Iervolino, Dwyer Use Big 4th Inning To Take Down West Boca

Dylan Arcadipane was a force on Friday, catching a great game for Dwyer and hitting a loud RBI double in the fourth.

Offensive slugfests have been no strangers to the HSBN Palm Beach Game of the Week to start the 2017 season and Friday’s chapter was no exception. After a heartbreaking loss to Wellington on Thursday night, Dwyer rebounded and played one of its most complete games of the season, taking home a 7-1 win over West Boca.

The result lands the Panthers in sole possession of the top position in 7A-14, with a 30 record.

What pleased Panthers manager Frank Torre Jr. the most about Friday’s win wasn’t an offense that averaged four runs in their past five games breaking out for seven runs. Instead, it was how his team moved on from Thursday’s defeat and improved on some of their fundamental issues.

“We kind of gave the game away the other night, so I told them ‘just clean up’,” Torre said. “Today, we came out and played a pretty good game, saw some good at-bats. Still, we need to work on our situational-hitting and do a better job on getting from first to third, but our guys did a good job today with that. Overall, we ended the week strong and played a good game.”

The story of Friday’s game was Panthers senior Jack Iervolino pitching four innings of one-hit, no run ball. Serving as the Panthers’ designated hitter, he even added a hit for himself in the fourth inning before being pinch-ran for by Hunter Bergman, who scored later in the frame on an error.

Dwyer wouldn’t stop there, as catcher Dylan Arcadipane doubled Sean Maletzke and Danny Lynch brought in a third run with a fielder’s choice.

Ryan Wimbush relieved Iervolino in the fifth inning. While Lervolino seemed to cruise through the game, the senior admitted that he thought his four shutout innings weren’t what they could have been.

Bulls senior Michael Stone takes an at-bat during Friday’s Game of the Week.

“In the beginning, my pitches weren’t getting over and I wasn’t really getting my curveball over, but in the third inning I started to figure things out,” Iervolino said. “I slowed my mechanics down and it could have been better – especially the curve and my slider – but we got the win and it was a good day.”

After another star performance from Iervolino, Torre praised his senior’s efforts on the mound.

“After the first inning, he got his off-speed going a little bit and he threw strikes; his pitch count was really good too,” Torre said. “I was happy for sure.”

Dwyer struck first in the top of the first inning, taking a 1-0 lead when third baseman Danny Lynch brought leadoff hitter Josh Howard home on a single. The Panthers added a second run on an RBI groundout, giving Iervolino a 2-0 lead by the time he threw his first pitch.

Dwyer’s success wasn’t only limited to the plate, as their defense shined on Friday afternoon. Senior Michael Siriani, normally a center fielder but manning right on Friday, made a slick sliding catch in the bottom of the third inning to keep West Boca scoreless.

The Bulls scored in the bottom of the ninth with a long home run from Cory Kuchta, his first home run of the season.

“We’ve been playing decent baseball, but we need to keep getting those situational hits,” Iervolino said. “We gotta keep pounding.”

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