Sharkey’s Grand Slam Powers Springs Over District Rival Douglas

The Coral Springs/ Douglas rivalry has become one of the most heated in the county over the past few years. Last year, the rivalry became so intense that former Eagles head coach Dean Florio was thrown out of a game when the two teams met at Colts Stadium. When new coach Todd Fitz-Gerald took over the Douglas program, he and Colts head coach Frank Bumbales worked to put an end to the bad blood.

On Thursday night, the two teams met again at Coral Springs, and this time, although the intensity was high, the teams kept the battle clean and provided one of the best games of the early season. Douglas took a lead early, but it was an Alan Sharkey grand slam that powered the Colts to an 8-6 District 8A-11 victory.

“I think the atmosphere was great,” said Fitz-Gerald. “It was hostile, but it was clean. It was a great baseball atmosphere. On both sides, I thought the kids really responded to it, they thrived off it a little bit. That’s high school baseball right there. That’s what it’s all about.

As for the nastiness that presented itself in the rivalry in years past, Fitz-Gerald explained that this was a new way to do battle, one that involves respect for each other.

“I have a good relationship with Frank (Bumbales). We go back a long time, and we kind of put an end to all of that in the fall. Our kids and their kids have grown up together, played little league together, and they know each other well. There’s no need for that other stuff in high school baseball. Tonight, it was a clean game, it was a fun game, it was intense and it was very exciting.”

The game could have proven to be even more exciting for the Eagles had they played the final four innings like they came out in the first three. After a couple of years of coming up short against the Colts, it appeared as though this group of Eagles players had finally had enough.

In the first inning, Douglas’ second hitter of the game, Derek Fritz, put the Eagles on top with a solo blast to left field. Douglas went on to score two more runs in the opening frame with the help of an error and doubles by Luis Silverio and Alec Dowell.

The Colts struck back in their half of the inning when lead-off batter Dylan Ebel singled and stole second. Jordan Gleicher walked, and after Ebel and Gleicher pulled off a double steal, a Lewis Brinson groundout plated the first run. Sharkey then delivered the first of his five RBI on the day with a double into the gap.

In the third, Douglas attempted to pull away when they scored three more times, upping their lead to 6-2. Chris Pannell, who finished the game 2-for-3, drove in two of the three runs in the inning with a single to left.

Douglas starting pitcher Jonathan Lipinski, who has been at the center of the Eagles-Colts rivalry in recently years, settled down after the first and kept Coral Springs down until the fourth. The Eagles senior was a playful target for many of the over 350 fans in the stands, yet kept his concentration and threw the ball well even in the fourth, when the Colts scored six times to take the lead. Lipinski got the first batter of the inning to pop out, and after an error, got a fly out to center.

With two outs, that is where the wheels started to come off for the Eagles. Two walks, an error and an infield hit by Brinson set the stage for Sharkey’s heroics. Fitz-Gerald went to his bullpen after the Brinson single, and after taking the first pitch, Sharkey squared up a ball that many in attendance believed traveled more than 400 feet to right center. The grand slam gave the Colts a lead they would not relinquish.

Although his team fell behind early, Bumbales had the feeling all night his team was going to come back in this one.

“They had their rally at the beginning,” said Bumbales, “and we knew we were going to do the same thing at some point during the game. You could see it in the dugout. These guys never got down. They came off the field every inning and they were saying ‘we’re coming back.’ With the sticks we have in that dugout, we knew we were going to make something happen. We kept our poise.”

As for his first baseman’s heroics, they are something Bumbales has come to expect.

“Alan is the best pure hitter we have ever had at this school. He can hit the ball deep, he can hit the ball on a line, he’s got decent speed, he can beat out choppers. In my opinion, he’s as good as any hitter in the county.”

Sharkey cannot explain why this Colts team seems to always get the better of the Eagles, but he did say that their focus is always elevated when Douglas rolls around on the schedule.

“Although we always come out with the same approach, against these guys, we seem to always have more intensity.”

Although Coral Springs took the early district lead with its win Thursday, the Eagles will get another shot at the Colts when Coral Springs visits Douglas on March 26.

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