WELLINGTON — They call him “P.M.,” but Wellington pitcher Paul Parent looks good on the mound when the sun is out, too.

The upset-minded Wolverines paid a visit to Palm Beach Central for a Wednesday matinee and Parent made quick work of a potent Broncos lineup, building on what has become an impressive senior campaign for the lefty hurler.

Wellington won 5-2.

When these two meet for football or lacrosse, the programs famously refer to their rivalry as “The Wellington Cup.”

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There's no such moniker between the baseball squads, but Wednesday's game certainly didn't lack stakes.

Each team has struggled to find consistency in their respective roller-coaster seasons, at once winning unexpected heavyweight bouts, only to lose a head-scratcher in the same week.

Parent, however, has given Wellington a steady arm, and his performances at a crucial juncture in the season are setting up the Wolverines for success.

“P.M. really just did a good job of getting zeroes on the board,” Wellington head coach Scott Riddle said. “He was in control even when we tried our best not to help him out defensively,” he joked.

“He kept his composure and was able to get us outs when we needed them.”

Parent is sitting at a 3.03 ERA for the season, having struck out 28 batters in 30 innings pitched, adding another eight strikeouts to his tally during his performance against Central.

His pitching performance on Wednesday was somewhat of a microcosm for Wellington’s season — relying on his fastball early as he finally started to get the movement he wanted from his off-speed offerings.

“On the mound, our pitchers who we expected to do big things for us are starting to do what we thought they would do,” Riddle said. “Slow start, but we feel like we’re playing a little bit better now. We’re at Dr. Joaquin Garcia tomorrow, so we’ll see.”

Parent’s Wolverines had no shortage of motivation or momentum heading into the contest, having just beaten another top program in Coral Springs.

“We just came off a game win against Taravella, fourth in the state, so we’re feeling pretty good,” Parent said.

Taravella. Palm Beach Central.

Suddenly, Wellington has a nice little winning streak building against some top-tier programs, and Parent is feeling like his team is ready to take on a tough district.

“Personally, I think we’ve got it,” Parent said. “We started off in the beginning of the season not hitting well, but it’s coming around. I think we have a chance to win it.”

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Wellington's Paul Parent strikes out eight in return to dominance