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Tournaments  | Story  | 7/12/2021

Palm Beach Select Crushing Out-Of-Towners

Sam Warren     
Photo: Gavin Deaver (Perfect Game)
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- During Perfect Game BCS National Championship tournament season, hundreds of teams from across the country flock to Florida’s Gulf Coast and try to take the title back to their state or territory. In the 2021 15u BCS National Championship, over half of the 92 teams competing hail from outside the state of Florida, but there’s plenty of in-state talent showing off how the Sunshine State plays ball.
 
One Florida team that has dominantly fended off some out-of-towners is Palm Beach Select 2024 South. In their first two games of the tournament, the squad out of Jupiter, Fla., took out a talented Beast 2024 team from Commack, N.Y., with a 7-6 win, and beat Centennial, Colo.’s Centennial Warriors Baseball, mercy-ruling them 15-0 in three innings.

Select head coach Julio DePaula was confident in his team’s ability to win, no matter where their opposition called home.
 
“We have to be ready for any kind of team,” DePaula said. “We’ve been ready, but we also have to learn from our mistakes and learn for our next games.”
 
In their first matchup, Select battled back from a five-run deficit that Beast created in the top of the first. The Select bats chipped away slowly at the lead, fighting back with two in the bottom of the first and one in the third. The potent offense was finally able to get over the hump in the sixth and final inning, as they mounted a four-run comeback that finished with a bases-loaded Nolan Feyereisen walk-off walk to end the game.
 
The Select’s second bout was not as dramatic. After threatening in the first, the Select Bats really did some damage in the second. Devin Grazzal started things off as he shot a leadoff single up the middle on the first pitch he saw. One pitch later, Grazzal broke for second, easily stealing the base and advancing to third after the throw squeaked by the Warrior defense. Ignacio Salaverria took advantage of the runner in scoring position, lining an RBI single into left field to plate the game’s first run. Salaverria then showed off his own savvy baserunning, stealing second and coming all the way around to score after the errant throw went into centerfield. DePaula saw Select’s aggressive base running as an advantage for his squad and was determined to use their skill to put them on top.
 
“Our baserunners could beat out their catcher’s throws,” DePaula said. “We had to attack the other team’s weaknesses, and we used them to have a big first inning.”
 
However, the Select offense did not stop there, as singles from Randy Sabina and Josiah Haynes, along with an Enzo Gurgel walk, loaded the bases. Michael “Mikey” Alvarez kept the line moving, singling to center to bring home Sabina. Dana Williams continued the rally, lining a two-RBI single to left. Tyler Smith then finished off the offensive show, singling to left to bring home Alvarez and give Select a 6-0 lead. Williams, recognized by Perfect Game as a “high follow” in the class of 2024, said that Select’s stellar performance at the plate didn’t come by surprise.
 
“Our offensive production was great today,” Williams said. “We usually hit the ball a lot, so we expected it out of ourselves.”
 
Select didn’t slow down in the third, as Grazzal began by blooping a single over first base and making it all the way to third after some poor throws. After Salaverria walked, Sabina shot a two-RBI single up the middle to extend the lead to eight. Gurgel then walked, and Sabina was able to get home on a wild pitch. A pitch then hit Cody Boggan, and Alvarez walked to load the bases. Walks from Feyereisen, Smith and an RBI single from Williams extended the lead to 12. After a Nicholas Rovitti hit-by-pitch brought home Feyereisen, Select only needed two runs to give them a chance to end the game in three innings. Grazzal took advantage of the opportunity as the order started over again, poking a two-RBI double into center to finish off the offensive onslaught at 15 runs. While Select had an incredible offensive showing, DePaula believed his players didn’t do anything special to get runs on the board.
 
“I just told them to hit their pitch when it comes to them,” DePaula said. “If you swing at bad pitches, bad things happen, and not a lot of bad happened today.”
 
Despite having 15 runs to work with, Select pitcher Gavin Deaver needed little help to mow through the Warriors’ order. Over three shutout innings, the righty struck out a remarkable eight batters while allowing just one hit. Deaver put an exclamation point on his performance in the final frame, striking out the last batter to close out the victory. DePaula believed his arm’s accuracy was vital in his success on the bump.
 
“He just kept throwing strikes,” DePaula said. “If you throw strikes, you can pitch for a long time without any problems.”
 
In their third and final game of initial pool play, Select weathered the storm and edged out fellow in-state squad Power Baseball 2024 Gold with a 4-3 victory. Despite a late comeback from Power in the final inning, a two-run fifth inning rally for Select proved to be the winning factor. The undefeated squad will now head into ranked pool play with a +17 run differential and a perfect 3-0 record.
 
As Select journeys into ranked play, Williams thinks his team’s success rides on their ability to stay consistent.
 
“We need to keep the energy up and keep having fun,” Williams said. “If we keep playing as brothers, nothing can stop us from performing.”
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