BOCA RATON — High school baseball and the senior prom clashed on Friday, May 1, at St. John Paul II Academy.
The prom won.
The Eagles lost.
Left-hander Spencer Krasner, a Florida State commit, pitched six shutout innings and struck out 11 to lead Chaminade-Madonna to a 13-0 victory over short-handed St. John Paul II in the opener of a Region 4-2A semifinal series.
The second-seeded Eagles (24-4) still can win the best-of-three series by beating the third-seeded Lions (18-11) twice on Saturday, May 2.
After the final out of Game 1, Chaminade players streamed toward the mound, several shouting, “Have fun at the prom!” It was the final jab in a back-and-forth display of hard feelings, all stemming from a dispute between the two schools over the starting time of the game.
Under FHSAA rules, schools must agree on the times for regional games. St. John Paul wanted to start at noon to give its five seniors time to make it to the prom — a 5 p.m. boarding on a cruise ship out of Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale. Chaminade balked, saying it did not want to take players out of school that early.
Eagles coach Pete Graffeo said the Lions also rejected proposals for 1 p.m. Friday or 4 p.m. Thursday. Chaminade then offered to play the game at noon Friday — if the Eagles agreed to play at the Lions’ field in Hollywood.
The FHSAA stepped in and gave St. John Paul the choice of playing at 2:30 or 4 p.m. Friday. The Eagles picked the earlier time, which still meant their five seniors had to choose between the prom and the game.
“It’s a tough spot for the kids to even be put in,” Graffeo said. “It shouldn’t have happened.”
The seniors decided to attend the prom, but Graffeo employed a bit of gamesmanship on his lineup card. He listed ace right-hander Jack Wilhoit and shortstop Tommy Ciaccio, two seniors who were in uniform, as starters.
When Graffeo and Jerry Albert, Chaminade’s baseball coach and athletic director, met at home plate before the game, they exchanged handshakes with the three umpires but not with each other. Graffeo discussed substitution rules with the umpires, then told them before the first pitch that left fielder Tyler Johnson would be replacing Wilhoit on the mound.
Graffeo said he wanted Albert to think that Wilhoit was starting so the Lions coach would go with his own ace.
“We were hoping they were going to use Krasner, start him and get him over his 30-pitch limit, so that’s a win for us,” Graffeo said.
Krasner, 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds, was as good as advertised. He gave up only three hits, walked two and struck out five in a row in one stretch. The Eagles never advanced a runner past second base.
Krasner conceded he was the target of online trash talking from the Eagles during the week. “It’s all good, though,” he said. “You can talk all you want. We’re just going to come out here and compete.”
The Lions scored single runs in the first and second innings, then boosted the lead to 4-0 in the fourth. During that inning, both teams’ coaching staffs got into a shouting match after a Chaminade runner was injured sliding into home, forcing the umpires to intervene.
“It’s time to move on,” Graffeo said. “It’s over. There’s nothing we can do about it. They won today, fair and square. Krasner is an outstanding pitcher. He’s the kind of kid that when you’re competing against him, you’re not crazy about him, but if he’s on your team you love him.”
The teams were scheduled to meet at noon Saturday, May 2, with a second game to follow if necessary. Wilhoit will start Game 2 against senior right-hander Santiago Arismendi or sophomore right-hander Caleb Paul.
Not all of Graffeo’s bitterness was directed at Albert. He said Robbie Lindeman, the FHSAA’s coordinator of athletics for football and baseball, could have settled the starting time dispute and accommodated his seniors.
“Lindeman should have stepped in and done something positive,” he said. “The ball was in his court to make a proper decision and he didn’t.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Shorthanded St. John Paul II baseball drubbed in playoff series opener
Reporting by Rick Robb, Special to The Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
