Knights split doubleheader with Snappers

The West Palm Beach Knights and West Boca Snappers faced off in a seven-inning doubleheader on Monday, a slate that was originally scheduled on Saturday but was canceled due to weather. West Palm Beach was able to secure a win in a close ballgame, 5–4. West Boca would then bounce back in convincing fashion and take game 2 by a score of 7–0. The Knights now sit at 12–13, and the Snappers stay two games over .500 at 13–11.

Game 1:

The Knights began the game in threatening position, with Jimmy Kemp on first after a single and Luke Shannahan on third, but they were left stranded after Drew Winters had a flyout to centerfield, and the game remained scoreless after one.

In the second, Snappers extra hitter Jarod Wade was able to get the first run of the game in with a sacrifice fly to score David Vazquez.

It took West Palm Beach four innings to get their first run in, with Tyler Heckert hitting an RBI single as Drew Winters ran across third and made it home to even the game at one.

The fifth inning was high scoring, as both team combined for six runs. And a majority of the scoring was due to mistakes more than offense. Connor Chang was able to give the Snappers a 2–1 lead after a wild pitch from Patrick Montagna. The lead then grew bigger after a single from Samuel Astern scored Barron Northorp and Ryan Recio and the deficit was now at three for the Knights, trailing 4–1.

West Palm Beach began their really at the bottom of the fifth, it took a lot of painful pitches to jumpstart the comeback. The second runner that was able to get on base was Kieron Crowder after being hit by a pitch from Colby Collins, and a lack of composure brought the Knights back in the game. With two runners on, Dominik Ramil was hit on a pitch and the bases were loaded for the Knights. A balk was then called on Collins which resulted in a score. After Kemp was walked, more trouble was brewing for the West Boca as Drew Winters was also hit by a pitch which resulted in the Knights only trailing by one. The game was then tied up after a walk on Eppinger with the bases loaded, as the Knights were now in a different situation after trailing for most of the game.

The Knights now faced a scenario where extra innings could be a real possibility, but they made sure that extra stress wasn’t needed. In the bottom seventh, with Eppinger stepping up to the plate, he was able to get a fly ball to left field and help score the winning run as courtesy runner Franklin Carney crossed home plate as the Knights were now back at .500 after the first battle.

Game 2:

The Knights were unable to mount a comeback after a four run seventh inning from West Boca was too much to overcome as West Palm Beach was held scoreless.

The Knights had chances to put runs on the board, but poor results followed with runners in scoring position. Franklin Carney was on third for the Knights in the bottom first, but two quick outs on Willie Ponce and Danny Baez ended the inning.

With Tyler Cox stealing second base and Marco Bellantoni on third, The Knights put themselves in a great scenario in the bottom third, and the last thing that was needed was an out. Unfortunately, Sam Holtz had a strikeout to close the inning as runners not being able to score while in position continued to pile up.

Fast forwarding to the seventh inning, West Palm Beach trailed 3–0, a deficit they faced in the first game and was able to overcome it. This time around, West Boca turned the match upside down for the Knights. An RBI single from Samuel Astern and Jack Hay pus Astern being able to make it to home plate made this too large of a deficit to overcome for the Knights as they fell back to one game under .500.

Pitching:

For game one, Hunter Kloke was rewarded with his first win of the season, as he pitched in the seventh inning and allowed no hits with only one walk while also adding in a strikeout. Luke Rier was given his first loss of the season for West Boca as he now stands at 2–1.

In game two, Matt Whitney threw a season best 11 strikeouts in six innings pitched and he now has the same record as Rier at 2–1. Garrick Murray is given his first loss, but performed well as he threw eight strikeouts while giving up no runs in 5.2 inning pitched

Up Next:

The Knights will have Wednesday off, but will return Thursday as they head back on the road to face the Boca Raton Blazers (6–18). The matchup will take place at Little Fenway at 6:00 PM.

Series matchup:

Blazers lead the matchup 2–1, winning their last game with the Knights 1–0.