Chaminade Rally Falls Short, Broward Down 1-0 In Preseason Challenge

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Because of the inclement weather that most of South Florida experienced Monday, Chaminade-Madonna and King’s Academy had the privilege of playing the first high school baseball game of the season. The two teams kicked off the HSBN Broward/Palm Beach Preseason Challenge at Flanagan on Monday evening. Chaminade was hoping to give Broward the early lead in the challenge, but when its rally in the bottom of the seventh fell short, it was King’s and Palm Beach that took a 1-0 lead.

Chaminade sent one of its aces, Chris Flores, to the mound to kick off the tournament. Flores had a solid outing, but one pitch in the top of the first was all it took for King’s to gain the advantage. Clean-up hitter Kevin Stypulkowski launched a three-run homer to left center, and the Lions then held on for a 4-3 victory.

Flores had a rough first inning, walking lead-off hitter Ryan Boyce and then giving up a bunt single to Mark Zippin. Defense is often sloppy early in the season, and that was evident when Chaminade failed to cover first on the sacrifice bunt attempt by Zippin. After striking out John Carpenter, Stypulkowski strode to the plate and subsequently hit the first home run of the season in either county.

“It just felt right,” said Stypulkowski, when asked about his early game-changing home run. “I got a pitch I could hit. I kind of was looking fastball, and I got it. I had guys on base, there was a runner on third, I just wanted to get something to the outfield, at least drive in one run, and I got something, and it kept going.”

The three runs may not have held up in previous years, but with the rule changes mandating BBCOR bats this season, many coaches expect scoring to be at a premium, and that was the case Monday night. Matt Pisciottano was on the hill for King’s, and the ace made sure that three runs would be enough on this night.

Pisciottano went four innings, giving up only a bunt single to Chaminade shortstop Luis Guillorme. More impressive than the one hit was Pisciottano’s control early on in the season. The senior struck out seven and walked none, ensuring King’s Academy held a 4-0 lead when his night on the mound was complete.

“We didn’t really know what we were up against,” said Pisciottano, referring to playing Broward team that King’s was unfamiliar with coming into the tournament. “We expected a good game, and we got one. We played very well for our first game.

Although Pisciottano threw well, this win was a team effort from the pitching staff, and the starter expressed as much.

“I feel like I had full command of my pitches tonight,” he said. “I’ve been working out a lot, preparing, so it felt good. And then those pitchers behind me stepped up. (Clayton Morrell) came in, and he’s only a freshman, but he’s going to be a big part of our rotation this year.”

Chaminade made the game interesting in the seventh. Catcher Eddie Guadarrama began the final frame with a double to right-center and then came around to score on a wild pitch and a passed ball. After a strikeout, Chris Comellas walked, and starting pitcher Flores, who had re-entered the game in the fifth to bat, hit a two-run blast to right field. The rally stalled when John Monte came in for King’s and earned the final two outs for the save.

“We didn’t have our best offensive outing, there’s no doubt about that,” King’s head coach Doug Magaw said. “We weren’t facing slouches tonight. They (Chaminade) were tough. We are building towards being ready for the second half of the year, and tonight was a good start.”

Chaminade did have some impressive performances in the loss. Center fielder Danny Vitello kept the game close in the fifth inning when he threw out Carpenter at the plate on a single by Monte. Rashad Flerismond came in to throw the seventh and turned some heads, including those on his own team’s coaching staff, when he struck out the side in order.

“Rashad surprised the heck out of me,” head coach Mike Moss said. “He came out and used his splitter. He doesn’t throw real hard, but when he throws his split, that thing just takes off, and that’s what he got the big guy (Stypulkowski) on. If he gets that pitch over the plate, he can be tough to hit.”

As part of the Broward/Preseason Challenge, High School Baseball Network will be giving away free extended profiles to the winners of the Player of the Game award throughout the tournament. On this night, that honor went to Stypulkowski, who, while accepting the award, stressed his team’s goals for the season.

“We want to win the district, and then advance on through the regionals,” he said.

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