Coral Springs One Step Away From Third Straight District 8A-11 Title

What is a coach to do when his team has won two straight district titles and is heading into the playoffs in year three as the favorite to win again. For Coral Springs head coach Frank Bumbales, the answer is simple: shuffle your lineup around and come out with a concoction that has one of your best hitters moving from the third position to lead-off.

The Colts had been riding a three-game losing streak coming into their game with Piper in the District 8A-11 semifinals. The majority of the team has been together for four years, and Bumbales thought now was as good a time as ever to shake things up and try to get a recently stagnant offense going.

“These guys have been together for so long, that they needed something, some kind of a spark,” said Bumbales, speaking about his lineup juggling. “You can’t go wrong with what I did today, putting L.B. (Lewis Brinson) first. What’s the worst that can happen? He gets on base all the time, so we figured maybe he could get us going.”

Whether they were upset with the lineup changes, or embraced the changes, one thing is certain, the move paid big dividends Wednesday evening. Coral Springs launched an offensive assault on the Bengals, resulting in a 10-0 mercy-rule victory.

“It was the first game of districts, and we just wanted to come out and set a tone,” said Jordan Gleicher, one of the offensive stars of the night. “We came in on a losing streak, which we’re not used to, so we wanted to let everyone know what we’re all about, and that the Coral Springs Colts are still the two-time defending district champs.”

Gleicher was 3-for-3 on the day, with an RBI double in the third.

The Colts scored one run in the first off Piper starter Zach Crosno, and then broke the game open with three runs each in the third and fourth innings. Dylan Ebel drove in the first run in the third with a sacrifice fly to center. Gleicher drove in the second run of the inning with his double, and Aaron Maller knocked in the final run of the frame with a single to center.

In the fourth, the Colts put together a five-hit inning. Ebel, Alan Sharkey, Gleicher and Austin Nelson all had singles in the fourth, and Justin Mixon started the inning with a double to the left-center field gap.

The exclamation point came in the bottom of the sixth when Sharkey ended the game with a mammoth two-run home run to right.

On the mound for the Colts, Brett Schneider went the distance, scattering only three singles. With the win, the Colts will move on to face a familiar foe, district and crosstown rival Douglas. The Eagles advanced earlier in the day with a 10-0 win over Coral Glades, but Schneider has his sights set on a bigger goal.

“Our goal all year long has to bring the school their first-ever state title, and that’s still our goal. The district title will be nice if we get it, but we’ve done that before. What we haven’t done is win the state championship, and that’s what we are shooting for.”

Coach Bumbales’ goal will be to focus his team for what should be a crazy atmosphere Thursday night at Coral Springs.

“They’ve (Douglas) been our rival since day one,” said Bumbales. “Every time we play them, it’s a battle, and I expect tomorrow to be the same thing. It’s going to come down to which team wants it more tomorrow, and I’m sure both teams will be ready, so we’ll see what happens.”

Piper ends its season at 8-11, and with a young team, head coach Chris Costanzo has a lot to look forward to in the coming years.

“It’s a sad night for the seniors that are graduating,” said Costanzo. “They wanted to get one more win in their careers, but it didn’t happen tonight. I told them to keep their heads up, and for the players coming back, we have something to build on for next season.”

Leave a comment using your facebook account!