Royal Palm Beach Drops 7A Semifinal, 3-2

The Wildcats rallied back from an early hole, but were unable to even things up in the end.

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A special year for the Royal Palm Beach baseball team came to a tough conclusion Wednesday afternoon in the Class 7A state semifinal at jetBlue Park in Fort Myers. After falling behind early on, the Wildcats were unable to make up the difference and lost 3-2 to Sarasota.

The Wildcats’ final chance to even the score came in their last at bats in the bottom of the seventh. Luke Hollender lined a one-out single to left field and Zach Odell dropped down a sacrifice bunt and then reached on an infield error. Sean Houck hit into a fielder’s choice that erased Odell at second base and put runners on the corners, and the final out was recorded at the plate as Royal Palm attempted a double-steal play.

The Sailors (20-10) jumped to a 2-0 advantage right out of the gate in the top of the first inning. Shortstop Skylar Frey lined a leadoff double into the left field corner, Vaun Brown was hit by a pitch and Carson Kyser walked to load the bases. Alex Arauz chopped an infield flare and reached on a throwing error that allowed two runners to score. Sarasota increased that lead in the second inning. Adam Imwalle singled to lead off, and then advanced to third on a single from Frey. Brown rolled a grounder to the right side to push Imwalle across the plate to increase the lead to three runs.

While the team continued to battle and fight its way back, Royal Palm Beach (19-13) struggled to gain the same momentum it had carried throughout this playoff run. As it came to an end, Manager Kason Gabbard reflected on all that the team had accomplished this season.

“There is nothing to hold your heads down for,” Gabbard said. “We fought all the way to get here and I am proud of each and every one of the kids. They battled through ups and downs throughout the season. I wish it had ended a little bit better, but we had a great run.”

Royal Palm Beach got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second. Sean Malynn reached on an error, stole second and then got within ninety feet on a fielder’s choice from Jesus Pina that put runners on the corners. Zach Retzler drove Malynn in on a groundout to first base to make it 3-1.

The Wildcats inched closer with an unearned run in the fourth. Catcher Nick Toney reached on an error and then gave way to courtesy-runner Justin Wahid. Wahid stole second and then advanced to third on a throwing error. Unfortunately, Wahid rolled his ankle stepping into third base and was replaced by Nick Natterer, who then scored when Triston McKenzie also reached on an error.

As has been the case all throughout the playoffs for the senior ace, McKenzie went the distance on the mound. After a shaky first inning, the right-hander settled in and found his groove to weather the storm and keep his squad in the contest throughout. McKenzie tallied nine strikeouts while allowing one earned run on four hits, a walk and a hit batsman.

“Triston has been dominant pretty much all year, and he is going to have really good success wherever he goes, either in the draft or at Vanderbilt,” Gabbard said. “As for our younger kids to see him and the way he acts with all the pressure he’s got is pretty classy. It’s tough to do, especially when you are 17 or 18 years old. Just having him out there obviously helps our team out tremendously, but it makes our kids want to play harder and do more for him. It’s pretty much all on his shoulders.”

In many ways the veteran hurler had put the team on his back and carried them through the regional playoffs with several dominant pitching performances. Yet the humble captain knows it is a team sport, and that he never did it all on his own. Even as much as the team rallied around him as their leader, his career serves as a great example of what anyone can accomplish through dedication and perseverance.

“I never really tried to be the guy who came out and tried to prove to be the best guy,” McKenzie said. “I always tried to be equal with them, and to show them that if I got to a certain ability and they look up to me then it is a level that they can reach. That is kind of what I wanted to impose on the younger guys, and hopefully they come out and get to the same point, or even further. Any degree of success in baseball, or in anything in life, comes from hard work. I feel like to get to my point I went through a lot of that. Hopefully they can do the same and get to the same point.”

McKenzie is one of eight seniors now set to graduate from the team. Royal Palm Beach will bring back 13 players for next season, including six seniors. Having raised the bar with the club’s first trip to the state tournament since 2000, and second overall, the torch is now passed to those returning players to carry on and push to take the program the rest of the way in search of its first state championship.

“We’re going to have a young team,” Gabbard admitted. “But I am already looking forward to next year. We have to iron some things out, but it’s going to be fun. I hope we can compete like this every year.”

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