By: Josh Stevens

The weather made its mark in both games on Saturday’s Doubleheader between the Palm Beach Diamond Ducks and the Phipps Park Barracudas. 

The first game, a 7-2 Diamond Ducks Win, was marked by the heat that is all too common in South Florida over the summer. Despite being a 10am start, Game One saw temperatures rise to a humid 94 degrees, which felt over 100. 

Despite the scorching hot weather, the bats were cold from both teams to start the game. Both starters went four innings while only giving up a run each.  Zack Robinson (Central Connecticut State) was the start for the Barracudas, while Kaden Peterson (American International) toed the rubber for the Diamond Ducks. 

The Barracudas were able to break this 1-1 stalemate in the top of the fifth when shortstop Michael Schettino (Palm Beach Atlantic) drove in his second run of the day with another RBI base hit. 

“I was just trying to look the other way,” remarked Schettino of his approach to the plate today. “I got a lot of outside pitches and was able to drive them to right field for hits.”

However, this lead would not last for long, which is all too familiar of a statement for the 0-7 Barracudas. The bottom of the fifth saw three runs score on a myriad of walks and well placed hits throughout the Diamond Ducks lineup. 

Every team looks for the big hit to put the game away, and the Diamond Ducks got that in the bottom of the sixth inning. Alabama is known for their great football program and recent basketball success, but Cole Shields represented their baseball program well with a three run blast to left field, which gave the Diamond Ducks a 7-2 lead. 

“It was an 0-2 count, so I was just looking for a pitch to get deep” said Shields of his homer. “I was able to sit back on a breaking ball and put a good swing on it.” 

Shields’s humbleness describing his “good swing” doesn’t give justice his towering blast, cutting through the howling wind to sail over the fence, easily giving Shields his first homer of the season. 

The six runs put up by the Diamond Ducks were more than enough for energetic reliever Mathew Caldwell (William Mary). A pumped up Caldwell breezed through three innings of work to end the game, earning the win along the way. 

The win in Game One of the Doubleheader put the Diamond Ducks back at even on the season, with a record of 6-6. 

“I didn’t like the way we came out to start the game today, but we got hot when it counted” quoted Diamond Ducks manager Tal Erel. Erel used a much different lineup than he had used in many of the previous 11 games of the season, but it’s definitely hard to argue with the results. 

This loss put the Barracudas further behind in the standings, as they fell to 0-7. Despite the troubling record, the squad from Phipps Park has a lot of talent, and more than enough games to make up ground in a crowded standings.

Unfortunately, Game One was the only game that was played today at Sable Pines Park. Non-local fans got to experience both sides of Florida’s weather today, as the morning provided scorching hot weather, while the afternoon game was disrupted by torrential downpours. 

While the day was cut short, Saturday provided an exciting day of baseball that helped shape the standings in the early going of the SFCBL.