Franco Head Coaching Battle Goes To Nick, Santaluces, 9-3

It has happened every year for the past five, but it never gets old for Joe and Nick Franco. The brothers are both head coaches of South Florida high school baseball programs, and each year, they get their teams together for a good old-fashioned family battle for bragging rights.

Nick, the head coach at Santaluces, has come out on top the last four times, including Wednesday night’s 9-3 victory in Lantana. Joe and his Monarch squad won the first battle between the teams, but have been unable to figure out Chiefs senior Kyle Smith in each of the past three meetings, all Chiefs wins.

Despite the loss, the younger Franco, as expected, had nothing but praise for his elder brother and his Santaluces squad.

“I don’t like losing a game,” said Joe Franco. “But if I had to lose to anybody, I don’t mind losing to my older brother. I idolized him growing up, and to even have a job where you can coach against him every year, it’s a blessing.”

Last night, Smith was again one of the heroes for Santaluces, but not in the way most would have predicted. Smith is the Chiefs ace and is considered one of the top prospects in the state, on this night, however, it was his bat that did the damage.

Smith had two RBI singles in the first two innings of the game, and then settled in on the mound. Early in the game, the Chiefs ace was not as sharp as he had been all season long. Despite not having his best stuff, Smith only allowed one earned run in four innings of work.

Offensively, Santaluces got production from many spots in their lineup. Mikey Cohen was 2-for-4 with a triple, an RBI, and two runs scored. Catcher Ryan Church added two hits and two RBIs for the Chiefs.

Santaluces built a 9-2 lead and then turned the ball over to Josh Hockster. The junior had little problems in his three innings of work, striking out five, and giving up only one hit. Monarch managed an unearned run off Hockster in the seventh, but by then the game had been decided and big brother Nick once again got the best of the younger, Joe.

“It’s pretty special,” said Nick Franco, when asked about coaching against his brother. “He’s my younger brother, and I love him to death. The last couple of years we’ve been able to beat them, but I’m very proud of my little brother for what he’s done over at Monarch. We had our mom in town from North Carolina, and other family in town, so it ws special, and we look forward to doing it again next year.”

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