Knights lose close one to Diamond Ducks
In a tightly contested ballgame, The West Palm Beach Knights (8–10) were defeated by the Palm Beach Diamond Ducks (11–9) Sunday morning by a score of 4–3.
The offense was active early for the Knights, as Andres Paret hit an RBI double on his first attempt at bat to score Tyler Muscat who was on base after a single to begin the game.
Through three innings, the Knights defense and pitching was on point. In his third start, Garrick Murray had two strikeouts and only one runner for Palm Beach was on base after Levi Padilla was walked in the first. The Knights were also error free and made sure the Diamond Ducks weren’t given extra opportunities off of mistakes made.
In the bottom third, Paret recorded another RBI double to bring in first baseman Luke Shannahan and the lead was now 2–0 for West Palm Beach. With two RBI’s in the game, Paret now has four on the season.
The game then remained scoreless until the final two innings, but the Knights had opportunities that could have given them more breathing room.
In the bottom fifth, Tommy Easley put himself in scoring position after stealing second and third base. Gino Bellantoni then made his way to first base after being walked, and the Knights only had one out. But the Diamond Ducks were able to get out of the inning with two outs on Muscat and Paret and the score remained 2–0.
The Knights continued to threat with stolen bases in the bottom sixth, this time from Sam Holtz who stole third base. Unfortunately for West Palm Beach, more runs were left on the table as Zac Mason who subbed in for starter Parker Grahe, struck out Willie Ponce and take the game to the seventh.
Garrick Murray was finished for the day, as through seven innings Murray recorded six strikeouts and two walks on only three hits allowed. Murray seemed to have the Diamond Ducks figured out, as they were held scoreless until Murray left for Bodey Ellis, who finished the rest of the way.
Palm Beach began the eighth with vengeance with left fielder Joey Cicini recording a single and Joey Urban hitting a double to put runners in scoring position for the Diamond Ducks. Ellis was able to regain composure and strike out Jack Cue for the first out of the inning. But trouble surfaced shortly after as the bases were now full after DJ Christian was walked.
Second baseman Daulton Frank then hit an RBI double to even the game, and followed by three straight outs for the Knights in the bottom eighth, it was now a new game entering the ninth.
The Diamond Ducks were able to snatch the lead as Joey Cicini was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Joey Urban was able to increase the lead with an RBI single to make it four unanswered runs for Palm Beach, and the Knights suddenly had to make a comeback after being in the lead for the majority of the game.
The Knights began the ninth firing, with two singles from Tyler Cox and Heckert. Willie Ponce then ended the scoring drought and hit an RBI single to bring the Knights within a run with runners on first and third with no outs. But the Diamond Ducks were able to close the deal, as the next three appearances from Drew Winters, Easley, and Shannahan resulted in put outs to end a comeback attempt.
Up Next:
The Knights will continue their home stand as they take on the Palm Beach Xtreme (13–6) Monday at 10:00 AM.