Douglas, Coral Glades, Coral Springs, Open JV Tournament With Wins

On a nice afternoon for baseball, Douglas and Coral Glades earned wins to open the HSBN/Perfect Recruits 2011 Fall Classic Junior Varsity Tournament on Sunday at Douglas High School.

Douglas defeated Pompano Beach 6-1 in the first game behind a strong pitching performance from Ryan Mash, who struck out seven and didn’t allow a hit until the fifth inning. He gave up a pair of singles and walked in Pompano’s run before being relieved by Derek Jacobs, who also kept the Tornadoes at bay.

“Our starting pitching was excellent,” Douglas coach Todd Fitz-Gerald said. “It was a very well-played jv game on both sides. Our pitcher was just a little bit better than theirs. We had timely hitting and ran the bases well. We got big hits in key situations. The defense was focused. The kids played great. They came ready to play.”

Four players — Max Boling, Josh Koebel, TJ Vasquez and Jake Mendik — collected two hits each for the Eagles. Mendik, Boling and Vasquez drove in runs, as did Devin Conn, who also scored a run.

Douglas got things going in the second inning as the Eagles strung together three consecutive hits from Vasquez, Conn and Mendik. Two of those hits brought in runs, and another scored on an error.

The Eagles made it 5-0 in the third as Koebel and Zach Johnson singled and scored. It was the second run of the game for Johnson.

Pinch-runner Mike Caplan added a run for Douglas in the sixth.

Christian Perez and Joey Dellecchia singled in the sixth for Pompano, which avoided the shutout on a bases-loaded walk.

In the late game, Coral Glades had timely hitting and overpowering pitching to down South Plantation 8-3.

The Jaguars right-handed starter Michael Grey threw 62 pitches over five innings and finished with six strikeouts to earn the victory.

“My change-up was working today,” Grey said. “It’s been inconsistent all fall, but I felt I could throw it today.”

After South Plantation got to him early with a pair of hits to lead off the bottom of the first inning and even the score at one, Grey settled down from there and did not allow another hit over his final four innings of work.

After Mikie Mele singled with one out in the top of the first, Dustin Birchall gave the Paladins the early lead with an RBI single. Mele finished the day 2-for-4.

“I wasn’t comfortable at first because it was my first high school at bats, but after that I settled in,” Mele said. “I like this tournament because I get to know my teammates who I’ll be playing with in the spring.”

Coral Glades took the lead for good in the top of the second inning when Christian Dominguez doubled to drive in Andrew Sheinbaum. Dominguez then came around to score on an RBI double from Devin Crocker to make it 3-1. In the third, T.J. Williams singled to drive in Reilly Skizenski and push it to 4-1.

Crocker finished 2 for 4 with a triple, and Williams was 2 for 2.

“I was jumping on the fastball, trying to get early swings,” said Sheinbaum, who finished 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. “It feels good to be playing; this is a good experience for us.”

Trailing 6-2 in the bottom of the sixth, Zack Zirbes led off with a triple and then came around to score and cut the deficit to three runs.

“It was a fastball, and it came in high and kind of late, and I just went the opposite way with it,” Zirbes said.

The right-hander also started on the mound for the Paladins, going four innings and striking out two.

Skizenski took over in relief for Coral Glades, recording four strikeouts on 37 pitches over two innings of work.

Dominguez came in to close the game, notching a strikeout while pitching a scoreless inning to end it.

Coral Springs Takes Game One 8-3 Over Cardinal Gibbons

Over in the other bracket, Coral Springs hosted Cardinal Gibbons in their opening game of the tournament. The Colts used strong pitching to defeat the Chiefs 8-3.

Michael Montalvo was the winning pitcher for the Colts going four innings, allowing only two runs, while racking up five strikeouts. He also added two hits and an RBI in the game.

Cardinal Gibbons jumped out to an early lead, scoring two runs in the bottom of the second. Rob Viillanueva singled to start the inning, and was followed by Craig Olsen’s double. The two Chiefs runners then both scored on a wild pitch and passed ball, respectively.

Coral Springs got on the board in the 3rd with help from two hit batsmen, two walks, and singles by Ryan Denardo and Tyler Horn. Denardo was the offensive player of the game for the Colts, with three hits, two RBIs, and a run. Shortstop Colton Smith also added nice offense for the Colts, going 2-for-4 with a run.

After taking the lead, Montalvo gave way to Kenny Warner, who threw two innings, while yielding only one run. Wesley Cox closed it out for the Colts in the 7th.

Gibbons had their chances to score throughout the game, but were unable to come up with the big hit. The Chiefs stranded eight runners on the afternoon.

It was a close game going into the top of the 7th. The Colts held a slim lead of 5-3 until they added three security runs.

“It was a good win,” said Coral Springs Coach Harvey Cohen. “The pitching was the difference in the game today.

When asked what it would take for the Colts to continue their success when the tournament resumes later this week, Cohen replied. “Just keep pitching well and playing good defense. That was my message to the team after the game.”

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