Tuesday's baseball roundup

Tuesday, April 24, 2012
by The Palm Beach Post

Palm Beach Post Reports

It was another typical outing for Park Vista pitcher Brandon Rhodes.

The senior left-hander, who has signed with Florida Atlantic, pitched a three-hitter to lead No. 1 seed Park Vista to a 3-0 win Tuesday night against No. 4 seed Seminole Ridge in the semifinals of the District 10-8A playoffs at West Boynton Park.

The victory sends Park Vista (22-4) to the championship game Thursday night against No. 3 seed Boca Raton, which routed cross-town rival and No. 2 seed Spanish River 11-3 in the other semifinal.

Rhodes, who entered the game with a sparkling 0.83 ERA, collected his 11th win in 12 decisions this season and pitched out of two jams to preserve the shutout. He recorded eight strikeouts.

"He's been our guy all year," Park Vista coach Larry Greenstein said of Rhodes, whose only loss was in a relief appearance. "He's been awesome. This was his seventh complete game in 11 starts, and that says it all."

Park Vista won its 10th consecutive game following a mid-season slump and is guaranteed a berth in the Class 8A regional playoffs that begin next week.

The Cobras, state semifinalists last season, scored the only runs Rhodes needed in the bottom of the third inning when Shane Bussey singled and scored on a throwing error by Seminole Ridge. Tyler Kendall followed with an RBI double that gave the Cobras a 2-0 lead.

Chris Wurster, who will be Park Vista's starting pitcher Thursday, lifted a sacrifice fly to center that scored Matthew Mika with the Cobras' third run in the fifth.

Shortstop Schaefer Shepard's two-run homer in the second inning sparked Boca Raton's victory against Spanish River. Shepard, the No. 9 hitter in the Bobcats' lineup, was 2-for-4 for Boca Raton (10-15), which collected 12 hits. Leadoff hitter Mike Smicklas was 4-for-4 with two RBI for the Bobcats.

The district champion will host a regional quarterfinal, while the district runner-up will travel to the District 9-8A champion next week.

- Steve Dorsey

DISTRICT 14-7A

ATLANTIC 10, LAKE WORTH 0 (6)

Brad Myott was 2-for-3 with a triple and an RBI as the top-seeded Eagles (18-7) beat the fourth-seeded Trojans (2-23) in Boca Raton. John Clarke allowed two hits and struck out eight for Atlantic.

DISTRICT 13-7A

FOREST HILL 3, SANTALUCES 1

Brayan Ofarrill was 3-for-3 with a double, two stolen bases and two runs scored, and Mike Murray recorded nine strikeouts as the third-seeded Falcons (18-7) beat the second-seeded Chiefs in Lantana. Forest Hill will play Royal Palm Beach in Thursday's final.

NO. 8 ROYAL PALM BEACH 13, PALM BEACH LAKES 1 (5)

Connor Brennan had two hits, including a triple, and three RBI and Kyle Houck added two hits, two runs scored and three RBI as the top-seeded Wildcats (21-4) routed the fourth-seeded Rams in Lantana.

DISTRICT 12-7A

PORT ST. LUCIE 2, SOUTH FORK 0

Dylan Arnold allowed five hits and struck out five in six innings and Tyler Anshaw added two RBI to lead the Jaguars past the Tigers in Stuart. Port St. Lucie will play Martin County in the district championship on Thursday at 7 p.m.

DISTRICT 15-5A

JENSEN BEACH 14, FORT PIERCE WESTWOOD 1 (5)

Alec Lamrouex pitched a no-hitter with six strikeouts and went 2-for-3 with an RBI as the top-seeded Falcons (18-6) routed the fourth-seeded Panthers (3-18) in Jensen Beach. Casey Scoggins had two hits, three runs scored and an RBI for Jensen Beach.

DISTRICT 12-4A

ST. ANDREW'S 1, CARDINAL NEWMAN 0

Danny Young pitched a no-hitter with seven strikeouts to bring his county-leading strikeout total to 105 and he scored the lone run on an Anthony Cirillo single to lead the third-seeded Scots (12-11) past the second-seeded Crusaders (9-13) in Boca Raton.

DISTRICT 13-3A

SUMMIT CHRISTIAN 2, POPE JOHN PAUL II 1

Anthony Delaney was 2-for-3 and pitched a complete game with 12 strikeouts as the Saints (18-7) edged the Eagles in Delray Beach. John Silviano recorded the game-winning RBI in the bottom of the sixth. American Heritage will host Summit Christian in Thursday's final.

DISTRICT 12-3A

KING'S ACADEMY 18, GLADES DAY 0 (5)

Mitchell Evelyn allowed one hit in four innings and Johnny Carpenter added a home run and three RBI as the top-seeded Lions (16-10) routed the fourth-seeded Gators at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter. King's Academy will play Benjamin on Thursday at 7 p.m.

BENJAMIN 5, JUPITER CHRISTIAN 0

Bennett Sousa pitched a complete game with 11 strikeouts as the Bucs beat the Eagles (9-15). Jon Shuba had three hits for Jupiter Christian.

DISTRICT 12-2A

LAKE WORTH CHRISTIAN 13, WELLINGTON CHRISTIAN 6

Orion Allen had six strikeouts in four innings and Ryan Adair had two hits, including a double, and two RBI as the second-seeded Defenders (5-12) handled the third-seeded Eagles in Boca Raton.