Lichtenberger Shines As West Boca Walks Off Benjamin

Tyler Lichtenberger homered, doubled, drove in three runs, scored two more and picked up the win in relief as West Boca walked off visiting Benjamin, 7-6, in a battle of Palm Beach top-10 teams.

Lichtenberger homered in the first inning to tie the game at 1-1, then delivered a two-run double in the fourth to break a 4-4 tie. He pitched the seventh inning, recording the final two outs, and the #9 Bulls won it in the bottom half of the inning in dramatic fashion.

With two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning and the game tied at 6-6, Alejandro Rodriguez was hit by a pitch and when pinch-hitter Weston Schainuck singled, he circled the bases with the help of an error.

“It was a really good win for us,” said West Boca manager Jerry Albert said. “We had a nice win on Monday over Calvary in extra innings (1-0), and tonight we had to tough it out. They came back on us twice, but we stayed with it and tough it out a little bit. We were able to scratch across a run there at the end. This has been a good week for us. A couple of really nice wins at home.

“These are great games. It’s a lot of fun. You get to play high level game every night, high level team every night. So, the wins are that much better. You can have some really really exciting wins and have a really nice exciting season as you roll through it.”

The Bulls built a seemingly comfortable 4-1 in the third inning highlighted by an Alan Hernandez line drive home run to left field, scoring Lichtenberger, who walked.

“They really put together good nights at the plate,” Albert said. “Alejandro also had a very good night.”

But the #8 Buccaneers rallied in the fourth with a dramatic three-run homer from sophomore Derek Rubin. Griffin Miller, who singled, and Brodey Bitove, a walk, scored in front of Rubin and it was a brand-new ballgame.

The Bucs went back to work again in the seventh inning to erase a 6-4 deficit. Miller delivered a clutch two-out RBI-double, chasing home Ben Swank with the tying run. Logan Buchanan opened the inning with a single and later scored on a sacrifice fly from Drew Buchanan.

“We lost a hard-fought game tonight.” Said Benjamin manager Chad Mills. “I’m really proud of our team this evening, battled back down 3 and down 2 in the seventh to tie the game. We lost a heart-breaker in the bottom of the seventh.

“Both teams played a nice game, very evenly matched, well-pitched. All in all, I’m really happy with our fight as a team.

Gus Doskey threw three strong innings in relief for Benjamin, striking out six while allowing just two hits.

“We pitched it really well based on the conditions out there tonight with the wind blowing straight out to center field,” Mills said.

The Bucs (11-7) welcome in Saint John Paul II for a 4 p.m. Tuesday game.

West Boca banged out seven hits, two from catcher Christian Saunders (RBI) and one from Parks Fucci, who also scored a run.

“We’re happy with the kids and the way they’re playing and the way they respond to everything we ask them to do,” Albert said. “I think we’re coming together and hitting a good amount of momentum now as we head into the last few weeks.”

Bucs starting pitcher Matt Pagan threw six strong innings, striking out 10. The senior lefty threw 73 strikes in his 103-pitch outing.

Pagan threw really well,” Albert said. He toughed it out. He had been sick for a few days but really wanted to get the game. He kind of made it clear that he wanted the game tonight. He was able to go out and give us a real top-tier performance.

“I thought Matt threw great. He had a good number of strikeouts. His fastball had good movement on it tonight. They have a very good team and a very good hitting lineup. They came back a few times when we had leads on them. They have a very talented and deep lineup.”

West Boca will visit Spanish River for a 6:30 p.m. game Monday.

“Our schedule is packed with top-tier teams that we play night in and night out,” Albert said. “There are no breaks in our schedule. We do that on purpose because we like playing a lot of the top programs and then you develop good relationships over the years.

“Now, with Chad over at Benjamin, I look forward to establishing a nice relationship when we get to play them every year as well. They’re such a good program, traditionally a power. And they have a terrific coaching staff over there.”

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