#6 PB Central Stays Hot Win Win Over Royal Palm Beach

Palm Beach Central is a team that quietly revamped its program over this past offseason. The Broncos brought in former Boca Manager Christian Benhart to run the programs, and that decision has brought some immediate results.

Central began the season winning their first four games, including an opening week win of the City Tournament.

They then proceeded to lose their next three games, causing some concern as to whether the early season run was real.

On Monday, they won for the fifth time in their last six games, defeating Royal Palm Beach 5-2, again re-establishing themselves among the county’s best.

“Right now we are just progressing through our season,” said Benhart. “At times we have looked really good, and at others, not so good. We have been very inconsistent. Tonight we played well, and we have gained some momentum over the past couple weeks.”

The heavy lifting on Monday went to starting pitcher De’Angelo Davila. The junior had everything working in his complete game performance. He finished the day allowing only two hits, striking out five, while walking only one batter. He gave up two runs.

“De”Angelo had a great start for us today,” said Benhart. “In the sixth he had a three-pitch inning, which showed how efficient he was all day long.”

Offensively, it was Nicholas Idone who led the way for Central. Idone went 3-for-4, with a home run and three RBIs. It was a stellar return to the lineup for Idone.

“Nicholas is coming off an injury, and he had a big day, so that was good to see,” said Benhart.

All of the Broncos runs came in the second and third inning. Two in the secon, and three in the third, opened up what was previously a 1-0 Royal Palm Beach lead. The back end of the game featured no runs from either teams over the final four innings.

For the Wildcats, Johnny Herring held the game tight through the later innings, allowing the offense to stay within striking distance. Herring threw the final three innings, allowing only two hits, and no runs.

Royal Palm has been about as inconsistently consistent as any team in Palm Beach this season. They lost two of their first three, then won three of their next four. Over their past six games, they have alternated between wins and losses.

The Wildcats will go on the road to face West Boca on Tuesday.

Central, meanwhile, has a rematch set up with Forest Hill on Thursday, the team they defeated for the City Tournament Championship back in February.

So what does Benhart expect from his team moving forward?

“We have shown signs of being a team that can go out and compete with anybody, and we have also shown signs of not having it altogether. If we can gain some consistency and put it all together, we could be pretty good come playoff time.”

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