After a thrilling semi-final that came down to a Wolves four run seventh inning comeback, the ball club immediately turned their attention to University High School and the district championship game, Apr. 24.
Coach Tim Beaman decided to throw FAU signee and senior Joey Arce, despite his ace Andrew Perez not starting the game before.
“I felt coach’s decision to start Arce over Perez was a good move,” said senior Will Boggs. “University has seen Perez a few times, and we wanted them uncomfortable at the plate.”
The right-hander went three and two-thirds innings, striking out five and giving up two runs. Despite giving up only one hit, Arce drilled three separate batters with pitches, and also had a crucial fielding error that allowed the initial Cougar run to score.
When Arce was pulled in the of the bottom of the fourth, Beaman called on Perez to stop the bleeding and ease the defense. Perez overpowered the Cougars and struck out six batters. He gave up just one hit in two and one third innings.
Pitching wasn’t the issue for the Wolves, it was their stagnant bats that weren’t getting it done. Going Into the seventh inning, they had only five baserunners all night. They repeatedly shot themselves in the foot by making base-running errors that took potential runs off the scoreboard.
Heading into the seventh inning, the Wolves were down 2-0. Sophomores Cameron Meehan and Arnie Ruiz led the inning off with back-to-back singles, but they were not brought home across the plate. There would be no seventh inning comeback this game.
Simple mistakes early on like pass balls, hit batters and reckless base running would ultimately cost the Wolves the 2015 district championship.
The final score was 2-0, making the Cougars district champions. The Wolves would have to settle for second place, and an appearance in the regional playoffs. They enter regionals 16-10, and will take on Treasure Coast High School Wednesday Apr. 29.
“We need to just come up with a big hit at the right moment,” said senior Davey Savetman. “We need to capitalize on every chance we get.”
The Wolves had their chances against the Cougars, but could not capitalize. They got in an early 2-0 hole, and were not able to comeback to win like they have in previous games.
Against Treasure Coast, they have to stay disciplined on the base paths and play smart baseball if they want any chance of advancing in the regional playoffs. The Wolves have the pitching and defense to make a postseason run, but will they put it together at the plate? The way they’re swinging the bats right now, it looks like they’ll have to seriously rely on their dynamic pitching and run-preventing defense to make any noise whatsoever.
