HS baseball: Dwyer tops Doral Academy behind Drew Jaloski's one-hitter, 15 strikeouts to advance to state tournament

PALM BEACH GARDENS — Pitching for the first time in nearly a month, Drew Jaloski piloted Dwyer to a 2-0 Region 4-6A finals victory, tossing a one-hitter against Doral Academy on Saturday night.

Jaloski tallied 15 strikeouts in what the senior right-hander called the best game of his high-school career, rendering a potent Doral (24-5-1) offense anemic. The Panthers' No. 1 starter, Drake Flowers, has been doing most of the pitching in the postseason, but Jaloski's performance gives Dwyer the one-two pitching punch most teams need to win state. 

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“I said, ‘Drew, give us whatever you have, whether it’s two innings, three innings, four innings. I’m not going to take you out if you’re rolling,’ ” Dwyer coach Alex Morales said. “But we had one of the best pitchers behind him and Drew didn’t want Drake to come in.”

Up next, Dwyer will play Bloomingdale in the Class 6A state semifinals on Friday at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers. The winner of that game plays for the state championship on Saturday.

In the regional final, Jaloski looked comfortable throughout the contest, locking hitters down with a mix of his heater and a dangerous curveball. In both the first and fifth innings, he struck out the side.

“I feel great,” Jaloski said. “I just knew that if I got ahead of the batters and got my curveball working, it was going to be a good game.”

Though the hits were almost as sparse for Dwyer (17-9), Matt Davis delivered a line-drive toward the left-center gap that scored Raul Diaz in the bottom half of the second.

“I stepped in the box, and I was just thinking, ‘look, if this kid throws me a fastball and it’s there, I’m swinging,’ ” Davis said. “And first pitch, fastball -- maybe just a little low -- but I swung at it and bang, right off the bat.”

Only a sophomore, Davis had a tough start to the year, Morales explained. But his hard work paid dividends down the stretch.

“Second half of the season, he was as hot as anybody,” Morales said. “In big situations, I want Matt Davis up. With two outs, Matt Davis up, I have total confidence in him.”

With Jaloski’s spinning such a gem, Davis’ hit proved all the offense the Panthers needed -- though Flowers added an RBI groundout in the bottom of the third after Dwyer loaded the bases.

Jaloski’s final pitch, which cinched his 15th and final strikeout of the evening, sent the Panthers players in a mad dash toward the outfield, where the mass of white uniforms lapped the fence-line in celebration.

This will be just the second state appearance for Dwyer, both coming under Morales.. The other was in 2017.       

“Our pitching was great tonight, the fans were into it,” he said. “It’s the biggest win of my career and I owe everything to the players. They were fantastic tonight. Our defense was great, we got timely hitting, and our pitcher came out there and pitched a tremendous game.”