While it’s still just Opening Weekend, how a team bounces back after a loss is always a point of emphasis.

After dropping their first game to the Delray Beach Lightning 5-3 Friday Night, the Boca Raton Blazers got into the win column for the first time Saturday Morning after outlasting the Palm Beach Diamond Ducks 4-1.

While many games in the South Florida Collegiate League are offensive-fueled shootouts, this game was much more of a pitcher's duel, as the first run was not scored until the fifth inning, where a Casual Kay single brought home the first and only run for the Diamond Ducks. This was the only blemish on the line for Blazers starter Brenden Katz (FDU), who ended his first start of the season with five innings, only giving up the aforementioned run, which was unearned due to an error earlier in the inning.

“I went into the game really wanting to work on my offspeed," said Katz of his outing. “I didn’t always have my best stuff today, but I was able to get soft contact throughout my outing.”

The Blazers were able to get multiple base runners on virtually every inning against the Diamond Ducks starter Hunter Stolov (Fort Lauderdale), but could not crack the scoreboard against the crafty lefty during his four scoreless innings on the mound, where he worked around five hits.

The 6th inning was the breakout inning for the Blazers, as they scored three runs, highlighted by a two-run single via Baton Rouge CC’s Braden McLin.

“The guy before me walked on four pitches, so I went up to the plate knowing I had to be selective”, exclaimed McLin. “I got a hittable fastball, and was able to put a good swing on it.” McLin’s contribution extended to the defensive side of the ball, where he made a diving play to save a run from scoring in the 8th inning, keeping the score at 4-1, where it would stay for the rest of the game.

The three runs scored in the 6th inning were more than enough for the dominant Blazers bullpen to work with, as they got a combined seven strikeouts in four scoreless innings from Jonathan Velazquez (Stetson), and Jake Alfaro (St. John’s).

“I was really happy with our pitching today” stated Blazers manager Carm Mazza. We got a great start from Katz and another good offensive game from Pip Smalley. We just played good baseball today.”

The aforementioned Smalley got on base three times today, accompanying his two-hit game that included a homer on Friday night. Smalley was also a terror on the base paths, as he notched three stolen bases in the game.

This was the first game for the Diamond Ducks, as they got rained out Friday night. Despite the loss, Manager Tal Erel isn’t worried about his team. “We pitched well today, and just had one bad inning” exclaimed Erel. “If we keep pitching well, we’ll be alright for the summer.”

The Blazers improved to 1-1 and will look to emulate this winning formula of solid pitching and timely hitting for the rest of the summer. If they do so, they have as good of a chance as anyone of capturing the SFCBL Championship, which they last won two years ago, back in 2021.