Coral Springs Cruises To Tournament Final With 10-0 Win Over West Broward

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The current version of the Coral Springs Colts team has been playing together for many years, and it has accumulated plenty of tournament trophies in its time. Tonight, the Colts will get a chance to add another trophy to their case after defeating West Broward 10-0 Tuesday night in the semifinals of the HSBN/Perfect Recruits Fall Classic.

Colts clean-up hitter Alan Sharkey was playing his first game at first base in more than a month, and he made his presence known both in the field and at the plate. Sharkey saved several runs with outstanding picks at first base, and contributed three hits in the win.

Early on, it appeared that the game could end up being a pitchers’ duel. West Broward’s Tyler Draughon and Coral Springs’ Aaron Maller matched zeroes through the first three innings. In the fourth, the Colts broke through with the game’s first two runs, aided by a Bobcats error and an Ian Delamadrid sacrifice fly.

The Bobcats were on the verge of responding in their half of the fourth. Mark McGinnity reached on an error, Gio Ruiz singled and Luigi Perez walked, loading the bases with no outs. Colts shortstop Dalton Wolchik then made the play that may have changed the game. The Bobcats Adam Toombs hit a sharp line drive, which Wolchik snared. The Coral Springs shortstop then doubled off Ruiz at second, leaving West Broward with first and third and two outs. Colts reliever Joey Silvani ended the inning when he struck out Chris Lopez.

After escaping the jam, the Colts put the game away in the fifth when they scored four runs on three hits. Sharkey again was in the middle of the scoring with a base hit. He finished 3-for-3 with a walk. Tre Dingus added three hits, and Lewis Brinson was on base three times.

“We played good defense tonight,” Colts head coach Frank Bumbales said when asked if he likes where his team was at going into the championship game. “We bent but didn’t break. Still too many walks, and we’ve got to clean that up. They were resilient tonight, and I think they’ll be ready tomorrow.”

West Broward finished one game short of their goal in the tournament, but new head coach Sergio Ambros likes the direction his team is headed moving towards the spring season.

“We had a great fall. We played around 19 games, and this was only, I think, our fourth loss,” Ambros said. “The kids are still getting used to our coaching staff and what we are trying to do. This was a good test against a great team. If we want to get where we want to go, we are going to see these guys down the road, so hopefully our guys will learn from this loss.”

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