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Palm Beach 5A-1A baseball first team, second team, honorable mention, coach of the year

adam lichtenstein, south florida sun-sentinel
·4 min read

FIRST TEAM

Blake Barnes, C, Glades Day junior: Barnes is a rarity in baseball: a catcher with speed. Barnes hit .368 with a .974 OPS and racked up 21 stolen bases.

Brady Benevides, UTIL, Suncoast sophomore: Benevides starred in the infield and was solid on the mound. He hit .391 with a home run and 33 RBIs, posting a 1.004 OPS. He also anchored Suncoast’s pitching staff, going 9-1 with a 3.16 ERA in 51 innings.

Drew Buchanan, OF, Benjamin sophomore: Buchanan was always on base this season, leading Palm Beach County with a .519 batting average and notching a .594 on-base percentage. He had a 1.187 OPS and pitched 9 1/3 innings, as well.

Marquis Clarke, UTIL, Glades Day junior: Clark did everything for the Gators, dominating on the mound and at the plate. He put up a .424 batting average with five home runs and a 1.330 OPS. He also stole 20 bases. On the mound, he dominated opponents, going 4-1 with save while notching a 1.77 ERA. He struck out 55 batters in 23 2/3 innings.

Jadin Herrera, OF, Glades Day junior: Herrera was a consistent hitter, notching a .391 average with a .920 OPS and 14 steals. He also pitched 29 innings, posting a 2.41 ERA and striking out 47 batters.

Brady King, C, Suncoast junior: King provided Suncoast with slugging from the catching position. The junior hit .429 with a 1.161 OPS, notching three home runs and nine doubles and 29 RBIs.

Nate Stafford, IF, Suncoast senior: Stafford paced a strong Chargers offense, leading the team in batting average (.440), on-base percentage (.553) and RBI (39), leading the county in the latter, as well. He also hit three home runs, tied for the team lead.

Brady Wall, UTIL, Boca Christian junior: Wall was a productive hitter for the Blazers, hitting .359 with a pair of home runs and a 1.076 OPS. He wreaked havoc on opposing catchers, notching 23 steals. He also pitched 36 innings with a 3.69 ERA and 51 strikeouts.

Parker McGraw, P, Benjamin senior: McGraw was one of South Florida’s top hurlers in his senior season, going 11-1 with a 0.49 ERA over 57 2/3 innings. He did not overpower hitters, striking out 58 in nearly as many innings, but he kept opposing batters off base, posting a 0.78 WHIP.

Ricky Gonzalez, P, Trinity Christian senior: Gonzalez went 7-3 with a 1.64 ERA for the Warriors, striking out 63 batters in 47 innings and posting a 0.98 WHIP.

Dylan Dubovik, OF, St. Andrew’s sophomore: Dubovik had a breakout season for the Scots, posting a .415 batting average and a 1.205 OPS. He hit four home runs and stole 14 bases.

Tristan Head, IF, Benjamin senior: Head, a Virginia signee, had a power surge in his senior year. He hit four home runs and raised his OPS to 1.102. He hit .378 and stole eight bases.

Noah Lucia, P, American Heritage-Delray senior: Lucia helped anchor the Stallions staff, pitching 49 innings and posting a 2.29 ERA. He struck out 63 batters in 49 innings.

SECOND TEAM

John Arencibia, IF, Lake Worth Christian senior

Cannon Baughman, P, Benjamin junior

Freddy Beruvides, P, Benjamin senior

Walker Buchanan, OF, Benjamin senior

Daniel Cabrera, P, Trinity Christian freshman

Connor Cavo, P, Saint John Paul II Academy sophomore

Lee Ellis, IF, Suncoast sophomore

Ryan Horn, IF, Boca Christian junior

Jack Mischke, P, Cardinal Newman senior

Yardielo O’Neil, IF, Trinity Christian senior

Jan Oquendo, OF, Trinity Christian senior

Gabriel Roque, 1B, Jupiter Christian senior

Dane Rossi, P, American Heritage-Delray junior

HONORABLE MENTION

American Heritage-Delray: Joey Abbazia, Anthony Tomonto, Anthony Tralongo; Benjamin: Nick Banner, Brody Bitove, Rocco Gaeta; Boca Raton Christian: Bryan Santalucia, Edwin Velez, Nathanael Walters; Cardinal Newman: Gabriel Acevedo, Grant Hugus, Cameron Kimbrell, Trevor Robb, Vince Sheahan; Glades Day: Adrian Baeza; Jupiter Christian: Ethan Bonocore, Benjamin Dulin, Nolan Feyereisen; King’s Academy: Louis Federico, Dalton Needle; Lake Worth Christian: Connor Kerce; Oxbridge Academy: Mason Van Dieken, Andrew Schaefer; Saint John Paul II Academy: Alberto Medina, John Rodriguez, Tristan Rucker, Ryan Shift; Suncoast: Hanley Case, Hayden Neihoff, Manny Ones; St. Andrew’s: Connor Berman, Carter Derks, Ethan Pribamsky; Trinity Christian: Dmitri Dijkhuzen, Marcos Mueses, Erick Soto, Payton Warner.

COACH OF THE YEAR

Jimmy Beno, Suncoast: It was a season of firsts for Beno and the Chargers. Suncoast won 20 games for the first time in program history, finishing the season 21-8. Although Suncoast finished the season as district runner-ups to eventual state champion American Heritage, the Chargers did win their first regional playoff game in school history.