Public Team All Stars Win 2015 Senior Event
The Public Team players were all smiles after the big win.
Palm Beach County’s top senior baseball players provided fans one final hurrah on Wednesday in the HSBN Palm Beach Senior All Star game at American Heritage-Delray. The night featured festive games and celebrations, and the All-County player awards were handed out between innings. On the field the blue Public Team continued its dominance under the current format, as it secured a resounding 17-2 victory over the red Private Team.
The Public squad got off to a fast start with two runs in the first inning, and then rode several big frames to put the game out of reach late. Since the team format changed to the private and public teams last year, the public teams have won both games by a 30-2 margin. The Red Team won the first game in the series in 2013, after the 2012 event was rained out.
Park Vista senior Matthew Mika got the scoring started in the first after he walked and was driven in by Cobras teammate Joe Genord. The Public Team captain and former Park Vista star added two singles to reach base all three plate appearances and be a sparkplug for the offense.
Boca Raton’s Michael Spooner also walked and scored thanks to his high school teammate, as he came across the plate on an RBI single from Boca’s Carlos Leon for a 2-0 lead in the first. Spooner added a single in the fifth.
Both sides ended the first inning by turning a double play, and the Private team completed another double play in the third that also plated Royal Palm Beach’s Brandon Hernandez in the process. Hernandez walked to start the third and Spanish River’s John O’Connor also walked to move him into scoring position. Suncoast’s Tyler Frye got the ball on the ground to allow Hernandez to score as the defense opted for the two outs instead.
Park Vista’s Jordan Poore earned the win by pitching two scoreless frames to start the contest and leaving with a 3-0 advantage. Poore faced the minimum of six batters and recorded two strikeouts, and he also had an RBI single that scored Park Vista teammate Dakota Julylia in the seventh.
Trinity Christian’s Bruce Martin scores for the Private Team.
Cardinal Newman’s Tyler Krull also tossed a perfect 1-2-3 inning for the Private Team in the second. Krull sandwiched two strikeouts around a nice snare of a liner from Wellington’s Jacob Koos that Pope John Paul II’s Evan Schaffner snagged for the second out. Fellow Crusaders teammate Rob Hoyt also had a perfect 1-2-3 sixth, and Glades Day’s Nicholas Hudak tossed a scoreless ninth inning for the Private Team.
The Private Team avoided the shutout with a run in the fifth. Benjamin’s Parker Quinn walked and advanced to third base on a throwing error, before Pope John Paul II’s Alex Bialakis reached on an error that allowed Quinn to score. Trinity Christian’s Bruce Martin also walked and scored in the sixth, advancing when Cardinal Newman’s Luis Besteiro lined a single past first and then coming home thanks to sacrifice fly from Oxbridge Academy’s Tyler Levin.
The rest of the night belonged to the blue squad. Royal Palm Beach’s Nick Fernandez tossed two scoreless innings, and Suncoast’s Casey Goldenberg pitched a 1-2-3 sixth. Palm Beach Gardens’ Austin Wilson and Park Vista’s Colin Smith tossed the final two scoreless innings.
The Public Team had several big innings down the stretch, including a seven-run eighth inning. Wellington’s Anthony Maniotis and Boca Raton’s Colton Eremian had two-RBI doubles, Goldenberg followed with an RBI single, and West Boca’s Chris Busch added an RBI double during the big scoring outburst. Palm Beach Central’s Joey Romano had a nice liner to left field that helped plate two runners in the seventh, and Maniotis had another RBI single to cap a three-run fourth inning.
Jupiter’s Noah Meltzer and Suncoast’s Jordi Sallent both reached base twice with a walk and a hit, and both players scored two runs each.
All-Time HSBN Palm Beach All Star Results:
2014 – Public 13, Private 0
2013 – Red 2A-4A-8A 4, Blue 3A-5A-7A 1
2012 – Rained Out
*HSBN thanks all those who provided donations of used baseball equipment to area Chicago White Sox Scout Pepe Ortega. The equipment will be shipped to the Dominican Republic to help underprivileged ballplayers.
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