PALM BEACH GARDENS – Fast starts do not happen all the time in the game of baseball.

But in the case of Palm Beach Gardens, it did for the second-seeded team in last night’s (May 13) Class 7A-Region 3 home semifinal tilt against third-seeded West Boca Raton.

In what turned out to be a 6-3 win for the Gators (20-7), three of their runs came in the bottom of the first inning.

All three runs for Palm Beach Gardens came with two outs, which started with a solo home run by senior Jayden Hylton (Stetson signee) and ended with a two-run homer by fellow senior AJ Hunerberg (runs were scored by himself and junior standout Blake Mathews).

Nursing a 3-0 lead to end the first inning, the next time up on offense would result in another run for Gardens.

In the bottom of the second, senior Josh Hogue (Santa Fe JUCO signee) knocked in an RBI single that sent senior Enzo Vertucci (Aurora signee) to home plate for a 4-0 lead.

And then in the bottom of the third inning, Gardens scored two more runs to make it a 6-0 lead over West Boca (18-11 final record). The home team got it done by way of a sacrifice fly from senior Brad Hart (Wingate signee) with one out, which preceded a passed ball that ended up with a Hunerberg run scored.

The top of the fourth inning was a reminder of why anything can happen in baseball.

West Boca scored three runs to cut the Gardens lead in half. One of the Bulls runs were made possible by a passed ball, which made it interesting for a bit.

But after that, no more runs were scored by either team.

And with that, Palm Beach Gardens has advanced to the Class 7A – Region 3 final round next week.

OTHER CLASS 7A – REGIONAL SEMIFINAL

•No. 5 seed Park Vista 7, No. 8 seed Palm Beach Central 1 – FINAL

Park Vista (23-5) advanced to the Class 7A – Region 3 final round next week.

Palm Beach Central’s inspiring season ended with a 15-13 record.

CLASS 6A – REGION 4 SEMIFINAL

No. 3 seed Dwyer 7, No. 2 seed St. Thomas Aquinas 3

Dwyer (20-9) advanced to the Class 6A – Region 4 final round next week.

REGIONAL FINAL MATCHUPS

NOTE: Both 7A and 6A regional final games are set for a 7 p.m. first pitch time

7A – REGION 3: No. 2 seed Palm Beach Gardens vs. No. 5 Park Vista

6A – REGION 4: No. 3 seed Dwyer at No. 1 seed Doral Academy (22-4-1); Rematch from last year’s regional final

PLEASE NOTE: The 7A and 6A regional final winners on May 17 will advance to the FHSAA State Final Four Series in Fort Myers on May 20 (state semifinal games) and May 21 (state championship games).

PHOTO CREDITS: Shane Robinson