Heritage Tops Rival Coral Springs Charter in Colts First Pitch Classic Opener

Coral Springs Charter and American Heritage had been district rivals since 2005 before the state shook up all the districts and classes this year.

Monday night, as the 2012 high school baseball season opened, the Patriots and Panthers, now not only in different districts but classes as well, were playing for something else other than a district win: a spot in the Colts First Pitch Classic championship.

Heritage rode the strong pitching performance of junior Shaun Anderson and used a big third inning to top its former district rival 6-2 in the tournament’s opening game, which was delayed 15 minutes because of tardy umpires. The win puts the Patriots in the final at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Tournament host Coral Springs and Sagemont square off at 6:30 p.m. tonight to determine who the Patriots will face. Coral Springs Charter will play the loser of tonight’s game at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Anderson effectively worked through the Charter lineup, allowing only a leadoff single to Christian Khawly before settling down to keep Charter hitless through his six innings on the mound. He recorded just four strikeouts, relying on solid defense behind him as Heritage put together five consecutive 1-2-3 innings.

“I tried to stay ahead of them,” Anderson said. “My curve ball looked good. I wanted to get ahead and trust my teammates.”

Heritage broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the third. Brandon Diaz singled in Dallas Perez before the next three batters walked, producing two runs. Brandon Lopez also scored on a botched pickoff attempt at second base. The Panthers got out of the jam by getting two consecutive strikeouts to end the inning.

Heritage tacked on a run in the fifth as Danny Zardon came home on a passed ball, and the Patriots completed their scoring in the sixth. Brandon Vicens led off with a walk before Danny Dispenziere doubled him in.

But the damage could have been worse in each of those innings as Heritage left the bases loaded each time. A pop-up and fly out, respectively, ended the innings. It was that fight in his team that gave Charter coach Mike Higgins something to look forward to as the season goes on.

“We didn’t quit. We didn’t give up,” Higgins said. “We’ve been down, and it’s always a good sign when you’re down and the kids battle back. That’s something you can build on.”

Charter ralled in the last inning to avoid being shutout. Nicholas Hayes eventually came around to score for the Panther’s first run. Habby Khawly, pinch-running for Colton Rogers, who had a base hit, scored another run on a passed ball. Heritage put out the fire with two consecutive strikeouts to end the game.

Heritage coach Bruce Aven said he was encouraged by what he saw from his team Monday night.

“We’ve been getting better at-bats and better approaches,” Aven said. “The pitching’s been outstanding and the defense has been outstanding.”

On the other side of the field, Higgins was identifying what his team needs to improve on.

“We had too many walks, some communication errors,” he said. “We’ve got to swing the bat better. Basically we have to do everything better.”

Higgins said whether Heritage was a rival was notwithstanding as Charter’s schedule lacks an easy game.

“We expect to be up for every team we play,” he said. “We did some good things, and we know we’re going to be a good team.”

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