It sends the Broncos (11-6) to the championship game at 7 tonight against West Boca (15-3) at Florida Atlantic University.
As Price rounded first base to see that pinch-runner Brandon Cox had scored the deciding run, he flipped off his helmet and was immediately met by his teammates, who had rushed out of the dugout and onto the field to congratulate him.
"Their pitcher was throwing with a lot of movement," Price said. "He threw inside and then he went high. The next pitch was behind me and it got me scared. But the last one was on the outside corner where I like it. There was no doubt that I could do it. This has got to be my No. 1 hit."
Palm Beach Central junior Jake Meiers (4-2) earned the win after entering the game in the third with the Broncos trailing 2-1. He provided huge relief by working six innings, giving up just two hits and striking out five. During one stretch, he retired 13 consecutive batters.
"Jake threw strikes and kept their hitters off balance," Palm Beach Central coach Scott Benedict said. "He was able to keep his composure and gut it out for us. We lost 14 seniors from last year's team, so this was not a very good team at the beginning of the season. But they have put their noses to the grindstone."
The Patriots (17-2) jumped out to an early lead in the first inning when 6-foot-5, 215-pound senior first baseman Eric Hosmer hit a solo home run to left-center field. An error, bunt single and two walks gave them a 2-0 lead.
Palm Beach Central got one back in the bottom half of the inning when junior catcher Ryan Roberson drove in Alex Hernandez on a sharply hit single down the third-base line. Roberson finished 2 for 3 with a pair of singles, two runs, a RBI and a hit by pitch. Keivan Berges' RBI single tied it at 2 before a throw got away from the Heritage catcher and put Central up 3-2. Joe Belviso tied the game at three in the bottom of the seventh with two outs with a solo home run.
In the other semifinal, West Boca defeated Wellington 5-0 in eight innings behind Cody Emerson, who went 2 for 4 with a double and two RBI, and Brian Busch, who pitched six innings and struck out 11.
