Jupiter Explodes For Eight-Run 1st Inning In Win Over Forest Hill

Warriors shortstop Anthony Servideo jogs home to score a run in the Palm Beach Game of the Week.

At the rate things are going, the Palm Beach Game of the Week may have to be renamed the Palm Beach Offensive Explosion of the Week. Having brought their bats to play, the Jupiter Warriors will likely be sharing that sentiment after scoring eight runs in the first inning en route to a 17-0 win over the Forest Hill Falcons.

Now 10-2 on the season, Jupiter’s offense was unstoppable on Wednesday afternoon, scoring in every inning and notching 12 base hits. The Falcons also drew seven walks and reached base three extra times by way of hit batsmen.

To Jupiter manager Andy Mook, situational-hitting and the ‘little things’ like bunts and taking pitches stood out more than the high amount of runs.

“We work on situational-hitting all the time and we’ve got some guys who can swing really well, but there’s certain situations where we have to move a guy over and, if you have two strikes, work the count,” Mook said. “That means something. If the infield is back and there’s a guy at third with less than two outs, let’s get him in; that’s one run and that helps us move towards the goal. Those are little things we’ve been working on and the guys are great.”

The Warriors have now scored five runs in their past five games, all of which have been wins. With the exception of a 4-3 win over Palm Beach Central, Jupiter has scored five or more runs in all ten of their wins this season.

Leading the way for the Warriors was shortstop Anthony Servideo, who went 2-for-3 with two triples and a walk on Wednesday. Both of those hits came in that eight-run first inning, an occurrence that the senior marveled about afterwards.

Yordis Canete drew the start for the Falcons on Wednesday afternoon and struck out two.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had two triples in one game,” Servideo laughed. “We got there early this morning – all of us looked a little asleep – but we woke up as BP was going on and we all felt pretty good.”

Servideo was one of three Warriors to have a multi-hit day on Wednesday, joining Andrew Martinez and Dakoka Gaillard. Seven of Jupiter’s nine starters recorded a hit.

Entering play with wins in six of their past seven games – with their last win being a 3-1 takedown of Dwyer on Tuesday – the Falcons sent Yordis Canete to the hill against Jupiter sophomore Gavin Scott. Called up from the JV team prior to this game, Scott threw three shutout innings against one of the county’s more potent offenses.

“Varsity is fun and all the players are really nice, so it was fun to play up here,” Scott said. “I felt good – I’ve felt better – but all around, it was a good outing.”

Mook was thrilled with his sophomore’s outing, adding, “We saw some good things from him and he’s going to well for us. Our pitching, we’ve got depth, it’s just trying to get all my arms in and some guys have stepped up a bit more than others.”

Though the loss was frustrating for Falcons manager Russ Milliken, he made things clear that Wednesday would serve to be a learning experience for his players.

“This was not our best effort and is not indicative of us by any stretch of the imagination,” Milliken said. “We went out and played last night, a 3-1 ballgame against Dwyer that we won, and had good pitching and good defense. It just goes to show you that if you give teams more than three outs in an inning, things can get out of hand quick.”

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