Strickland’s Three-Run Homer Leads Boca Eagles Past Panthers

Panthers Baseball Club starter Chris Kopppenhaver made few mistakes Wednesday night as he mostly dominated the Boca Eagles in his five innings on the mound.

But as is often the case in tight ballgames, one mistake could mean the game. That’s what happened as the Boca Eagles’ Riley Strickland smacked a three-run home run with two outs to give his team a 3-0 lead that it never relinquished in a 5-2 win over the Panthers in the HSBN Fall Classic at Western High School.

“I was just trying to relax on the ball,” Strickland said. “He’s providing all the power for me. I really just sat back and timed it well.”

In a situation that Panthers manager Glen Pierson called “a recipe for disaster with a leadoff guy that hits well,” an error allowed Blake Eloroi to reach first before Koppenhaver walked Johnny Sheridan with two outs in the bottom of the second. Riley Strickland stepped up to the plate and delivered the home run.

Other than that, Koppenhaver was in control. He pitched five innings, allowing four hits and walking three while striking out nine.

“Riley ran into one there, but Koppenhaver threw outstanding,” Eagles manager Pete Graffeo said. “He really did threw well. He had good velocity, a good change-up. He’s a good pitcher. But we’re going to have to find a way. And we had a big hit there and we were able to tack on a few runs, and that’s kind of what we work on. Those tack-on runs are real important for us to make a little bit of a distance for us. They weren’t pretty, but we stole some bases and were able to get the guy home.”

The Panthers trimmed the deficit to 3-1 promptly in the bottom of the second as pinch-runner Tom Walker scored on Eric Collazo’s double.

Strickland walked and scored on an error to make it 4-1 in the top of the fifth, but the Panthers again came back with a run, this time on a long ball of their own from Adam Saks.

Strickland singled, stole two bases and came in on Evan Schaffner’s base hit in the seventh.

“Every game we’re trying our best,” Strickland said. “I know it’s fall and it doesn’t mean much, but we’re playing like it’s the spring. We’re playing this team our first game, so it’s a big thing to come out and play our best. When we play our game, we’re hard to beat.”

Graffeo said it’s that type of effort that was necessary to be successful against a team like the Panthers.

“They’re a very good team,” Graffeo said. “I have a lot of respect for their coaching staff. Coach Pierson has an excellent program, and there’s good baseball players over there. We have to be on our game to compete and come out ahead against them. I know any time we step on the field to play them, it’s going to be a good baseball game.

The Eagles are using the tournament to put a serious note on the end of the fall season as they get ready for the next season.

“We’re trying to compete and set the tone for our spring season coming up,” Graffeo said. “It’s not just about the wins and losses. It’s about doing the little things and playing close games because that’s what we’re going to have to do to compete. We won a 1-0 game the other night and a close game here tonight. So we’re just trying to play good baseball and do the little things that are going to help us win games. And those home runs are good, too.”

Pierson said he’ll be counting on better days from Koppenhaver as he continues to develop on a young team that also continues to develop.

“We tip our cap to them,” Pierson said. “They did well, but we’ve got more. We can do better and we will.”

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