Coral Springs Charter Beats Pine Crest In 4A-13 For First District Title

Even when Nick Scahill didn’t have his best stuff, he still was pretty good. The senior ace for Coral Springs Charter tossed a complete-game three-hitter and stymied Pine Crest to pace his team to the District 4A-13 title with a 4-0 win Thursday night at Broward College.

It’s Coral Springs Charter’s first district baseball title in the school’s 13-year history. The win not only relieves some pressure on the team, but also for coach Mike Higgins.

“I’m real excited about it,” Higgins said. “Actually I felt more pressure from my principal than I did during this game. He’s been telling me since August how nice it would be if we can win our first district title. And he reminds me at least once a week, so I’m feeling real good.”

The win also gave reason for Scahill to find a highlight to what has been a tough season coming back from Tommy John surgery.

“I’ve wanted this since my freshman year, and I got the chance to come out and get it done myself in my senior year,” Scahill said. “My season didn’t go as planned, but this definitely makes up for it when it counted.”

Charter will host a regional quarterfinal against Archbishop Carroll on Thursday, and Pine Crest will travel to Miami Monsignor Pace.

Charter (19-7) got the first run of the game in the fourth as Jorge Solano singled and scored on an error.

Charter stretched the lead in the fifth. The second batter of the inning, Joe McChrystal, tripled and came in on Solano’s RBI single. Cody Woodburn walked and scored on Stephen Kerr’s bases-loaded walk. Christian Khawly was intentionally walked and scored on a wild pitch.

“We started off slow,” Higgins said. “Pine Crest is a very good team. We just kept plugging away. We had some scary situations. They had people on base. Nick got us out of jam after jam, and he probably didn’t pitch his best game tonight, but as you see, he can overcome adversity and that’s what he did tonight every time he was in a situation like that. He somehow got us through it.”

Pine Crest (17-10) couldn’t get anything going as three of its four baserunners through the fourth inning were picked off.

Pine Crest coach Glen Pierson noted the work of starter Adam Saks, who pitched four and one-third innings before running into trouble in the fifth and was relieved by Sam Kava.

“Two very good teams got at it, and one very seasoned, polished pitcher really controlled the game, and a very young freshman did an incredible job beyond his years for four innings,” Pierson said. “We knew this was going to be a tough game. We beat them once so we felt like we had a shot with them, and we still believe we have that. There were a few things that went well for them and things that didn’t go well for us.”

Pierson said he was proud of the way his team improved from its 4-6 start, and Higgins also reflected on why he believed his team was successful this year.

“I’ve always believed we have the toughest district in the state, a seven-team district, and we try not to put a lot of pressure on the guys,” Higgins said. “We have a lot of fun out there at practice. I run a tight ship, but I also let them enjoy baseball. The team has come together real well. There’s a lot of camaraderie. As a group, we’re just enjoying this ride and seeing what happens. One of our goals was to win a district title. Obviously, further on, the goal would be to win a state title, but if you don’t take the time to enjoy tournaments and a district title, then you’re in it for the wrong reasons because most teams aren’t going to win a state title, so we take time to celebrate these wins along the way.”

Scahill echoed Higgins’ sentiments about team unity and its role in the team’s success.

“Everyone picked each other up the entire year,” Scahill said. “The pitching staff, one guy after another picking me up on my starts, defensively we came together and offensively, we got them when we needed them. It really has been an extremely team-oriented season and that’s how we got this far, and that’s how we’ll continue.”

Charter pitcher/first baseman Colton Rogers said the team was happy to leave a district that American Heritage ruled, and that change contributed to the team’s success.

“We knew when we got into a different district, we knew it was ours,” Rogers said. “We knew we had the ability to do it. Now we just have to go on further and make a name for ourselves.”

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