LANTANA — Two Palm Beach County squads with two new coaches faced off in the annual Santaluces Slam tournament, but it was Jupiter coach Kyle Young’s Warriors who came out with the win, taking down the Chiefs on the road in a 2-1 nail-biter.

“We’ve been putting in a lot of good work through the offseason,” Jupiter senior left fielder Andrew Todd said on Tuesday. “As everyone knows, our coaches changed, which was definitely a big adjustment, but I like coach Young.”

While Kyle Dahl was commissioned to lead Santaluces following the exit of ex-coach Nick Franco to start the program at Dr. Joaquín García last year, Young only took the helm in place of longtime former Andy Mook in January.

“He’s been having us do awesome practices that have been getting us better. I’m just really, really excited and it’s really fun to be back out there,” Todd said of the newly promoted assistant coach. “We’re super close and it’s awesome."

"Just like one big family.”

New look to Jupiter pitching staff

Sophomore pitcher Ethan Trivison kept Santaluces off the board long enough for Todd to put Jupiter on first. He allowed two hits and five strikeouts through four innings, sitting between 84 and 85 miles per hour and a top speed of 88 MPH, proving the potential his arm showed as the youngest member of a senior-led pitching staff in 2023. The lefty is only 16 years old, already committed to Clemson and sizing out at 6-foot-4, 190 pounds in his young career.

However, for three months of Jupiter’s 17-8 run to region finals, the then-freshman sat out with tendinitis.

“It's funny because I'm still one of the youngest ones on the team, but I have the most experience with all the guys on the staff, so I can step up as a leader,” Trivison said, focusing on staying healthy this season.

“I was kind of struggling early on with location, but I feel like my fastball helped me get dialed in on batters."

It wasn’t until the bottom of the fifth that Santaluces would score. A wild pitch from Warrior reliever Gustavo Melendez saw Daniel Vargas tie up the scoreboard.

Junior catcher Brady Blanks didn’t leave the Warriors down for long though, blazing an RBI triple through centerfield to bring home a double from Jake Finnegan and lift Jupiter, 2-1. Another wild pitch and hit given up to Santaluces’ starting pitcher against the Warriors Sam Hurtado, who led the game with seven strikeouts through four innings, saw Melendez exit the game in the bottom of the sixth inning for a surprise appearance from Todd, who hasn’t taken the mound for the Warriors until now.

“I've kind of pitched my whole life. I just didn't really pitch for high school, but losing all the senior pitchers that we did last year, I knew that I might have to step up as a two-way and coach Young trusts me on the bump because I'm a senior and he knows that I just have a good mentality,” Todd said. “So we're kind of just rolling with it.”

Todd, who holds interest from Florida Atlantic, Florida Gulf Coast, Georgia Southern, James Madison, North Florida, South Florida, and Jacksonville, sat down two Chiefs and the final out came on a groundout down the third baseline, where Finnegan made the throw to Gabe Graulau at first base for the out.

In relief in the top of the seventh, Santaluces senior Trevor Malloy, a natural first baseman, walked Jupiter senior Mason Barela, which gave the Warriors the man needed for an RBI. Centerfield was the sweet spot once again as junior Ryan Senecal hit a line drive for a 3-1 lead.

Todd’s second inning was a little shakier, letting Vargas on with a single and walking Samuel Alamonte. Even with two runners on, he knew what he had in the Warriors backing him.

Barela and Schwarz make the winning double-play

Jupiter’s big-time defense gave the team the winning double-play. Barela’s throw to Palm Beach Gardens shortstop transfer Colton Schwarz, a University of Florida commit, tagged out Vargas and Schwarz’ throw to Graulau sealed the deal, sending Alamonte back to the dugout.

"Definitely wanted to make a play to get the team out of a jam late in the game ... knew Andrew was going to compete for us on the mound and was just hoping the ball came my way. I have so much confidence in Colton at shortstop and Gabe at first, just wanted to do my part and secure the win," Barela said. A gamechanger in the infield, this spring, the Cornell commit is working more on batting, looking to simplify and be consistent against Division I pitching to be ready for the next level.

"It’s definitely going to be a jump, but thankfully we have so much good competition around South Florida, Kody Morgan and Nick Rovitti from Dwyer and Ethan Mattison and Joseph Calise from Park Vista, just to name a few. These are all guys I love to compete against and are preparing me for the next step."

When asked who Jupiter’s biggest contributors would be in the field for 2024 beyond its premier prospects, Todd, nearly got through listing the entire roster before making an admission.

“I could name the entire team,” he said, ready for rings on every teammate’s fingers and, most of all, his own.

Emilee Smarr is a sports reporter for the Palm Beach Post. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Division I prospects shine early for Jupiter baseball in Santaluces Slam