WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Palm Beach Atlantic baseball won a marathon game against Felician on Thursday, as Kyle Simon singled to center field in the bottom of the 13th inning which plated Ryan Johnson, and giving the 'Fish their eighth straight victory. The Sailfish improve to 14-5 on the season with the win while Felician falls to 2-11.
The Sailfish got off to a great start on the night, as some command issues from the Golden Falcons and a two-RBI single from Sean Houck gave the Sailfish a 4-0 lead after one.
The Falcons struck back quickly however, as L.T. Struble tripled to left-center field with two outs in the second, clearing the bases and tying the game at four.
Evan Dougherty put the Sailfish back on top in the bottom of the second inning with an RBI single to right field, and scoring Simon.
The Sailfish lead lasted until the fifth inning, when Jason Aponte clubbed a three-run homer to right-center field and gave Felician a 7-5 lead.
The Sailfish got a nice relief stint from Mitchell Carroll, who threw 3.1 innings of scoreless baseball, striking out five batters along the way.
The 'Fish entered the bottom of the ninth trailing by a run, and Connor Rowland led off with a rocket to center field, coming just inches from tying the game but still allowing Rowland to cruise into third with a triple. Rowland came around to score later in the inning on a wild pitch to tie the game.
Justin Hernandez and Joey Hennessey had scoreless relief outings as well for the 'Fish, who struck out 16 batters on the night.
Mikhail Cazenave entered in the 13th, and fired a scoreless inning, picking up the win to improve to 6-2 on the year.
Simon's single in the bottom half sent the Sailfish home winners in the game that lasted over four and a half hours.
Rowland was the only Sailfish with multiple hits on the night, as the junior finished 3-for-5 and scored two runs. Sailfish hitting drew 14 walks on the night.
The Sailfish will be back in action tomorrow, March 9, as they will host Chestnut Hill at 6 p.m. at J.M. "Jake" Rubin Park.
