American Heritage Dominant In 13-2 District Win Over Coral Springs Charter

The American Heritage high school baseball team has had its share of ups and downs this season. Having a talented young team, the Patriots started off slowly, but this week Heritage looked like a team to be reckoned with down the road.

On Friday evening, the Patriots went on the road to face Coral Springs Charter. The past two years, the team has left Cypress Park with a loss, but on this night, the offense erupted, carrying the Patriots to a 13-2 district win.

Panthers starter Jordan Ohl was in trouble right from the start. In the first, after striking out Brandon Diaz to lead-off the game, Brandon Sedell hit a mammoth home run to give the Patriots the lead. Ohl then walked two of the next three batters, before David Villar lined a two-run single.

The Panthers have had several games where they have fell behind early and came back to win. Heritage starter Jimmy Nesselt ensured that would not be the case on this night when he set the tone for the game in the first two innings. Nesselt struck out five of the first eight batters he faced, and finished the night with nine strikeouts.

“Tonight and against Gibbons,” said American Heritage Head Coach Todd Fitz-Gerald, when asked if this was the best stuff Nesselt had so far this season. “The velocity was up tonight, and he’s going to work hard. He’s a strike thrower, works quick, and gives our defense a chance to make plays. He’s a big game pitcher for sure.”

With the Patriots up 4-1, they came to bat in the fifth with the intention of pulling away, and they did just that. Sedell drove in Diaz with a double, followed by a Brandon Lopez single. An error, and a Puerta single made the score 7-1.

The fifth inning proved to be the most explosive for Heritage batters. Diaz, Sedell, Lopez, Derrick Fritz, Villar, and Mike Marlin all had singles in the frame, while Puerta added a bases clearing triple. Puerta finished the game with four RBIs, and by the end of the inning, the Patriots were up 13-1.

“Just a different mental approach,” said Puerta, when speaking of how his team was able to explode offensively. “Not try to do too much, a few adjustments here and there, and we just got it together tonight.”

The Panthers scored a couple of runs in their half of the fifth on an RBI single by Stephen Kerr, driving in Cody Woodburn, and an RBI double by Trevor Kane. The rally then stalled, leading CS Charter Head Coach Jerry Albert to sum up the evening.

“A game like this is just a disaster,” said Albert. “We need to just shower it off, come back and work hard tomorrow at practice, and go and get back on track.”

Charter’s record falls to 6-3, while Heritage improved to 5-4. Nesselt believes that the Patriots have finally turned the corner, and will continue to play well the rest of the season.

“I think the whole team is confident because we’re swinging the bats well, we’re coming together as a team, and we’re just playing together,” said Nesselt. “Pitching staff is picking up the hitters, the hitters are picking up the pitchers, it’s just working as a great tandem right now.”

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