Playoff upset special: No. 8 seed Palm Beach Central ends No. 1 seed Jupiter’s season

JUPITER – After a back-and-forth playoff battle that resulted in multiple ties and at least one lead change through six innings, a clear winner emerged in last night’s (May 10) Class 7A-Region 3 quarterfinals.

Down 4-3 in the top of the sixth inning, eighth-seeded Palm Beach Central (15-12) scored two runs to take a 5-4 lead over top-seeded Jupiter (19-9) and kept it through the end.

Here’s how Palm Beach Central upset Jupiter on the road for an eventual 6-4 win:

•Broncos hitter Juan Hung connected on an RBI single with two outs. This tied the game up at 4-4.

•Shortly thereafter, Hector Camacho knocked in an RBI that send Matt Pilger to home plate. This resulted in Palm Beach Central’s 5-4 lead.

•Camacho then went on the mound to pitch a 1-2-3 inning for Palm Beach Central – keeping the lead at 5-4 to end the sixth inning.

•The top of the seventh inning proved to be one of much-needed insurance, as Freddy Rodriguez connected on an RBI single to extend Palm Beach Central’s lead to 6-4.

•Camacho got the final three outs needed to secure the upset win for Palm Beach Central. He overcame a rather challenging seventh, as Jupiter’s Tyler Johnson got a two-out RBI single (run by Elijah Scadina) to cut Palm Beach Central’s lead to 6-5 before getting a fly out to end it with the next batter.

“It was huge,” Palm Beach Central head coach Tony Gullo said of his team’s upset playoff win. “We actually used 17 players in the game. Everyone contributed.”

Rodriguez was 2-for-5 with three RBI’s, while Camacho was 1-for-1 with an RBI and pitched the game’s final three innings on the mound (four strikeouts, one hit allowed, one run allowed).

Hung was 1-for-3 with an RBI and a walk, while senior and Florida State signee Cameron Smith was 1-for-1 with an RBI, a run, and four walks.

The winning pitcher was Brody Gullo, who spent the game’s first four innings on the mound.

With the upset win, No. 8 Palm Beach Central will advance to the Class 7A-Region 3 semifinal round.

As for No. 1 Jupiter, the program’s fantastic season has come to an end.

CLASS 7A – REGION 3 QUARTERFINAL: OTHER GAME RESULTS

No. 2 seed Palm Beach Gardens 8, No. 7 seed Vero Beach 2

No. 3 seed West Boca Raton 3, No. 6 seed Lake Nona 0

No. 5 seed Park Vista 8, No. 4 seed Osceola (Kissimmee) 4

CLASS 7A – REGION 3 SEMIFINAL

NOTE: Both games will be on Friday, May 13 at 7 p.m.

No. 2 seed Palm Beach Gardens (19-7) vs. No. 3 seed West Boca Raton (18-10)

No. 5 seed Park Vista (22-5) vs. No. 8 seed Palm Beach Central (15-12)