Key West Falls Short In Bid To Upend Benjamin

Key West won just seven games last year in a forgettable season.

The Conchs’ schedule was filled with some of the best teams in the area as well as the state.

This year’s team already has won 11 games and is continuing the Key West tradition of playing tough competition.

Case in point is Wednesday’s game at Benjamin. Key West made the 240-mile trek north. The game, for those in attendance, proved to be worth the trip. The teams took turns exchanging the lead until Benjamin’s D.J. Paone ended the see-saw affair with a ninth-inning double, giving the Buccaneers a 5-4 win.

Like their opponent, the Benjamin Buccaneers have not shied away from competition this season. Wanting to become one of the premiere programs in South Florida, Manager Brian Kaplan put together a schedule this season that rivals the best in the state. The Bucs have not only played the top teams from Palm Beach, but have also made trips to Broward and Miami in search of the best competition.

“When I try to make the schedule in the off-season I try to find the most quality games,” said Kaplan. “These guys see this type of competition all summer long, so they are used to it. I wanted to make sure they see it during the season too. All of these games with the powerhouse schools I’m hoping will prepare us for what we are going to see in the playoffs. The ultimate goal is to win a state title, and these are the type games that prepare us for that.”

On the other side of the field, Key West was getting set to make the long trek home, and although the team dropped their sixth straight, there was reason for optimism from Manager Miguel Menendez.

“Today, we battled and stayed in the ballgame against a pretty good team,” said Menendez. “We’ve got to do a little more offensively to give ourselves a chance to win these games. We have to get back home, and work on some things, but our biggest thing right now is our confidence. We’re not confident at the plate, we’re pressing, but we’ll get it figured out some way, somehow.”

Matt Harris has been one of Benjamin’s horses on the mound all year long, and Wednesday he got the ball against the Conchs. Harris, who came into the game with an ERA under one, gave up two runs in the first inning. A pair of walks to Andy Perez and Darren Miller was followed by a two-run double off the bat of Andrew Freeman.

The Bucs chopped the lead to 2-1 in their half of the first. Kody Ruedisili reached on an error, and eventually came in to score on a wild pitch.

In the second, Benjamin tied the game on a one-out walk to Chad Swift, and an RBI double off the bat of Paone.

Key West quickly regained the lead in the third. Miller singled, stole second and third, and came into to score on an error.

The pendulum and the lead swung back to Benjamin in the fifth. Sousa singled, and Baylan Sparks doubled, putting runners on second and third. An error and a single by Logan Taplett gave the Bucs their first lead of the game, 4-3.

The Conchs answered back in the top of the sixth. Andrew Freeman walked for the second time on the day to lead off the inning. A wild pitch moved Freeman to second, and he scored the tying run on a single off the bat of pinch-hitter Anthony Henriquez.

The score remained the same until the bottom of the eighth. Ruedisili drew a one-out walk, and stole second. Paone then came up and delivered his second run-scoring double of the game.

“There’s a reason he leads the team in RBIs,” said Kaplan. “He’s been getting good swings on the ball the past couple of games, and the ball just hasn’t been dropping. He’s a big-time player. He doesn’t really feel pressure, and he went up there looking for a quality pitch, and when he got it, he put the bat on it like your supposed to do. He leads the team in RBIs for a reason.”

The win moved the Bucs record to 16-5, with games left against Palm Beach Central and Coral Springs Christian next week.

“I wanted to find two of the best games we could for that last week, and the way the season has played out, it looks like we’re getting two of the best in the area,” said Kaplan.

Key West, meanwhile hosts Trinity Christian in a two-game set Friday and Saturday, and closes out the season against Keys Gate Charter on Wednesday.

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