Colts Survive “Sloppy” Game To Capture Fall Classic Title

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The Coral Springs Colts have won games in many different ways over the past few years. On Wednesday night, the Colts dug deep and overcame a sloppy defensive performance to capture the 2011 HSBN/Perfect Recruits Fall Classic championship, defeating Chaminade-Madonna 8-6 in an error-filled title game.

On most nights, it is starting pitching and strong defense that carry the Colts to victory, but that was not the case in the title game. An opportunistic offense, coupled with strong relief pitching was the formula for success on this night, as the Colts built an early lead and then consistently answered each Lions comeback attempt.

“Everything was really sloppy today,” Colts head coach Frank Bumbales said after his team’s championship win. “The defense, the pitching, we left 14 guys on base, but fortunately we are very resilient. We bend but we don’t break.”

In the first inning, lead-off hitter Dylan Ebel started the game with a single. After moving to second on a fielder’s choice, Ebel and Lewis Brinson, who was on after a walk, successfully stole second and third. The pair came around to score on clean-up hitter Alan Sharkey’s single to right. Lions starting pitcher Brandon Burgess then worked out of a bases-loaded jam to keep the score 2-0 after one half inning.

In the bottom of the second, Chaminade made their first attempt at a comeback. Chris Flores reached base after he struck out and the ball got away from Colts catcher Jordan Gleisher. Flores advanced to second on a throwing error and scored on a Keith Oren single.

In the third, Chaminade took its first lead of the game, scoring two runs. The inning was highlighted by a Kevin Nader RBI double and a Flores RBI single.

The see-saw battle swung back in favor of the Colts in the fourth. Four consecutive singles off the bats of Ebel, Tre Dingus, tournament MVP Lewis Brinson and Sharkey led to three Colts runs. Chaminade fought back with one in its half of the inning, but the Colts took a 5-4 lead to the fifth. Falling behind and coming back has been a trademark of this Colts team in recent years.

“We believe in ourselves, and know that when we get down, we’re going to come back, because we’ve been in these situations before,” Brinson said when speaking about the Colts’ fourth-inning comeback. “We know we can’t drop our heads when we get down, and we did a good job of that this game.”

By then, both starting pitchers, Burgess for Chaminade and Dalton Wolchik for Coral Springs, had exited the game. The middle relief proved strong for the Colts, with Cole Bumbales giving up only one run and Brett Schneider striking out the Lions in order in the fifth.

Coral Springs extended its lead in the sixth with a pair of runs, courtesy of three walks. On the game, Chaminade pitchers walked eight Colts batters. The Lions also made four errors. Coral Springs’ defense was not much sharper, making three errors.

The Lions made their final push for the title in the sixth. Down 8-4, shortstop Luis Guillorme blasted a two-run home run to right field, cutting the Colts’ lead in half. Chaminade put one runner on in the seventh but stranded Julian Pino at second.

The Lions may not have come away with the championship victory, but head coach Mike Moss believes the tournament served as a valuable learning tool for his team.

“A lot of our guys had never been in a big game atmosphere like this before,” Moss said. “So this can only help us. Obviously, we didn’t succeed tonight, but I liked the heart that our guys showed. We kept coming back. It was a great experience for us. I told them after the game, they can’t get this type of experience and environment hitting in the cages. You have to face good pitching when you’re playing for a big one, and there’s a lot of people around. That’s a good experience. We don’t usually have this in the fall, so this is a good thing for us.”

Brinson was named the most valuable player of the tournament after hitting .500, with 10 RBI. This Colts have played together for years and they have won many tournaments, but there is one that the team still yearns for, a state championship. They will get their last opportunity as a group to go after that trophy in the new year, and Brinson knows his team must be ready as soon as the calendar turns to January.

“Our focus is to come to the first practice in the spring with our game faces on. The state championship is going to be our ultimate goal, and we’re not gonna quit until we get there, until the last out of that game is made and we win. So we have our eyes set on Port St. Lucie.”

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