Jensen Beach Reaches First Regional Championship

Jensen Beach Manager Casey Cooke celebrates with his team after the Falcons earned a spot in the regional championship for the first time in team history.

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The pressure on any high school pitcher making a road start in a regional semifinal playoff game can be immense. For a freshman making his first start of the season that pressure could seem that much bigger and more intimidating. While Jensen Beach freshman phenom Lyon Richardson found himself in just such a position Wednesday evening, it was anxiety that his team quickly removed as an obstacle.

Before Richardson ever even toed the rubber to face off against the dangerous Pembroke Pines Charter Jaguars at their home field at Flamingo Park in Pembroke Pines, the Falcons had already given the right-hander the comfort of a lead. Jensen Beach scored in the top of the first, then added two more runs in the second inning to add even more cushion for Richardson. Holding the lead the entire way, Jensen went on to win 8-5 and earn a berth in a 6A regional championship.

The victory comes as a historic moment, as it is the first time Jensen Beach has ever reached the regional championship in any classification in school history. The Falcons (22-5-1) will host defending 6A state champion Mater Academy on Friday night, with a trip to the 2015 FHSAA Final Four on the line. Mater Academy advanced following a victory over Doral Academy earlier Wednesday afternoon.

“To come down to their place and win with the crowd that they have, which is seven rows deep, it is a great feeling,” Falcons Manager Casey Cooke said. “This is my first year here and it has been unbelievable, just such a whirlwind. But these kids just bought in from day one. We knew the way the bracket is set up we get to host, so all week we kept pounding it into their heads. This week they were focused on this team and we hoped this would happen.”

Kyle Guttveg was hit by a pitch to start the game and Jerbari Brooks followed with the team’s first big hit of the night when he blasted a double deep to right field to put both runners into scoring position. A passed ball allowed Guttveg to scoot home and put Jensen on the scoreboard with a lead it would never surrender.

“Our game plan coming in was to get to their bullpen quick, and you could see it in the first inning,” Cooke said. “We got a little bit of help with a crazy error, but it really starts with our dugout. The people back home and all of our fans say our dugout is the craziest dugout they have seen. I am not a ra-ra guy, but they love it, so I don’t take it away from them. They do a fantastic job.”

Jerbari Brooks had a big double in the first inning for Jensen Beach’s first hit of the night.

An inning later Zach Gottfried and Hunter Schoch both scored on a throwing error to increase that advantage to 3-0, giving Richardson some breathing room to settle in and find his rhythm. Even while the entire team has come to trust Richardson whenever he is on the mound, like any pitcher, he admitted the early lead made it that much easier for him to pitch with confidence and not worry about making any mistakes.

“It feels so much better and it helped me so much more with my confidence and throwing strikes, and it just helps me all around,” Richardson said. “It just makes me feel great they have that trust in me. It feels awesome to get this win. This is a first in Jensen Beach history, and it is really just awesome.”

The talented young right-hander rewarded his team’s faith in him by pitching into the fifth inning, while keeping a very lethal and talented Jaguars offense in check. Featuring a deceptive delivery and a follow-through that kept putting pitches where he wanted them, Richardson carved his way through the Pines Charter offense with authority. He allowed one earned run in four innings, scattering five hits and two walks while picking up three strikeouts.

Pines Charter (18-5-1) got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third. After Anthony Gomez singled through the left side, Daniel Rodriguez-Velez connected on a shot that sailed far to the deepest part of the ball park, clanging off the fence roughly 374 feet from the plate to just stay in the yard. Gomez came home on the RBI double, and in the fifth the Jaguars added another run after Alex Monge-Rodriguez led off with a double and later scored on a throwing error.

But that was all the damage Richardson allowed while on the hill.

“He kept them off-balance all night,” Cooke said. “We knew we couldn’t come at them with fastballs because this team just crushes fastballs, so we tried to mix it up with them and go slow-fast, slow-fast. He did a great job throwing his curveball for strikes, and if his curveball wasn’t on he would have gotten hit. But the ball just kind of explodes out of his hands and gets on guys. He does kind of lull guys to sleep because he has a slow delivery and then it comes quick. He just did a great job.”

As effectively as Richardson pitched, it was his contribution with the bat that ultimately proved to be the biggest difference-maker. After every guy in the Falcons lineup delivered quality at bats the first two times through the order, Jensen forced the Jaguars to turn to their relief corps in the top of the fifth inning. Patience paid off, as Jesse Alker, Kyle Bauer and Wade Walton all drew walks to load the bases. After a 6-2 fielder’s choice erased Alker at the plate, Richardson came to the dish for the biggest moment of the night.

Given the green light on a 3-0 count, Richardson smacked a gap-shot to left-center field for a bases-clearing double that drove in the deciding runs. It was his only hit in four at bats, but one that helped pave the way to history for the Falcons.

Jensen added two more insurance runs an inning later to go ahead 8-2. But, true to their nature, the Jaguars refused to go down quietly. Down to their final swings, the team mounted one final rally bid to save its season and keep the dream of a state championship alive. Pines Charter made one final rally bid in the seventh, batting around the order and scoring three runs before Walton recorded a strikeout with the bases loaded to quell the comeback bid and secure the victory for his squad.

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