Jupiter’s Late Rally Edges Douglas 1-0 At Roger Dean Stadium

Looking to rebound from their tough 10-3 loss to cross town district rival Coral Springs last Friday night, the Douglas Eagles traveled up to Roger Dean Stadium to face the always tough Jupiter Warriors yesterday afternoon.

A 1-0 heart breaker on this day was their second consecutive loss after starting the season with a run of sixteen wins, gaining state and nationwide recognition in the process.

“Every year we play them tough,” said interim Head Coach Elliot Bonner. “One year we win a close one and the next year they do. We’ve been going back and forth with them for the last four years.”

The Eagles had only two scoring threats on the afternoon. In both cases, however, careless mistakes on the bases took them out of the innings.

In the bottom of the first inning, three of Douglas’ first four batters reached base safely. But lead-off hitter Louis Silverio, who had gotten on via a Warriors’ error, was quickly erased when he was picked-off on a beautiful move by Jupiter’s starter Ryan Harris.

Both Danny Payton, who followed with a walk and Colton Bottomley, who drilled a two-out single to left field, were stranded when Courtland McEachrane grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the inning.

After a scoreless first, Eagles starter Brandon Dreichler hurled a 1-2-3 second inning. The Douglas starter was aided by McEachrane, who made an outstanding over-the-shoulder catch deep in the right field corner to rob designated hitter Ronnie Healy of his bid for extra bases leading off the inning.

Douglas’ DH Patrick Kulick opened the bottom half of the inning with a ground single through the hole on the right side. After he was successfully sacrificed to second, once again the threat came to an end when catcher Jon Corbitt fired a laser to second, picking off yet another Eagles base runner.

“It’s just that we can’t play like that and venture further,” said an obviously frustrated Coach Bonner. “Mistakes like that I don’t understand. Physical mistakes I can [understand], but those are mental errors,” he added. “So those are things we have to work on. Physically we can do it all.”

Both starters settled into a good groove in the middle innings. A two-out fourth inning double to deep left-center field by the Warrior’s Corbitt was their first hit of the day. Dreichler the got Healy to fly out to center to end the threat.

Kulick’s second single of the contest leading off the Eagles fifth couldn’t break the scoreless tie, when after a strikeout, he was erased on the back end of a double play as Evan Leyva lined sharply to shortstop Kyle Keatts who easily doubled-up Kulick at first base.

Jupiter’s speedy lead-off batter J.J. Crespo lined a single to right opening the sixth inning. One out later, after a walk to Harris, Coach Bonner went to his bullpen and called on southpaw Jacob Lennertz. When he retired the dangerous Corbitt looking at a fastball, it appeared as though he might get out of the jam. Lennertz could not, however, get by Healy, who delivered the game-winning RBI, lining a single just out of the reach of Payton at shortstop.

“He’s a solid hitter and he’s only a sophomore,” said an obviously happy Coach Doug Ferguson. “We have confidence in him and that’s why he’s hitting in the five hole,” added the coach.

The Eagles who had averaged almost nine runs per game in starting the season 16-0, have scored only three runs in their past two games, both losses. In fact, they were able to send only the minimum three batters to the plate in each of the contests final six frames.

“He is clutch,” Coach Ferguson boasted of Harris’ superb outing. “He’s the guy you want out there when the going gets tough. “He has learned from all the little mistakes he’s made this year and he’s really become a complete pitcher. I couldn’t be more proud of him.”

Jupiter plays again tomorrow. If they win, they’ll lock up the number one seed in District 9-6A. If they lose, Palm Beach Central will get the top seed.

Douglas has two more non-district games, April 18th at Cardinal Gibbons and April 21st at St. Thomas Aquinas before their District 10-6A playoffs begin.

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