Beauchemin, Melendez, Lead Flanagan To Falcons Nike/OTS Title

According to many fans across the county, this was supposed to be the year that Flanagan finally fell off a little bit. The Falcons lacked pitching, their critics said. On Friday evening, Flanagan and pitcher Mike Melendez had a response for those critics.

The Falcons used a brilliant performance by Melendez on the mound and a home run by the offensive player of the tournament, Matt Beauchemin, to shutout Calvary Christian 4-0 and win the Falcons Nike/OTS Tournament.

Melendez had all of his pitches working from the start of the game, striking out two Eagles batters. Calvary Christian had their best chance to score in the first, putting runners on first and third with one out before Melendez struck out Dalton DiNatale and Seth Natal to end the threat.

After the opening frame, Melendez threw six innings of two-hit ball. His nine strikeouts on the evening showed how dominant his stuff was, and asked which pitch he thought was his best on a night when it seemed like everything he threw was unhittable, Melendez did not have to think long.

“My curve ball,” said the winning pitcher after the game. “I felt really comfortable throwing it for strikes and locating, and it was my best pitch tonight. I felt good and I just want to continue to do the job in the future.”

Melendez’ performance had everyone in attendance in awe, and the superlatives came from many directions after the Flanagan win.

“You’ve got to tip your hat,” said Calvary Head Coach Gregg Mucerino. “We emphasize two strike hitting approach so much and it just seemed like every time I looked up we were in 1-2, 0-2 counts, so you’ve got to give that kid credit, he pitched great.”

Melendez’ own head coach, Ray Evans, was also impressed.

“Mikey went out there tonight against a really good hitting team and was able to shut them down,” said Evans.

While Melendez was the hero on the mound, it was Beauchemin that led the Falcons the entire week at the plate. The senior went 7-8 for the tournament, and had a big home run Friday that sealed the win for Flanagan. Beauchemin credits the hot hitting to a change at the plate, and his focus to Coach Evans.

“It feels pretty good to step up,” said the hot-hitting designated hitter. “I changed my stance up a little bit, and I’m just looking forward to being more consistent this season.”

Beauchemin had a rough outing in the first game of the tournament on the mound, but Evans preaches separation between the offensive and defensive mindset.

“He says ‘When your on the mound, it’s on the mound,” Beauchemin said. “When you get to the plate, it’s a whole different scenario. You need to focus on what your doing at that time.'”

Beauchemin then turned his attention back to Melendez, claiming, “He pitched great. I’m really proud of him and I’m hoping he can keep doing that for the rest of the season.”

In Flanagan’s first two games of the tournament, the Falcons used the long ball and piled up hits en route to blowout wins. In this game, Flanagan had to use a different style of play to get the win, and they showed that they are built on more than just long home runs. There are some fans in Broward who believe that Flanagan is helped out by their short fences, but clearly the team is as fundamentally sound as any team in the county.

On Friday, and throughout the tournament, Flanagan hitters showed the ability to play situational baseball, whether it be a sacrifice bunt or an executed hit and run. Defensively, the Falcons turned two double plays in the championship game, and left fielder Danny Zardon had a big play, according to Evans, in holding a Calvary runner to a single on a ball hit down the line.

“We’re so big on fundamentals,” said Evans. Our coaches do a great job. If you can’t teach a kid the right way to do things and you’re just looking for big innings, you’re not going to be very good. I think that’s why we’ve been so successful here. We harp on fundamentals.”

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