Knights back to .500 with victories over Boynton Beach

The Knights were able to pick up two wins and extend their winning streak to three as they defeated the Boynton Beach Buccaneers (15–9), by a score of 10–6 in game one and 2–0 in game two. The second matchup was a continuation from Sunday, June 12, after lightning ended the game while in the fifth inning with both teams being scoreless. The Knights are now .500 for the season at 11–11.

Game 1:

With the game resuming in the top fifth, the Knights were able to get the lead and never lose control after an RBI single from Danny Baez scored Luke Shannahan and Hunter Fiori.

Boynton Beach had a chance to keep the game alive with a runner on third in the bottom seventh, but a strikeout from Bryson Walker on Giuseppe Aruci put the game on ice.

The Buccaneers offense was shut down and only two hits were given up as Walker pitched an incredible game with 10 total strikeouts while only allowing on walk.

Danny Baez was the main source of offense for West Palm Beach, as he had two of their three hits along with the two RBI’s.

West Palm Beach now has two shutouts over the last four days, the first coming against the Delray Beach Lightning on Saturday

Game 2:

Tyler Cox was able to get the runs started for the Knights with an RBI double as Tyler Muscat ran home. Cox was then able to secure another run with Boynton Beach getting a 1–3 putout on Danny Baez, giving Cox just enough time to advance to home, and West Palm Beach went into the second inning with a 2–0 lead.

Boynton Beach would respond in a big way with an RBI single from Max Shabestari and a big RBI double from Brandon Delapenha with two outs left to get two runs in and give the Buccaneers a 3–2 lead.

Both teams would continue to trade blows, as West Palm Beach came back with a 5–0 third inning. The scoring began with an RBI double from Bodey Ellis who was able to advance to third after an error from third baseman Pat Coyne. Ellis then scored after an RBI single From Tyler Ramage, and shortly after the bases were loaded after Dominik Ramil was hit by a pitch, the other runners on were Cox and Ramage. The Knights then capitalized off of an error off of Baez’s at bat from centerfielder A.J Orrico as it led to Muscat scoring and the bases remaining loaded. An RBI single from Jimmy Kemp was able to score the fifth run of the inning as the Knights were now up 7–3.

But the Buccaneers refused to go away, as a three run fifth inning made the Knights lead shrink to one. The Knights were able to keep Boynton Beach at bay with a sacrifice fly from Drew Winters to bring in Kemp, and the Knights took a two-run lead into the sixth.

The Knights halted momentum from building even more for Boynton Beach, as two putouts and a strikeout thrown by Andrew Eppinger took the Buccaneers out quickly in the top of the inning.

Chances were given for the Knights to add to the lead, and they capitalized. With a wild pitch from Michael Rodriguez, catcher Chris Mariani was able to get home. West Palm Beach then had the bases loaded after another hit by pitch on Ramil, and Baez made the most of that opportunity with an RBI single for Muscat’s third run of the day and the lead was now up to four with the score now being 10–6 going into the seventh and final inning.

The Knights kept themselves out of any danger, as a 6–3 putout on Orrico, and a fly out on Marcus Omalley and Zac Majer shut the door on Boynton Beach.

Team notes:

Tyler Cox is having a season to remember, as he leads the South Florida Collegiate Baseball league in batting average at .411. The second closest to Cox is Levi Padilla from the Palm Beach Diamond Ducks at .386. Cox is also the leader in RBI’s for the Knights with 12, his two today broke the tie with Juhlien Gonzalez who has ten.

Pitching:

Bryson Walker earned the win in game one, while Caden Barnett received his second loss of the year for Boynton Beach.

For game two, Townson Ellis got his first win of the season and Andrew Eppinger was rewarded with the save in his second appearance as a pitcher. Aidan Cardenas was the losing pitcher for Boynton Beach.

Up Next:

The Knights will face the Boca Raton Blazers (5–14) on Friday at Keiser. Both teams have earned one win against each other with the last game resulting in a 6–4 win for the Knights at home. Starting time will be at 10:00 AM.