Park Vista Gets Revenge in Semifinal Win Over Boca

Austin Smith struck out 13 while allowing just three hits in six innings of work.

For Park Vista, its regional semifinal matchup meant a little bit extra. After all, the Boca team that stood between them and a date in the regional finals was the same Boca team that went into Park Vista and knocked off the host team for the 8A-10 title.

This time around, the Cobras had their ace, Austin Smith, on the mound and were looking for a different result. That is exactly what they got in the form of a 4-0 win on Tuesday night.

“They are a good club and we know that,” Park Vista Manager Larry Greenstein said. “We were kind of disappointed with how we ended the district championship game against them. But they earned it fair and square and we knew it wasn’t going to be easy. “

The Cobras offense got off to a hot start thanks in large part to an opening-inning home run by catcher Joe Genord. With two outs and a runner on first, Genord connected with a pitch, driving it just over the 355-foot sign in center field to give his team a 2-0 lead.

“I’ve had a pretty good number on this kid during the year,” Genord said of facing Boca starter Jagger McCoy. “We’ve faced him twice this year, and I’ve had good outings against him. When I was coming into it, I knew he was going to come after me. I was told he wasn’t going to throw too many fastballs, but when he got behind on the count he had no choice but to throw fastballs. So I was looking for it and I hit it good.”

From that point on, it was the Smith show. The Park Vista ace continued to show everyone why he is one of the top pitchers in the country. Smith struck out 13 batters over his six innings of work, allowing just three hits and two walks. He found himself facing more than four Boca batters just twice on the night, in the third inning and again in the sixth.

“I felt amazing out there tonight,” Smith said. “As soon as I got to the field I knew I had to compete tonight and I knew my team was fired up. It was just an amazing feeling.”

The sixth inning proved to be a challenge for Smith. He started off the frame by allowing the first two batters on and quickly found himself in a jam. Like he has done so many time this year, Smith kept his composure and struck out the next three batters in order to retire the side and get out of trouble.

Sean Lawlor recorded one of Boca's three hits on the night.

“I think he showed a lot of people there that he’s a really special kid out there,” Greenstein said. “It’s not the first or second inning, it’s the sixth inning. His pitch count was getting up there, and he just kept himself composed and went right after guys. He showed a lot people that’s the Austin Smith people have been talking about.”

Not only was that two-run home run in the first the only two runs Park Vista needed on the night, it set the tone early and helped take some of the pressure off Smith out of the gate.

“It’s huge,” Greenstein said. “What it does is it eliminates any thought of maybe one bad pitch, or a guy puts a good swing on it, which happens.”

Park Vista will now go on to face the winner of the Taravella and Douglas game that was rained out Tuesday. The game is scheduled to be made up Wednesday afternoon.

For Boca Raton, its season comes to an end just two games shy of the state tournament. The loss takes nothing away from how proud Manager Scott Morrison is of his team and how they performed this year.

“I can’t be any more proud of my guys than I am,” Morrison said. “23-3, 13th in the country, second in the state. Going into it, we knew this team was going to be good, but we didn’t know just how special they were. I give it up to the seniors, and I really can’t say any more about our guys. I hate to see those seniors leave on a sour note but what they’ve done for the program is something you can’t really put into words.”

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