Jupiter Slugs Past PB Central To Win District Championship

The Warriors celebrate their district title victory with Manager Joe Giummule, who won his first title with the team in his second season at Jupiter.

The Jupiter Warriors are not a team that is going to sneak up on anybody. Coming off a season that saw the Warriors finish as runner’s up at the state final, the team has brought out the best in every opponent they have faced. All season long the Warriors have responded to every challenge, and on Thursday night they checked off an important task in their bid to return to the state tournament.

Behind a strong offensive showing and a dominant start from senior left-hander Ethan Trivison, Jupiter rolled to an 8-3 decision over the Palm Beach Central Broncos to win the District 7A-11 championship. The Warriors (17-9) rode a pair of four-run innings to pace the offensive production, while Trivison piled up 11 strikeouts over six full innings to take care of business on the mound.

“Last year we made a run and lost in the state championship game without winning a district championship, and that was something that was hard to swallow,” Manager Joe Giummule said. “Every year, our first goal is to win a district championship. Our first practice, we practice what it’s going to look like winning a district championship.”

Nearly every starter in the batting order reached base to contribute, but it was senior lead-off hitter Griffin Miller who provided the spark. The five-year varsity veteran, who first contributed as an eighth-grade role player, now brought his career full circle with a monster day at the plate. Miller was 3-for-4 with two doubles, a home run and three RBI.

After Maverick Labbe led off the third with a walk, Miller sent a 1-0 offering over the fence for a two-run shot that got the party started. Cullen Smith and Ryder Bennett both scored on an error later in the frame, and Labbe extended that lead with a two-RBI triple in the fifth. Miller next plated Labbe with an RBI double, and then Smith also smacked a triple that drove in the final run for the Warriors.

“We were led by our two stars,” Giummule said. “These are the guys who set the tone, and they came out to play today. They had big performances and they carried us on their backs on the mound and at the plate.”

The Broncos (15-11) won the only match up during the regular season, a 5-4 victory in late February. Central did not go down quietly, scoring all three of its runs when down to its final outs in the seventh. Kieran Rivera supplied an RBI double and also scored, while Kendall Palfenier and Alessandro Ciociola both had an RBI single.

Jupiter has now assured itself of a berth in the regional playoffs, as it will host a regional quarterfinal next week. Palm Beach Central will await its fate when the bracket is announced, while it certainly appears the Broncos have done enough to warrant a selection.

“It was nice for me to finally get one here at Jupiter,” Giummule said. “It hasn’t been the season that we expected, with the amount of injuries and our play on the field. But, as we told them, the real season starts this week. We are 2-0 now and we are district champions.”

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