One Hitter for Hepple Powers Highlands Christian to Regional Final

Eric Hepple brought a no-hitter into the seventh for Highlands Christian.

All season, Highlands Christian depended on freshman pitcher Eric Hepple to be its rock.

Hepple, whose older brother Jason also is a key member of the team, delivered another solid performance Friday night, tossing a complete-game one-hitter with 11 strikeouts as the Knights (15-10) defeated Boca Raton Christian 7-2 to advance to a regional final next Friday at Miami Brito.

“He’s consistent, he’s good, and we rely on him heavily in the big games,” Highlands coach Joe Shadowens said of Eric Hepple, who took a no-hitter into the seventh.

Shadowens asked Hepple if he wanted to come out late in the game, but it was out of the question for Hepple, who said his curveball low and away kept him dominant.

“He said ‘I got it. I got it. I want to finish it.’ ” Shadowens said. “I knew when he said it that was the end of the conversation.”

But although the younger Hepple finished with a strong performance, the Knights were shaky early, spotting the Blazers two runs in the top of the second courtesy of three errors.

“We were juiced,” Highlands coach Joe Shadowens said. “We were a little anxious. We come out at full steam. We need to play a couple of warm-up innings first.”

The Knights came out strong as their first four batters reached base, and with Highlands up 1-0, Donnie Peterson stroked a three-run home run to give Highlands a 4-0 lead.

A home run by Jason Hepple increased the lead by one in the third, and Highlands got a couple of insurance runs when Kirvin Moesquit doubled in a pair in the sixth.

Boca Christian broke up the no-no with Jonathan Kreh’s single in the top of the seventh.

Hepple said after the hit “I was kinda bummed, but I knew we’re getting the win, and that’s always a good thing.”

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