Local high schoolers get one last chance to play together in Dick Howser All-Star Showcase

JUPITER — Top senior baseball talent across Palm Beach County took centerstage at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Saturday’s Dick Howser All-Star Showcase, as the North and South faced off in the showcase’s 33rd edition. 

The county line was split along Forest Hill Boulevard, with premier players from high schools like Wellington, Palm Beach Gardens and Dwyer representing the North team. The South squad did include Palm Beach Central players, but the rest of the team came from southern schools, like Somerset Canyons Academy, St. John Paul II, Boca Raton and more.

While the North won the contest by a 5-2 margin, the final score was a competitive backdrop to the friendly rivalries spurred by players from rival high schools competing as teammates.

“Really it’s not new to this game, because a lot of the North kids all play on the same summer teams as well,” said Scott Riddle, Wellington's head coach and one of three coaches for the North squad. “They’re used to being around each other. At the end of the day, if you pick a bunch of kids, whether they like each other or hate each other, from a season, and if they’re on the same team, they’re going to be buddies.”

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The competitive spirit, from both teams, was evident early.

It started when the South started playing what Riddle called “first to third offense," stealing bases. And although the Wellington coach explained that the original plan was to focus on batting and not the base paths, speed quickly became a catalyst for the North.

“When you’re a competitor at this level, you want to win,” said North coach Jarrod Saltalamacchia, a former Major League Baseball player and head coach at King's Academy. “That’s what you’re here for. You see the other team get a little bit amp-y, and they’re stealing and running, and you’re like, ‘Okay, now we’re going to turn it on.’ You want to see a competitive game.”   

The North team executed four successful steals in the first two innings of the game, which put runners in scoring position. The North was rewarded for its aggressiveness with two runs, courtesy of hits from Wellington’s Tyler Bean and Seminole Ridge’s Sebastian Artola.

Artola, who also stole second in the early scoring, says his teammates used to call him “flying squirrel” — a nickname born from the way his oversized jersey flapped in the wind when the small-framed outfielder would run the bases.  

“Speed for me is a big key factor,” he said. “With a person my size, I don’t have much power. Other big guys can take it out. My job is to get it in the hole, get on base, and run the bases and score.”

Traditional rivalries such as the one between Jupiter and Palm Beach Gardens were transcended in the grouping of the county’s North all-stars.

As six Gardens players surrounded him in the North dugout, Jupiter pitcher Tyler Chinpire saw a different side of the batters he’d faced off against throughout the regular season.

In fact, he explained that having the two teams join forces improved the strength of the North's defense while he watched his teammates, old and new, rally around each other in the showcase.

Still, that didn’t prevent the comical retellings of stories between players of the two programs.

“So, in our last game that we had, (Palm Beach Gardens third baseman) Aidan Meola, he hit a homerun off me to take the lead,” Chinpire said, smiling. “I don’t have anything against him, but we always go back and forth about that.”

Gardens pitcher Tobin Moran echoed those fun sentiments, speaking on the battle against hitters he had faced in the regular season from both the North and South.

“It’s fun because I’m playing with guys that I played against during the regular season, and I know how they play, so I have a good relationship with them,” he said. 

“And there’s also other guys from the South team that I played against all the time, like especially the first guy [David Doumis]. I pitched against him probably fifteen times in the regular season,” Moran continued. “He knows me. I know him. It’s cool to just get after it and have fun.”

And that’s what Saturday was about. Certainly the competition was present — that’s always going to be the case when some of the top senior players are gathered for a game against one another. But more than anything, it was a moment for the graduating seniors to share with each other. 

“It just feels good to get back on the field,” said Gardens first baseman and pitcher Cade Bush. “I’m leaving in a week to go up to FSU, so I know it’s the last game with these guys. I’ve been playing with these guys for the last four years, and this is a fun last moment.”