo home run to give the Gators the lead.

“My guys ahead of me were telling me where he was throwing and he served me up a pitch and I took a nice hack at it and luckily it went over the fence,” Sanicky said.

The home run was Sanicky’s first at the varsity level and he could not have asked for a bigger moment to hit it in. Not only did his home run prove to be the game winning run, it also put his team back into regionals.

“It sure isn’t going to feel any better than that,” Sanicky said as to how big his first varsity home run was. “I’m glad I could do what I could for the team. It was tough because my brother already has had two home runs at the varsity level and I’m just trying to catch up.”

While Palm Beach Gardens punched their ticket to the next round they still have the district title game ahead of them. They will face the winner of the Jupiter vs Seminole Ridge game Wednesday night. The Gators and the winner of the Jupiter/Seminole Ridge matchup will play Friday night for the district title and the right to host at least the first regional tournament game.

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