Late Surge Pushes Gardens Past Seminole Ridge

Hunter Holland was an offensive force with an RBI double and three runs scored.

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Wednesday afternoon’s 8A-9 district semifinal match-up between the Palm Beach Gardens Gators and the Seminole Ridge Hawks was everything a baseball fan would want in playoff game. Contested at Wellington High School, the two teams battled to a 1-1 tie through four quick, pitching-dominated innings before an eventful fifth frame that included two lead changes saw the Gators pull ahead and eventually come away with a 10-6 victory.

The win sends the two-time defending champion Gators back to the district final for the third year in a row. As was the case in each of the previous seasons, they will be pitted against the Jupiter Warriors, who defeated Wellington later in the evening. The victory also ensures them another trip to the regional tournament, something Manager Joe Russo is thankful for considering how young his squad is.

“I’m just happy we’re going to regionals,” Russo said. “We get a shot to play next week, and I’m really excited that these younger guys will get to experience that. Of course, Friday we’re going to try and get that back-to-back-to-back and keep that streak going.”

For a while on Wednesday, it looked as though they might not get that chance.

The Hawks, who for a variety of reasons, had only two players in their lineup who began the season as starters, looked primed for an upset by jumping out to a couple of early leads. They scored first when Richie Cotromano was plunked by Gardens’ starter Will Guay to lead off the second inning and then advanced to second on an error in the next at-bat. From there, a pair of fielder’s choices by Andrew Attaway and C.J. Bottiglieri brought Cotromano home and gave the Hawks a 1-0 lead while having yet to record a hit.

Hawks’ ace Kyle Farjad got the nod on the mound and kept the Gators hitless through two frames and scoreless through three. He looked to be on pace to hang another zero in the fourth, recording two quick outs, but with their backs’ to the wall the Gators rattled off three consecutive base hits to tie things up at one apiece. The first of those hits came off the bat of Hunter Holland, who raced to third on Sam Prince’s single then scored on a base hit into right field by Tray Roscoe.

Seminole Ridge one-upped the Gators’ accomplishment in the next half inning, using three consecutive one-out singles of their own to plate three runs and regain the lead. Guay, who still had yet to allow a hit, started the inning strong with a three-pitch strike out, his fourth of the night, but from there Bottiglieri, Keaton Baird and Ryan Batezel all were able to touch him for base hits. Joey Shergan then showed great hustle to beat out a double play ball to shortstop. Bottiglieri scored on the play and then Farjad helped his cause by driving in Baird. After that, Guay gave way for Austin Wilson but the Hawks kept rolling. Wilson’s first pitch squeaked past his catcher and rolled to the backstop, allowing Shergan to race home for the third run of the inning.

Starting pitcher Kyle Farjad helped his cause with an RBI in the fifth.

The seesaw affair continued in the next half inning asthe Gators struck right back.

“Obviously, down 4-1 with Farjad on the mound, you’re not feeling too good about where you’re at,” Russo said. “But I give credit to our guys. They stayed with their approach and we got some clutch hits when we needed them. It seemed like right when we got down, we responded right away.”

Like Guay, Farjad began the frame strong with a strikeout but then issued his first and only walk of the night to Hunter Sanicky. Also like Guay, Farjad eventually took a seat, making way for ace reliever Anthony Elias. The pitching change could not stop the coming onslaught, however. Gardens brought all nine of its batters to the plate and scored five runs to reclaim the lead once and for all. After the base on balls, Harley Sanicky and Sendle Jean teamed up to hit a pair of singles and both came home on a two-run double by Holland later in the inning. The big RBI was Holland’s second hit of a 2-for-3 outing that also saw him cross the plate three times Udie Summerall also rapped an RBI single in the inning, as did Prince and Roscoe.

“We just wanted it more,” said Prince about the sudden awakening of the Gators’ bats. “We came out to compete. That’s what baseball is, and when we figured out what we had to do and how to put the ball in play correctly, that’s what we did. All we needed was for guys to get on and then for us to do our jobs.”

Prince also played a big part in expanding his team’s lead in the sixth. With two unearned runs already across, the center fielder sent a ball deep into the right-center field gap for a triple that scored Jean and Holland, running the lead to 10-4.

Seminole Ridge did not go down quietly, however. A quick sixth inning gave way to a frantic rally in the seventh. Batezal and Shergan each gutted out a six-pitch walk to begin the inning and both moved into scoring position on a passed ball. Farjad then loaded the bases with a walk of his own. A ground ball to first base by Fiore would have been enough to get Batezal in, but an ensuing throwing error also allowed Shergan to score while also keeping two runners in scoring position. Another walk, this one by Cotromano, reloaded the bases for the Hawks, but then fate derailed the rally. Jeremy Raymond lined a shot down the line but first baseman Summerall leaped up to corral it then stepped on the bag to double off Cotromano and end the game.

Seminole Ridge Manager Trent Pendergast considered the fifth inning to be the turning point in the game. Though his team only committed two errors in the inning, he believes there were several other plays that should have been made that would have changed the complexion of the game.

Sam Prince went 3-for-4 with a two-run triple in the sixth.

“We just blew it, you know,” Pendergast said. “When you cant make routine varsity plays, you lose against good teams. In the bottom of the fifth, that’s what happened. We stopped making plays.”

On the other side of the diamond, Holland knows that for the Gators to win their third straight 8A-9 title, the team will have to play a full seven innings on Friday.

“We just need to play our game,” the Gardens’ outfielder said. “We tend to get down early and then we’re fighting back. But we do fight back, in almost every situation like that that we’ve been in. I think what we need to do on Friday is get on top early and hold the lead on them.”

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