Knights dominate Diamond Ducks led by a strong start and finish
For the second time in just under a week, the West Palm Beach Knights forced a ten-run mercy rule in seven innings to defeat the Palm Beach Diamond Ducks 12–2. The Knights have now won five out of their last six and move to 17–15 on the year, while the Diamond Ducks are now 18–15.
The Knights built an early lead with an RBI single from Juhlien Gonzalez to bring in Danny Baez and Dominik Ramil. West Palm Beach then capitalized off of an error from right fielder Jackson Wodraska as he dropped a fly ball from Drew Winters, and two more runs score for the Knights. Another error was followed, this time from center fielder Levi Padilla which allowed Winters to cross home plate and boost the lead to 5–0 as the first inning came to a close.
Dominik Ramil brought home another run with an RBI double in the second inning, and the Knights were able to shut down the Diamond Ducks until the fifth inning where Pablo Ruiz hit a two-run homer for the only runs of the game for Palm Beach.
It was scoreless for the Knights until the sixth inning, where Tyler Cox hit an RBI single, scoring Eppinger for his second run of the ballgame. The crucial errors continued to pile up for the Diamond Ducks, this one came from shortstop Joey Urban on an at bat from Juhlien Gonzalez, allowing Baez to score and take an 8–2 lead going into the seventh.
The Knights then put the nail in the coffin in back to back plate appearances. The first being an RBI triple from Baez with the bases loaded to score Luke Shannahan, Andrew Eppinger, and Marco Bellantoni. And shortly after, Ramil added an RBI single to bring in Baez for the twelfth and final run of the game.
Game notes:
Juhlien Gonzalez, Dominik Ramil, and Danny Baez were the main source of offense for West Palm Beach, as the three players combined for six hits, five runs, and eight RBI’s.
Pitching:
Patrick Montagna earned his second win of the season, as he had one of his best performances of the year. Montagna pitched for the entire game and threw for a season high six strikeouts while only allowing one walk and two earned runs. For Palm Beach, Robbie Throop now has two losses on the year after this matchup. Throop pitched in four innings and threw five strikeouts to go along with four walks and three earned runs.
Up Next:
The Knights will look to extend their winning streak to four games on Saturday as they have a doubleheader against the West Boca Snappers (17–14). The Knights were defeated by the Snappers in their last meeting losing 7–0. The series is currently even at 2. This matchup will take place at Highlands Christian Academy University with the first game scheduled to begin at 10:00 AM, and game 2 at 12:00 PM.