In a district championship matchup Thursday night, West Boca beat Dwyer on the road 7-4. The Bulls continue to take Palm Beach County by storm as they have now won three straight district championships, including two straight against Dwyer.

West Boca wasted no time. On the very first pitch of the game, senior Parks Fucci hit a home run down the right field line to give the Bulls an early 1-0 lead, and momentum for the rest of the game.

“Good live arm… I was looking to swing early no matter what,” Fucci said. “It’s my good friend over there so I knew he was going to leave it over the plate.”

The Bulls weren’t done in the first inning as they had the bases loaded with no outs. All three runners on base scored thanks to two wild pitches and an RBI from Alejandro Rodriguez, making it 4-0.

It seemed like this affair was going to be high-scoring as the first two batters for Dwyer got hits in the bottom of the first inning, including USF commit Bryce Jackson, who recorded his 100th career hit at Dwyer. The Panthers scored their first run courtesy of a Kody Morgan sac fly, making it 4-1. Morgan is also committed to USF.

In the second inning, Caldwell State commit Chicho Goldstein had an infield hit which scored a run, making it 5-1 West Boca.

In the third inning, Dwyer’s Dawson Thrush (Air Force commit) and Morgan hit RBI doubles, scoring a total of three runs, which cut West Boca’s lead to 5-4.

In the fourth inning, Tyler Lichtenberger, who is committed to Appalachian State, hit an RBI single into right field, extending West Boca’s lead to 6-4, providing the Bulls with a little more comfort.

Being up by three runs sounds so much better than being up by two. Fucci, the Palm Beach State commit, took that to note as he hit a double in the top of the sixth inning. He then stole third base, but an errant throw by the Dwyer catcher allowed Fucci to touch home plate, extending West Boca’s lead to 7-4.

West Boca relief pitcher Max McDougall closed the door for West Boca, shutting out Dwyer in innings five, six, and seven to notch the save and the district championship for West Boca.

“I had to come in in the fifth inning and shut them down,” McDougall said. “It was a one or two run game, so I had to stay locked in, just pitch contact and let the defense get the outs baby.”

Pitching three shutout innings in relief, especially in a playoff game, is no easy feat, but West Boca head coach Jerry Albert trusted his sophomore.

“Coach Albert trusted me to come in, throw strikes, and get outs… that’s exactly what we did right there,” McDougall said postgame.

West Boca starter Matthew Pagan, who is committed to Santa Fe College, got the win for the Bulls. He pitched four innings, giving up four runs on six hits.

Meanwhile, Dwyer starter Kody Morgan got the loss, pitching five innings while allowing just one earned run and three hits with six strikeouts and three walks. However, Morgan did give up five unearned runs.

Fucci was the star of the game, going 4-for-4 with three runs scored, a home run, and a double. He leads West Boca with a .352 batting average and 17 stolen bases.

“The win was a really solid team win as we were able to execute throughout the game,” Coach Albert said postgame. “Parks (Fucci) really got us going today starting with the first at bat and keeping the pressure on all game. Matt (Pagan) toughed out his four innings and Max (McDougall) was terrific closing out the last three.”

After winning the district championship, West Boca now has their eyes set on regionals. It’s very hard to predict what seed the Bulls will have as the FHSAA will release their brackets this weekend. However, the Bulls will likely host the first game of regionals on Tuesday night (subject to change).

To win any tournament is great and that’s what the district title is – a tournament,” Coach Albert said. “It’s nice to get the title and to do it on the road builds confidence – now we hope to continue the momentum into regional play. We build our schedule and our team to be ready at the end of the year, so it is very pleasing to see us playing our best baseball now.”

DISTRICT CHAMPIONS!

West Boca beats Dwyer 7-4 in the district championship.

The Bulls have won three straight district championships, including two straight against Dwyer. pic.twitter.com/CQ2BVI2Ob8

— Isaac Edelman (@IsaacEdelman) May 3, 2024