Park Vista moves on to regional final

WELLINGTON — Park Vista senior first baseman Ethan Strikowski sparked a six-run fifth with a go-ahead RBI double and senior catcher Austin Fawley hit a home run and reached base four times to lift the host Cobras past Palm Beach Central 7-1 in a Class 7A baseball regional semifinal Friday night.

Park Vista (23-5) advances to the Class 7A regional final and will play at Palm Beach Gardens on Tuesday.

Park Vista senior pitcher Maison Martinez allowed an unearned run in five innings while allowing just three hits and registering seven strikeouts. Junior pitcher Jacob Esgro tossed two scoreless innings in relief.

The teams were locked in a 1-1 tie entering the bottom of the fifth before the Cobras exploded for a big inning. Trent MacDougall walked with one out and Fawley followed with a base hit to center to put runners at the corners. Strikowski, a University of Tampa signee, ripped a go-ahead RBI double down the left line to give the Cobras a 2-1 lead. After loading the bases, Javi Soto walked and Ryan Brown was drilled with a pitch to force in two more runs. Jeffrey Walker delivered a two-run single to right and the Cobras scored again later in the inning after a throwing error.

“It was a big hit to start the inning and torally the team,” Strikowski said. “We have been known to excel in the later innings. It’s a good win for us. It’s my senior season and we are coming to play and will be ready for the regional final.”

Palm Beach Central (15-13) opened the scoring in the first. Freddy Rodriguez ripped a leadoff double to left and later scored from third on a safety squeeze after a bunt by first baseman Mike Davis. Martinez stranded the bases loaded after a fly out to right.

“Maison settled down after the first inning and I am proud of him,” Park Vista head coach Larry Greenstein said. “He was able to bounce back and held them in check. He is a team leader and stepped it up.”

Fawley, a University of Kentucky signee, crushed a solo home run to left with two outs in the bottom of the first to tie the score.

“It started us off and everyone sees the energy and it’s a way to win big games,” Fawley said.

Fawley recorded two hits with two walks and Strikowski added two hits to lead the Cobras offense.

Hector Camacho started on the mound for the Broncos and allowed just one run in four innings. He escaped a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the third after inducing a grounder to first.

Park Vista won all three meetings against Palm Beach Central, which included a 5-4 victory and 17-7 win during the regular season.

“They had our number this year,” Palm Beach Central head coach Tony Gullo said. “They were able to get a couple of key hits and it’s a good hitting team. We were thin on the mound throughout the season and we were able to step up to get here. I am super proud of our team.”

Palm Beach Central, the No. 8 seed in the region, earned a 6-5 victory against No. 1 seed Jupiter in the quarterfinals.

Park Vista, the No. 5 seed in the region, defeated Osceola 8-4 in the opening round.