Pine Crest Pulls Away Late To Win HSBN Game Of The Week

The Pine Crest and Pompano Beach baseball programs have a long history after many years of playing one another as district opponents.

Last season’s reclassification split the two apart, but on Saturday night at Pompano Municipal Field the two teams renewed their local rivalry in the HSBN Game of the Week.

The Panthers offense came to life late in the game to snap a tie and pull away with a 12-3 victory over the Tornadoes.

“We’ve had a lot of good games with them before the district changed. We were looking forward to it and it was really good to come out and get a win,” Pine Crest’s Chandler Cissel said.

The Game of the Week concept was created by HSBN with the intention of raising money for the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundation, while also giving fans something to get excited about each week.

“It’s different and it’s exciting,” Pine Crest Manager Glen Pierson said. “We’re thrilled to even be considered and our guys really enjoyed the experience. It really was our focus to put a god show out there and hopefully get the chance to show what the team is made of.”

The Panthers (6-2) did exactly that, pounding out 12 hits to continue their hot hitting this season. The team put runners on base in every inning, drawing nine walks that translated into eight runs.

“We put a lot of guys on base,” Pompano Beach Manager Ryan Combs said. “We cannot walk that many guys. We put ourselves in a situation where one hit changes everything.”

Such was the case in the sixth inning, when Pompano (3-4) walked the bases loaded to bring Cissel to the plate. The lefty made them pay with a two-RBI single, and then Chris Koppenhaver followed with another dagger on a two-RBI double on a deep shot off the left field fence that put Pine Crest up 10-2.

“We really worked on staying through the ball in practice and it really worked tonight,” said Cissel, who was 4-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs. “I was looking for a first-pitch fastball, and the first two times I got it. Then I just waited for a fastball the rest of the time.”

Cissel also delivered the big hit to put the Panthers on top for good in the fifth inning when he doubled to deep centerfield to drive home Matt Rothenberg, after the third baseman led off the inning with a double off a sharp liner past third base.

Koppenhaver supplied the winning RBI when he ground to second base and Tom Walker beat the tag at the plate after the fielder opted to throw home on the play. Cissel next came home on a well-executed double-steal, and Koppenhaver followed when Griffin Conine lined an RBI single to left field.

“The bats are hot right now,” Pierson said. “They’re enjoying this game as a unit and its fun to watch. We have this philosophy and we call this our approach, and when we execute it good things happen. It’s been working for us.”

After falling behind 2-0 early on, the Tornadoes battled back to tie things up.

Garrett Hiott singled up the middle and then stole second to put himself in scoring position with one out in the bottom of the first. Shortstop Shaw Pinnell found the sweet spot with the bat to crush the ball to deep centerfield for an RBI triple that drove Hiott home and ended the day for Panthers starter Alex Perez, who left as a precaution after experiencing trouble in his pitching arm.

Sophomore right-hander Adam Saks came on in relief and recorded a called strikeout on Garrett Gardner to end the inning and strand Pinnell at third.

But in the bottom of the third Gardner got some payback with a single through the right side that scored Matt Fengler, who drew a two-out walk and then advanced into scoring position on a single from Pinnell.

Saks carried the Panthers for three innings, striking out three while allowing two hits and two walks.

“It’s a testament to Adam that he filled in so great,” Pierson said. “Alex wanted to stay in but he is too important to the team and we’re not taking chances. We really have pitching depth and we are excited about out pitching staff.”

Cissel relieved Saks to earn his first win on the mound this season, after helping to stake himself with the lead at the plate.

But after walking Fengler to lead off the bottom of the fifth, Cissel got a boost when Matt Rothenberg dove out on a sharp grounder up the left sideline on a scorcher from Pinnell that most likely would have gone for extra bases and perhaps even sparked a Tornadoes rally.

“I really got some help when Matt made a really good play behind me,” Cissel admitted. “It pumps you up and gets you into it when you see a play like that.”

Fengler supplied an RBI single to score Kelsey Lunde in his next at-bat, after Lunde doubled leading off the inning.

But by then the deficit was simply too large to overcome.

“We’re just not playing very well,” Combs admitted. “We’re a good team and we have a lot of talent, but we don’t play together. There are a lot of things that we need to look inward and fix. I have things that I have to do better, and as the coach I accept that responsibility. Each one of us has to do things to contribute to a team.”

With the game given extra attention as the Game of the Week, Combs admitted the team was frustrated that they let the game get away from them.

“It’s disappointing when you get excited and you look forward to this,” Combs said. “It’s the Prime Time game on Saturday night and we’ve just got to step it up. But it was a great experience and it’s something we would like to continue doing.”

As part of the pregame festivities for the big game, each team selected someone to represent the school in throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. The Panthers selected Pine Crest Athletics Hall of Famer and current JV coach Paul Perri, and the host Tornadoes were proud to be represented by the school’s new football coach, Rick Nagy.

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