PALM BEACH GARDENS – One inning away.
It can be argued that Dwyer’s baseball season this year has been its most successful one yet. This is true, even as it fell in a 3-2 loss to Bloomingdale in the Class 6A State Final Four in Fort Myers on the night of May 21.
The Panthers (18-10 final record) were possibly on their way to their first 6A state title game appearance. But the top of the seventh inning happened.
Dwyer outgoing senior Clay Miller spoke on how it all went down.
“It was a tough loss for us,” Miller said. “I think that honestly they made contact and found some holes through the infield and came through in the clutch. We played phenomenal and pitching was great again, but their pitcher [Jake Owens; pitched up to 91 miles per hour] had six walks and still managed to battle and go six innings.”
In the bottom of the seventh, Dwyer was able to get a hit but could not muster much else as its season came to an end.
“It was very emotional for our team,” said Miller, who scored one of the Panthers two runs in the bottom of the first inning against the Bulls. “But also we had an amazing run and we battled al the way through.”
Dwyer’s two runs occurred in the bottom of the first inning after being down 2-0 to Bloomingdale.
Sophomore and Florida State commit Matt Davis had a RBI that drove in a run for junior Jack Savery. Then the next run was made possible by a Bloomingdale passed ball for Miller’s run that tied the game up at 2-2.
“That was hype,” Miller said.
Dwyer’s starting pitcher for the 6A State Final Four was junior Drake Flowers, who went six innings and had seven strikeouts. He allowed seven hits, one walk and two earned runs.
Miller spoke on a memorable fourth inning sequence by Flowers.
“Drake had bases loaded with no outs,” Miller said. “He got us out of the jam with no runs scored by the other team.”
Despite the outcome, Dwyer has a lot to be proud of.
This program came of a 12-9 regular season and reeled off six straight win after that. The Panthers won the District 13-6A title and then went on to win the 6A-Region 4 title.
All in all, this year’s Dwyer baseball team can rightly be called district and regional champions. It is the only baseball program in Palm Beach County that can lay claim to both titles.
PHOTO CREDITS: HSBN
