King’s Academy Wins Big In First Game Of The Week Of 2017

Lions third baseman Austin Sharkey stands at third after a two-run triple.

Over the years the High School Baseball Network Game of the Week has enjoyed some wild games with unexpected results. In the opening act of the 2017 series, Thursday afternoon’s spotlight action featured an unprecedented comeback as King’s Academy defeated Jupiter Christian 17-7 on the strength of an 11-run fifth inning.

The Lions went into the top of the fifth inning down by a run, but than connected for eight hits while sending 15 batters to the plate.

After taking a close loss to Royal Palm Beach on Tuesday night, Wilkerson felt that fundamentals were the key to coming up on the winning side on Thursday.

“We’ve always been aggressive and when an opportunity presents itself, we want to take advantage and put pressure on a defense,” Wilkerson said. “We’re just trying to get some energy going. We expect a lot of every player on this team, and we try to preach that we understand that there’s going to be mistakes; this is the hardest game to play in the world.”

King’s Academy needed their bats to come through, as starting pitcher Kevin Casey was pulled in the second inning after walking four straight batters. Casey redeemed himself in the top of the third inning by lining a sharp ball past third base for an RBI single that put the Lions back in the lead.

Eagles starter Adam Tedusiak threw four innings in Thursday’s home loss.

Casey was 2-for-3 with two RBIs, as every member of the offense had a hit and scored a run. Cory Croteau had four RBIs while going 3-for-5 and Dylan Costa went 3-for-3 with three runs and two RBIs.

The Eagles struggled to string together hits but still managed to stay in the action thanks to plate discipline. The Jupiter Christian batters drew eight walks and were also hit by three pitches to supply plenty of base runners.

Casey Moore gave his club its first lead in the third inning. Moore led off the inning with a triple and later came home when Adam Tedusiak was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to give the Eagles a 5-4 advantage.

The two sides exchanged a pair of runs and the lead in the fourth, setting the stage for a fifth inning that won’t soon be forgotten.

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