Senior Night Thriller: Palm Beach Gardens beats Centennial in matchup of top aces
Palm Beach Gardens edged Centennial 3-2 in a 10-inning pitcher’s duel on Friday night.
Starting pitchers Sydney Shaffer (Gardens) and Hailey Brereton (Centennial) struck out 24 combined while only surrendering 9 hits all night.
A timely hit by Kaman Reno with the bases loaded ultimately pushed the Gators past Brereton and the Eagles.
“Honestly, I was just trying to get it to the outfield somehow.” Reno commented. “I knew if I could get it to the outfield, someone would score and at least tie it up. With two strikes, thankfully I got my favorite pitch.”
Shaffer and Brereton had ERA’s of 0.75 and 1.18 respectively coming into the matchup. Both junior aces have led their teams through a tough schedule to prepare to make a playoff run.
“I started off a little shaky,” said Shaffer. “But as the game went on, I was able to settle in and command my pitches more. The rise and curve really started working for me later in the game.”
Both pitchers took a 0-0 ball game into the 9th. Per high school softball rules, teams start with a runner on second base in extra innings.
In the top of the 9th, Centennial was finally able to scratch a run across to take a 1-0 lead. But Gardens had their own answer in the home half of the inning to push the game to the 10th.
In the top of the 10th, the Eagles put the pressure on the Gators again by scoring a run to make it 2-1. Even with the dominant night on the mound, Palm Beach Gardens didn’t give in. With one out Reno sent a ball to deep left easily scoring two runs and the win for the Gators.
“Kaman’s a creature of habit. They continued to throw her inside all night, and eventually she was going to time it up. She made the adjustments and did what it took to get it done,” said head coach Randy Jackson.
Regular season game, postseason feel
With both pitchers only giving up two hits respectively though regulation, the game very much had a postseason-type atmosphere whete every at bat and pitch mattered.
“We prepared for this,” said Jackson. “We put the machine on 60 mph yesterday [at practice] and made them figure it out. Tonight, Syd kept us in it long enough to figure it out.”
In a tight game, though, the pressure is all on the defense to make the plays when it’s hit to them.
“At practice, we really try to focus on the little things defensively,” said Reno. “The little things make the biggest difference in games like this.”
Palm Beach Gardens is firing on all cylinders
Whether its pitching, offense or defense, the Gators are finding a way to get it done consistently this season. At a record of 17-3, a deep playoff run is on their minds.
“This schedule we put together is just a test to get ready for the playoffs,” said Jackson. “We’ve got a lot of good teams we will have to beat, so we put together a tough schedule on purpose to prepare them for that.”
The Gators are on a four-game winning streak heading into the final week of the season and have no plans of slowing down.
“I think it’ll be important for us to remember the struggle we faced thought,” said Shaffer. “To have to go ten innings and face a really good pitcher; that’s what we’re going to face from here on out. So, we just need to keep battling to stay consistent.”
Gardens proud to get it done for seniors
Senior night is always a special night, but to get the win in walk off fashion was the cherry on top of the cake.
“I was so happy that I could help get the win on senior night for our seniors. I would’ve been happy if it was anybody else, but to get that win for [the seniors] was huge. Honestly, if someone else would’ve gotten the hit, I would’ve cheered louder for them than for myself,” said Reno.
As for Shaffer, her senior catcher, Madi Quinn, has made all the difference for her this season.
“I lean on her,” said Shaffer. “She constantly helping me, whether things are going my way or not. I can go to her in tough moments, and she always helps me through it. I’m glad we could get this win for her.”
Gardens will close out the regular season with West Boca, Martin County and Park Vista next week.
Centennial will wrap up their season with Central, Jensen Beach and John Carroll Catholic.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach Gardens softball beats Centennial on Senior Night
