Somerset Academy Finishes Runner-Up In Sunshine Classic To Charlotte Christian
Brandon Acevedo went 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run. He was named the tournament’s Cy Young award winner for his opening-game performance against Cypress Bay.
In a display of resilience and a never-say-die attitude, the Somerset Academy Panthers battled all seven innings Friday night but fell 7-5 to Charlotte Christian, a premier team from North Carolina, in the championship of the 14th annual Hall of Fame Sunshine Classic at Pompano Municipal Stadium.
Somerset (6-6) was in control in the first two games this week, defeating Cypress Bay 3-1 on Tuesday and Champagnat 7-2 on Wednesday, but Friday night, it fell behind 6-0 quickly against a talented Charlotte Christian team that has won nine Class 3A championships in North Carolina since 1999.
The Knights (9-3) took a 2-0 lead in the first as Nick Owens, the tournament’s Big Stick award winner, singled and scored on a wild pitch, and Thomas Nantz came home on Bailey Ober’s RBI single.
Charlotte, which has competed in the tournament for the past 10 years and has won three times, added four runs in the second. Zack McIlroy, who doubled to lead off, Will Grigg and Nantz scored to make it 5-0 before Matt Carpenter homered to extend the lead.
“We got into an early deficit. My first pitcher [Josh Ham] couldn’t get his curve over, and they were laying back,” Somerset coach Onel Garcia said. “My second pitcher [Franklin Paulino], same thing. In high school baseball, you can’t live with one pitch.”
Somerset got on the board in the third as Brandon Acevedo and Brandon Melendez led off with back-to-back base hits. Acevedo, who received the Cy Young award for his game one performance, came in when Chris Medina hit into a fielder’s choice, and Melendez scored on a passed ball. Melendez was the recipient of the tournament’s Gold Glove award.
Matt Simmons of Charlotte Christian homered in the fourth inning to make the score 7-2, but the Panthers stayed strong and battled back in the fifth, adding two runs. Melendez walked and scored, and Luis Mercado reached home on Mike Van Degna’s RBI single.
The Panthers closed the gap further in the sixth. Yoni Rodriguez walked and scored on Acevedo’s double.
Somerset poses with its runner-up trophy.
Somerset had the tying run at the plate in the top of the seventh, but Jesus Espana’s shot to left center was caught at the wall for the final out.
Garcia said his team has started to hit the ball after having trouble with that part of the game in the first half of the regular season.
“It was nice to see Luis Mercado [2-for-4, run] hit because he’s been struggling,” Garcia said. “We want to get hot so come district play, we’re swinging the bat a little better. We have confidence in our pitching.”
Melendez said he saw another positive from his team’s strong performance over the past week.
“We’re starting to come together and building team chemistry, and that’s a big thing in baseball,” he said. “We could have come back, but the better team won tonight. It didn’t come our way, but we’ll battle and we’ll do better in the next game.”
Charlotte Christian coach Greg Simmons, who has coached the Knights for the past 22 years, said his team welcomed both the warm weather and good competition its seen during the tournament.
“I was very pleased with how we played,” he said. “You come 600 miles and always wonder. I thought the kids competed well. We’ve swung the bats much better. Up there, it’s in the 60s, and down here it’s 80. I like the hot weather. It’s always nice when you play against all South Florida teams. It’s a different type of baseball. They’re always well-schooled and well-coached.”
Barbara Goleman finished third in the tournament by beating Cypress Bay 11-7. Zion Lutheran won by forfeit to take fifth.
Erik Markwat, who came in to pitch for Charlotte in the sixth, was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
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