Western and Flanagan baseball each advance in wild 7A-D14 play
PEMBROKE PINES, FLORIDA – The Class 7A-District 14 baseball playoffs are among of the most competitive in South Florida, and the quarterfinals lived up to the billing on Monday night at Flanagan High School.
Western, the third seed, walked off sixth-seeded Coral Glades, 3-2, in eight innings in Game 1, and in the night cap, fourth-seed Flanagan tripped up No. 5 seed Cypress Bay, 6-1, behind the strong pitching of Joey Roberts and Bruno Schafer.
In the semifinals on Tuesday, Western will take on second-seed, Taravella, and Flanagan will host top seed, West Broward, in the night game.
Here’s the recap:
Game 1: WESTERN 3, CORAL GLADES 2
Western senior right-hander Jake Butter threw seven no-hit innings, but ended up settling for a no-decision, because Coral Glades’ Andrew Allison and Tyler Jenkins also logged zeroes through seven innings.
The action picked up in the eighth inning.
After Butter struck out eight, and hadn’t allowed a hit, Coral Glades started off the eighth inning with Brayden Hoskins reaching on an error. At that point, the Wildcats went to their bullpen, bringing in Alex Pena.
Asa Lindo broke up the no-hitter with an RBI single, and Julian Garcia added an insurance run with another RBI hit.
The two-run cushion appeared to be enough to advance Coral Glades. But the Wildcats rallied for three runs in the eighth inning.
Western’s Jake Butter fanned eight batters in seven no-hit innings, but had to settle for a no decision after leaving a scoreless tie.
Photo by Joe Frisaro
Tyler Jenkins started things off with a one-out single, and Zach Beyra followed with a single. Christian Alvarez came through with an RBI single, putting runners on the corners. With two outs, freshman Brandon Lorenzo came through with a two-run walk-off single to center.
“I don’t think you can write a story on this,” Western coach Onel Garcia said. “It’s been an incredible year, with crazy things happening. This one went our way.”
Garcia noted that the Wildcats have been involved in so many one-run games, and he was elated to see his club figuring out a way to win an important one.
Lorenzo, just a freshman, is already committed to Florida. The infielder showed the moment wasn’t too big for him on Monday.
“I felt I was going to have my moment,” Lorenzo said.
Before the eighth-inning heroics by Lorenzo, Butter was the story of the game.
“He was phenomenal,” Garcia said. “Butter has been pitching good for us lately and he was due for a good game, and he gave it to us.”
Butter tried to put the no-hit bid aside, because he was involved in a scoreless game.
“When I was in the dugout, I was thinking about it,” Butter said. “When I was out there, I was just competing.”
Game 2: FLANAGAN 6, CYPRESS BAY 1
Joey Roberts got into first-inning trouble, allowing an unearned run on Jesus Rodriguez’s single.
But Flanagan responded immediately with a first-inning run, and from that moment, Roberts settled, and made it through 5 2/3 innings.
“Early on, I saw that they were being patient,” Roberts said. “I didn’t have my best stuff in the first inning. It was a struggle, but I was able to come back. … I had to come back, and settle down the rest of the game. I locked in.”
Flanagan’s offense began to click in the third inning, when the Falcons’ scored four runs. Freshman Caden Corzo had a key, two-run, opposite-field single to right.
Flanagan’s Caden Corzo (left), Bruno Schafer (center) and Joey Roberts were the stars of their team's 6-1 playoff victory over Cypress Bay on Monday.
Photo by Joe Frisaro
Cypress Bay starter Ian Guevara showed a lively fastall and nasty breaking ball. But the right-hander struggled with control.
“He attacked with his fastball, and I hit it the other way,” Corzo said. “It worked.”
Brandon Ostalaza tacked on an insurance run, making it 6-1, with a run-scoring single in the fifth.
Ostalaza had two RBIs, and Miguel Colmenares added a hit and scored twice for the Wildcats.
Roberts was at 97 pitches after issuing two one-out walks in the sixth inning. Bruno Schafer entered in relief, and recorded an inning-ending strikeout.
Schafer closed out the seventh inning with a strikeout, stranding two runners on base.
“I just came in, relaxed,” Schafer said. “I knew I had my good stuff today. Kept it away. It was good.”
Flanagan has been playing better down the stretch, and has advanced to the semifinals, where they face top-seed, West Broward, a team it walked off, 2-1, on April 25.
“We’re a family,” Roberts said. “Everything that happens, it happens together. When someone clicks, someone else clicks. We hold the rope for each other, and eventually we all come together, and we win.”
