Draughon, Ruiz, West Broward Beat Fort Lauderdale

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New head coach for West Broward Sergio Ambros is out to show the county what his new Bobcats team is all about. They started doing that last night with a cleanly played 9-0 win over Fort Lauderdale in an HSBN/Perfect Recruits Fall Classic game.

Control and power on the mound, flawless defense in the field and timely hitting at the plate are just a few assets the team showed the county in this game.

“I teach my kids that it’s all about the details,” Ambros explained after the game. “I point to the scoreboard and show them the zeroes.”

The zeroes Ambros is pointing to are his team’s amount of errors and the opposing team’s amount of runs scored.

West Broward senior pitcher Tyler Draughon struck out the side in the first, breezed through the second, then allowed Fort Lauderdale’s only two hits of the game in the third. Draughon worked out of the jam on behalf of solid defense then shut down the Flying L’s the rest of the game. He ended his day after five innings of work with eight strikeouts and two hits allowed.

“It takes the pressure off our offense when Draughon goes and shuts down the other team,” Ambros said. “It helps Draughon pitch well when he has the confidence of his defense behind him, and the success of the team comes from paying attention to all of these little details, which is what we have worked on all fall.”

Another example of how his team executes came in the top of the fourth when senior Gio Ruiz lined a ball through the right side on a hit-and-run with men on first and second. It was Ruiz’ third hit of the game. He ended his night going 4-for-4 with a double.

On the other side of the field, seven errors — two in the first inning — put the pressure on senior pitcher Alexander De La Cruz. He did not pitch poorly but was constantly facing tough circumstances that never allowed him to settle down on the mound.

Senior shortstop Mike Mordente had two doubles on the night, which broke the back of Fort Lauderdale after its errors had served up runners on base.

Junior pitcher Matt Hardy relieved Draughon in the sixth and faced the minimum, striking out two in the seventh.

The next game for both of these teams will be on Saturday at Fort Lauderdale. If the Bobcats win their game, they will move on to Round 2 of the tournament where they will face another Group Play winner or wild card team.

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