West Boca baseball looks to continue Cinderella postseason run against Palm Beach Gardens

BOCA RATON — West Boca Raton baseball is still dancing in regional play with a shutout victory 3-0 over Lake Nona on Tuesday, advancing to Class 7A regional semifinals to face Palm Beach Gardens.

Head coach Mark McCoy said it was “great” to get the win, especially “playing a team from Orlando that you don't know too much about.”

What McCoy did know was that the two were “pretty equally matched” and that it would come down to pitching, namely two sophomores – West Boca’s James Litman and Lake Nona’s Zachary Hopper – in a battle on the hill.

For the first time this season, Litman pitched a complete game – a two-hitter shutout, allowing a pair of one-out singles, three walks, and striking out three Lake Nona batters.

”Last year I only pitched two innings, so now I’ve finally got trust and confidence in my defense,” Litman said.

However, McCoy would tell you it’s because Litman finally trusts in himself.

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McCoy attributed the youngster’s transformation to teaching him that he can use the defense to his advantage, letting his infield take care of ground balls to preserve his arm for longer stays on the hill.

Litman’s quick half-innings wouldn’t have been possible without West Boca fielders forcing four double plays, commanded by sophomore shortstop Tyler Lichtenberger.

It’s the defense that’s transformed West Boca from a potential early exit into one that can go the distance, improving to an 18-10 record with the win over Lake Nona.

Lichtenberger also nailed the leadoff single to score the first run of the game in the bottom of the third, scoring on a sac fly from West Boca’s offensive centerpiece junior Corey Kling.

Chris Owens took the Bulls' momentum to another level last week with a shut out of top-seed Park Vista 7-0 for the district title, earning an automatic ticket to regionals.

“I think the energy changed about three weeks ago when we started playing the two-game weeks instead of three-game weeks,” McCoy said. “That’s when we realized when we have our guys on the mound, how good we are.”

In March, the Bulls were 4-5 heading into their upset over an undefeated Jensen Beach, becoming the only team other than Jupiter out of six Palm Beach County opponents to accomplish the feat.

As of West Boca’s second regular season meeting with rival Boca Raton in April, the Bulls’ record was 9-9.

Since the one-run loss to the Bobcats, West Boca has gone 9-1, their lone defeat to Stoneman Douglas (26-2). The Bulls also earned a redemption win in district semifinals to ultimately knock Boca out of contention.

“We have four guys that we can throw out on the mound at any time that we trust a lot,” McCoy said. “Not many high schools have that luxury.”

With a team earned run average of 2.80, West Boca does have the superior pitching staff on paper against Gardens (3.86 team ERA). The Gators have a slightly higher team batting average.

Yet, Gardens’ greatest “luxury” is its postseason experience, coming off of last season’s region run and what McCoy described as “one of the most famous plays I’ve ever heard in high school baseball” – ‘The Ghost in the Outfield.’

”We know we're gonna see another good team, another good pitcher, and we're just gonna have to come out and win another close ballgame,” McCoy said.

The Gators hope to heal their postseason haunts while hosting West Boca on Friday at 7 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: West Boca baseball looks to continue Cinderella run against Gardens