Fort Lauderdale Establishes District Respect With 8-2 Win Over Pines Charter

Fort Lauderdale was not a team that many so-called experts had at the top of the list when predicting the order of finish in District 15-4A. After defeating Pembroke Pines Charter for the second time in less than a week, it may be time for district foes to take notice.

The Flying L’s used a six-run sixth inning Thursday afternoon to win the non-district game against a district rival 8-2. The way the district is set up this year, all BCAA teams must face each other twice, but only one of the games will count towards the district standings. Fortunately for Fort Lauderdale, they won both games this season against the Jaguars and sit in second place behind Archbishop McCarthy in the standings.

This game was close throughout until the sixth inning. Christian Shields started the scoring in the second inning by hitting a solo home run. The Flying L’s tacked on another run in the third when a Shelby Geisler double drove in Kris Chapman, who had reached on a single.

Pines Charter closed the gap to 2-1 in the fourth on a Aramis Garcia home run. Garcia is among the county leaders in batting average this season.

The game stayed close until the sixth when a combination of situational hitting, wild pitching, and defensive errors helped Fort Lauderdale break the game open. Stetson McCollin had the big blow in the inning, a three-run triple.

Shields and Chatman also had hits in the sixth for the Flying L’s. Shields finished the day 2-for-3 with three runs, and Chatman, the teams lead-off hitter, went 2-for-4 on the afternoon.

“We hit the ball real well today,” said Fort Lauderdale Head Coach Terry Portice. “We hit it better than we have in most games. Most of our wins have been because of pitching and defense, and today, we struck the ball well, and I was real pleased with that. Up and down the lineup we hit the ball, and that was nice.”

Fort Lauderdale currently sits at 4-1 in the district and can avoid a second round match up with top-seeded Archbishop McCarthy in the district tournament if they can beat Cardinal Gibbons on Tuesday at home.

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