Knights end losing streak with convincing with over Pokers

The West Palm Beach Knights were able to snap their three-game losing streak and defeat the Florida Pokers (2–14) 5–11. The Knights were able to get closer to .500 as they now have a 9–11 record.

The Pokers jumped on the Knights to start the game, as Mariano Poll scored the first run after an error from catcher Caden Marsters. Following a strikeout from Will Farrar, an RBI single by DH Nick Vera was able to make the lead 2–0 for Florida.

West Palm Beach was able to respond in the bottom first with a Tyler Cox RBI single to score Andres Paret and cut the deficit to one. As the inning rolled on, Cox was able to make it to third base, but a 4–3 putout on Willie Ponce took the game to the second inning.

The Knights made their stamp in the second inning, as they shut out the Pokers and put up five runs to seize momentum. The Knights were able to have success with their first three at-bats, with Sam Holtz advancing to first on an error from third baseman Elias Fidler, and an RBI triple from Franklin Carney followed to tie the game at two. Andrew Eppinger then advanced to first place after a hit by pitch, and West Palm Beach had two runners on with no outs.

Following a putout on Luke Shannahan, Juhlien Gonzalez hit an RBI single to bring in Carney and give the Knights their first lead of the game. With the bases loaded after a walk on Paret, the RBI single’s continued to pile up, this time coming from Tyler Muscat as Eppinger made his way home and the bases remained loaded.

Tyler Cox then added to his RBI tally with a single to bring in Gonzalez and Paret to make the lead 6–2 for the Knights going into the third inning.

Familiar faces continued to in runs for the Knights in the third, with Eppinger and Gonzalez adding on more RBI singles to give the Knights breathing room as they now lead 8–2.

But the Pokers didn’t go away easily, as over the next two innings, they outscored the Knights 3–0 as they attempted to make a rally. The Knights were able to respond in a big way in the sixth, as they scored three and push the lead back to six.

The Knights were able to get the bases loaded, which set up a sacrifice fly from Caden Marsters as Paret made his way home for a team high three runs. With two outs in the inning, Sam Holtz stepped to the plate, and on a 1–0 count, Holtz hit a single to bring home two more runners, Muscat and Cox.

Those were the last runs of the game for each team, as only two runners made it to base for Florida, none being in scoring position.

Team Notes:

With two RBI’s from Gonzalez and three RBI’s from Cox, they are now tied for most RBI’s for the Knights.

Relief pitcher Hunter Kloke was subbed in the eighth inning, and adding to his strikeout total throwing five in the game. Kloke now leads the team in total strikeouts with 20, Garrick Murray comes second with 16. Kloke has also yet to allow a run for the season.

Pitching:

Nick Ferrera was given the loss for Florida, as he pitched in 2.2 innings, allowing ten hits and seven earned runs. For the Knights, Frank Wierman picked up his second win of the season, pitching in two innings and allowing no earned runs and no hits.

Up Next:

The Knights will continue their homestand as they face the Boynton Beach Buccaneers (15–7). West Palm Beach is 2–1 for the season against Boynton Beach and their last matchup resulted in a high scoring affair with the Knights winning 10–9. The fourth matchup will be Wednesday morning at 10:00 AM.