Boca High Falls to Park Vista 2-1
By Jake Di Pippo
Boca Raton, Fla – On Saturday, March 28th the Bobcats of Boca Raton competed, very well might I add, in what was one of the biggest games in program history. The Park Vista Cobras, who as of Monday are the second best team in the entire nation according to MaxPreps.com, beat Boca High for the second time this year in nail biting fashion by a score of 2-1.
The Highly anticipated match up between two of the top three teams in Florida’s class 8A standings was originally scheduled to be played Friday night, however mother nature had other plans, as strong winds and heavy rain forced officials to reschedule the game for Saturday afternoon.
Hundreds of fans, parents and scouts packed in at Boca Raton Middle School, where seating was almost impossible to find. Most fans stood the entire time, however that didn’t seem to matter as the game moved at exceptional speed. For those who love defense and great pitching, this was the perfect game for them. Austin Smith was on the mound for Park Vista. The Florida Atlantic University commit was dominant throughout. The 6’4, 215lbs. right handed pitcher hit almost every spot his catcher gave him. I found myself standing next to a representative of the Kansas City Royals, as well as other scouts. Some were clocking Smith with a radar gun, and from the few pitches I was able to get a glimpse of, Smith was hitting the 90 mph mark rather routinely. For those who do not know a lot about high school baseball, 90 mph at this level is fascinating and will certainly draw attention from pro teams.
The bobcats, who were seeking to avenge the extra inning loss earlier in the season to the Cobras, struggled to get runners on base early. However in the bottom of the third, after getting a runner in scoring position, which came rare Saturday, Bobcat and future Miami Hurricane Michael Amditis stepped up to the plate. Amditis, the most productive offensive player for Boca High, who is tallying a .561 avg. with 6 homers and 26 RBI’s coming into the game, connected on one of Smith’s fastballs, sending a rope to left field. Since the entire Park Vista outfield was giving Amdits the much earned respect by playing with their backs nearly on the wall, the left fielder was able to make the play, but had no chance of getting the tagging runner from third base. Boca took a 1-0 lead.
Boca Raton had a dominant pitcher of their own on the mound. Jagger McCoy, the 6’2 hard throwing lefty was sensational in his own right. With only 1 run to work with, McCoy was asked to completely shutdown the nationally ranked Cobras, an almost impossible task, and he nearly did just that. After not surrounding a single run for the first 5 innings, McCoy was pitching with great rhythm and confidence. The combination of his fastball and off speed pitches kept the cobras off the scoreboard for the majority of the game. This was the case until the top of the 5th inning. With no runners on, Joe Genord of Park Vista hit a shot they may not have landed yet. The solo home run cleared the left-center field fence, and the game was tied 1-1 just like that. The entire Park Vista dugout erupted with joy, as the fans who made the trip began cheering and clapping for the first time that day. Genord’s home run seemed to be the turning point of the game. The 1-0 lead that Boca was clinging on to was gone with just one swing of the bat.
With the game tied, Smith took the mound in the bottom of the 6th inning, and he looked to be at his strongest. His fastball seemed to have a little something extra on it, while his breaking ball was simply dropping out of the air. The Bobcats were not able to score another run for the rest of the game. In the top of the 7th inning, the last inning in high school baseball, Park Vista’s Colin Smith hit a shot to right that fell in for a double. This led to the second run of the game for the Cobras, which was ultimately enough for the win.
Austin Smith received the complete game win for Park Vista, as he finished with 8 strikeouts while only allowing 3 hits and 1 earned run. Despite his efforts, Jagger McCoy get his first lost of the season, even with an impressive 5 strikeouts over 6 innings.
The Boca Raton Bobcats are now 14-2 with seven games left in the regular season, two being distract matchups. They look to bounce back Tuesday, March 31st against their rivals, the Spanish River Sharks.
