PB Gardens Wins Pitcher’s Duel Over Seminole Ridge

Anthony Maldonado went the distance, striking out seven.

Starting pitchers Anthony Maldonado and Kyle Farjad both went the distance, as Palm Beach Gardens defeated Seminole Ridge 4-0 to move to 3-0 in District 8A-9 play.

Both pitchers matched each other seemingly pitch-for-pitch early on. Through the first three innings, both Maldonado and Farjad had matching no-hitters going. Each allowed just one man on base; Maldanado via a walk and Farjad via a hit by pitch. Their strikeouts were almost identical as well, with Anthony striking out three and Kyle fanning four.

It seemed as though whoever scored first would have the upper hand on the night. That distinction went to the Gators in the fourth. After Maldonado retired the Hawks in order in the top half of the fourth, Palm Beach Gardens (8-2) came up in the bottom half of the inning and got to Farjad for the first time on the night.

“Early in the game we didn’t have competitive at bats,” Palm Beach Gardens Manager Joe Russo said. “With a guy like that we at least want to have competitive at bats. We made some adjustments and we were able to get the bat on the ball and some things happened for us.”

After retiring the first batter of the inning, Gabe Gonzalez hit a double to break up the no-hitter. After getting caught in a rundown on a hit by Hunter Holland and a single by Maldonado, the Gators found themselves with runners on first and second but with two outs. Udie Summerall came up and hit an RBI single, and then Austin Wilson hit a two-RBI triple. All of a sudden, Palm Beach Gardens found themselves with a 3-0 lead.

“My first at bat I saw how he was throwing. He kept throwing fastball and didn’t change it up too much,” Wilson said. “I knew a fastball was coming, and so I hit it oppo and got the job done.”

Gardens added one more in the fourth on a Harley Sanicky RBI single. But that three-run fourth inning turned out to be all they needed, as Maldonado continued to dominate on the mound. He struck a total of seven out on the night and didn’t surrender a hit until two outs into the fifth, when Hawks right fielder Andrew Attaway broke up the no-hit bid with a single.

“I felt good out there tonight,” Maldonado said. “My command was good and all my pitches were working, and I felt good. I was working off my fastball and I located my curveball pretty good, and I located my changeup at the end of the game.”

Kyle Farjad also went the distance while striking out nine.

For Palm Beach Gardens, it was a total team effort on the night. For coach Russo it was the perfect combination of pitching, defense, and timely hitting.

“It was a great team win,” Russo said. “Obviously Maldonado threw a great game. We get a performance like that and are able to back him up with some timely hitting and get some offense off of Farjad. It’s a good district win and I’m really proud of Maldy.”

Farjad ended up getting the loss. In the losing effort he still went the distance, while striking out nine batters.

“He pitched great as well,” Seminole Ridge Manager Trent Pendergast said. “They got a couple of hits there in the fourth. Hey, it’s baseball; they are allowed to hit it too. They got it in the right spot, put three on us and that’s all they needed.”

The win moves Palm Beach Gardens into a tie with Jupiter at the top of the district, with the Hawks (9-2) right in the mix at 2-2 in 8A-9. With another district game against Wellington on Thursday, Russo knows Tuesday’s win was a huge momentum boost.

“We have played really well in district play and mostly with our pitching, which has been really outstanding in districts,” Russo said. “We aren’t even halfway through though. If we can beat Wellington on Thursday and have two wins against them, I think that’s an accomplishment. Thursday’s game is big. Splitting with these guys at a minimum is big as well.”

Leave a comment using your facebook account!