Scots Smash 3 Home Runs In Dominant Win Over Oxbridge

Dylan Dubovik (7) crossing the plate after hitting his second home run of the day for St Andrew’s.

The St. Andrew’s Scots (3-7) and Oxbridge Academy Thunderwolves (2-7) each came into Monday’s contest seeking a third win on the year, but the game was not nearly as close as one might expect after looking at each team’s record. The Scots dominated at home, blasting three home runs en route to a five-inning, 17-3, victory.

Center fielder Dylan Dubovik, a Miami commit, led the way with a 3 for 3 day that included a pair of home runs. The first came in his second at-bat of the first inning with a man on, and he hit another two-run shot in the third. A sacrifice fly later in the third inning brought him to a five-RBI day, which paced the team.

“We came in confident as a team,” Dubovik said. “We talked it up and made adjustments at the plate as a whole. You just have to go up there, say you’re better than the other guy and hit the ball as hard you can.”

Dubovik wasn’t the only one to stick the ball well for St. Andrew’s. While Dubovik did his damage from the leadoff spot, Scots clean-up hitter Aaron Orozco Torres also had a career day. He hit a solo home run to dead center to lead off the second inning and tripled in a pair of runs in the third after Dubovik homered for the second time.

The two joked with each other before the game about who was going to hit more home runs, but Orozco had to tip his cap to his teammate after coming up just a few feet short of matching him. Still, a triple isn’t too bad for Orozco, who admits he’s not used to legging out a three-bagger.

“I don’t hit many triples,” Orozco said as he shared a laugh with Dubovik. “When I get a chance to hit a triple, I enjoy that moment. I love hitting triples… apparently, and it felt great pulling the ball over the center fielder’s head, especially since we have a pretty big yard here. I felt great at the plate and in the field. Overall, just a great win.”

Brock MacArthur (8) got the start for Oxbridge Academy against St. Andrew’s on Monday.

Oxbridge Academy started left-hander Brock MacArthur on Monday, and things went south almost immediately. Three-straight singles scored a run right out of the gate, and then the command begin to slip. MacArthur did find the zone for a pair of strikeouts before turning the ball over to FJ Bahl to get out of the inning.

Bahl got his job done through the second for the Thunderwolves, giving up just the one run on Orozco’s big fly. The third inning brought trouble, though. A leadoff error magnified Dubovik’s second home run of the day, and Bahl never got an out after that. St. Andrew’s scored eight in the first, two in the second and seven in the third before being held scoreless in the fourth.

Fletcher Galloway’s two innings of one-hit ball provided a silver lining for Oxbridge, but the pitching needed to come through earlier to give the team a chance to come back.

“This team has been a very tight-knit team all year long,” Thunderwolves manager Tony Bradley said. “I’ve coached a lot of baseball in my life and these guys really have a good core and they play well together. So, when one guy struggles, another is there to pick him up. I think that was big for my team today. I give props to my captains and my leaders on this team for doing that.”

Another highlight of the day for Oxbridge came in the second inning when one of those leaders, senior captain Joseph Laforte, doubled in a pair of runs to get the Thunderwolves on the board. If the double isn’t exciting enough in itself, Laforte did it after taking a missile of a foul ball off his foot. After walking (limping) it off behind the plate for a few minutes, Laforte dug back in and sent a ball over the center fielder’s head.

Bradley said that he pulled Laforte later in the game just to make sure his foot was okay, but there’s no doubt that he wanted to keep playing.

“Joe is one of my captains. He’s kind of quiet leader, but he is a leader,” Bradley said of Laforte. “For his best interest, I forced him out of the game, but I admire him for staying in there and battling the way he did… Kids do look up to him, and that’s kind of why.”

Aaron Orozco Torres (22) and Dylan Dubovik (7) with their three combined home-run balls after the game.

For Oxbridge Academy, the losing streak is now at five games and the schedule isn’t getting particularly easier from here. Saint John Paul II (8-4) and Royal Palm Beach (6-4) close out the week and month, and then April brings the two-time state champion North Broward Eagles into town. Bradley knows the chips will fall for his club eventually, though.

“We’re going to (end the streak),” Bradley said. “This team really competes. The runs didn’t show it today, but it is such a good core of kids — too good for us not to compete and win games. The wins are going to come. We just have to keep believing in the process.”

The Scots, on the other hand, have now snapped a five-game skid of their own and are looking to add a few more in the win column throughout April. The power is starting to show from his sophomores, and it’s not just Dubovik and Orozco. Second baseman Connor Berman had a three-hit day on Monday, and catcher Carter Derks drove in a run with a multi-hit day as well.

“It’s definitely good to see,” Scots manage Alan Sharkey said of his team’s offensive dominance. “It’s what we should do. We’ve been swinging it better day-by-day. Each game, I feel like the players have been making some good adjustments. So, this is what we want to see more of and we’ve got to be ready to go for the next two games.”

St. Andrew’s faces a team from Kentucky on Wednesday and North Broward on Friday. The team’s top pitcher Michael Tight is resting his arm after some discomfort last week, so Sharkey was fortunate to keep both of his pitchers’ workload light. Freshman Matthew Spina only requires one day of rest after earning a win with 38 pitches through two innings, and fellow freshman Jack Rostock requires no rest after staying under 30 pitches through three innings of relief.

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