Park Vista Three-Peats As 8A-10 Champions

Nyle Newland came up big in the fifth with a two-run double that clinched the victory.

The Park Vista Cobras are champions of District 8A-10 again.

After an extraordinary regular season in which they finished with a 22-3 record and went undefeated within the district, they handily dispatched the Spanish River Sharks by a score of 11-1 in the title game on Thursday night at Spanish River High School.

Although they started off the campaign with an outstanding 15 wins in a row, the Cobras showed some minor chinks in their armor and went 6-3 down the stretch. Most disturbing to Manager Larry Greenstein was a 9-1 loss to Flanagan on April 16th, after which he challenged his players to regroup.

“We had a heart-to-heart after the Flanagan game last week,” Greenstein said. “We just told them, ‘Guys, just bring two things to the field from here on out, effort and attitude’.”

The message was received. They won their next two games by a combined score of 25-3, including a semifinal victory over Santaluces that ended after five innings because of the mercy rule. On Thursday against the Sharks, they were again relentless, stretching their lead to 10 runs in the fifth to again end the game early.

From the onset, it was clear that the “attitude” that Greenstein had asked for was present. The energy in the Cobras dugout was overwhelming and unrelenting throughout the game, with the players boisterously cheering each other on at the plate and doing their best to rattle their opponents.

Whether that had anything to do with Sharks starter Chui Slootsky plunking Matthew Mika with the second pitch of the game is anybody’s guess. Considering that Mika leads Palm Beach County in stolen bases and runs scored this season, it meant trouble for Spanish River either way. As everyone at the park expected, Mika promptly swiped second base. He moved to third on a base hit by Dakota Julylia then scored on a passed ball. Tyler Barre hit a sacrifice fly to right field to bring Julylia home, and the Cobras were off and running with a 2-0 lead.

Joey Calamita got the nod for Park Vista for just the second time this season. The first time was in the Flanagan loss, and Greenstein felt that the numbers from that game did not indicate how well the senior had thrown the ball.

“We were really pleased with what we saw from him out there against a top team like Flanagan,” Greenstein said. “It didn’t rattle him and he worked hard.”

On Thursday, there was no discrepancy between the numbers and the results. He scattered five hits through five innings and allowed just one run. He also only struck out one, but in contrast, did not issue a free pass.

“He came out here in a pressure situation,” raved Greenstein. “District championship on the line and he did a great job.”

Calamita was modest when asked about his success, preferring to shine the spotlight on his teammates.

Joey Calamita held the Sharks to one run to earn the win.

“I was just trying to throw strikes,” Calamita said. “I knew my defense would back me up. I knew we had some good hitters in the lineup to get us some runs, so just tried to keep it low in the zone.”

Meanwile, the Cobras racked up 12 hits and benefited from eight walks.

After giving up the two early runs, Slootsky held his own against Park Vista’s powerful lineup, which boasted a .334 team batting average, through the second and third innings.

He gave up four base hits in a row to start off the third but the Cobra’s trademark aggression on the base paths cost them a couple of runs. After leading off the inning with his second single, Julylia was caught stealing by Austin Hurwitz, who did a good job of controlling the Park Vista running game, also gunning down Tyler Huggins in the second. After Julylia’s steal attempt, Barre pulled a hard grounder down the left-field line but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double. Had both stayed put, they would have been driven in by the subsequent base hits by Austin Smith and Joey Genord.

In the end, all it did was delay the inevitable. The Cobras eventually scored those two runs in the fourth, as well as a third to run the score to 5-0. Three straight walks loaded the bases, and Julylia and Genord followed with two base hits to bring them all home.

With two outs, Sharks Manager William Harvey turned to reliever Mike Meyers to get them out of the jam. While he was successful in recording the final out of the fourth, Meyers ran into trouble in the fifth. After inducing a quick first out, he walked three of the next four batters he faced and gave up an RBI single to designated hitter Colin Smith. Another call to the bullpen could not stop another run from scoring on a wild pitch, and Julylia was then given a free pass. Barre whacked a 2-1 pitch into the right-center gap for a two-run double.

The Sharks then opted not to tangle with Smith and his .400 batting average. They intentionally walked him to get to Nyle Newland, who had struck out twice and grounded out to start the frame. This time, he made Spanish River pay for the perceived slight, ripping a hard ground ball down the third-base line and into left field for a two-run double that pushed the lead to 10 and ended the game.

“I mean, it’s not a good feeling when somebody does that to you,” Newland said about the Sharks choosing to go after him instead of Smith. “You just have to go up there and focus on doing the small things. I just wanted to shorten up my swing and get my hands inside the ball, just hit something on the ground, make them make a play.”

Harvey recognizes that many of the Cobras’ base hits were “seeing-eye singles,” indicating that maybe the “baseball Gods” were not on the Sharks’ side this time. But Harvey finds little consolation in that.

“You can’t give up that many walks in between them hitting balls for doubles,” Harvey said. “You’ve got to be able to throw strikes, and we didn’t do that very well tonight. To their credit, they didn’t swing at many bad balls and took the gifts that we gave them.”

Dakata Julylia made a triumphant return from injury with a 3-for-3 night.

The Sharks scored their lone run in the top of the fifth when Hurwitz singled and was then driven in by a double to deep center field by Billy Marion.

“A little disappointing to say the least,” Harvey said. “I was hoping we’d come out and play a little better.”

Despite the defeat, Spanish River’s season continues. The top two teams from each district make it to the regional tournament that starts next week.

“It’s not like it gets easier,” Harvey admitted. “We’d like to think we have a chance, whichever team we play.”

In his final season as a part of the Park Vista nine, Barre, a senior, had a stand-out performance, going 2-for-2 while drawing a walk, scoring a run and driving in three more.

Also impressive was Julylia, who went 3-for-3, stole a base, scored two runs and drew a walk. Making his night even more impressive is the fact that this is his first week back after missing a month of action with a broken thumb.

“I just tried to hit the ball the other way and luckily I squared a few up tonight,” Julylia said. “It feels great to come out here and win the district championship. We’ve got to look forward to next week and work hard for next week.”

As a senior, Calamita is not sure if he’ll have the opportunity to start another game.

“Either way, if it ended like this, I’m happy about it,” Calamita admitted.

As for Greenstein and what a third straight district title means to him?

“It seems to be getting tougher every year,” Greenstein admitted. “It’s definitely not getting old, I can tell you that.”

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