Douglas Advances to District 8A-11 Title Game With 10-0 Win

For much of the season, the Douglas Eagles have flown under the radar. The Eagles, who have long been considered one of the top programs in the county, came into the season with a new head coach for the first time in over a dozen years, and the transition period took some time.

New Eagles coach Todd Fitz-Gerald has been preaching patience all year, believing that his team would peak at the right time. That right time came Wednesday afternoon when Douglas defeated second-seeded Coral Glades 10-0, returning to a familiar place, the district championship game.

The story on this afternoon was the combination of timely hitting and aggressive baserunning from the Eagles’ offense, and the dominance of Douglas starter John Valek.

The Douglas offense set the tone in the second inning when Chris Pannell launched a one-out home run. The solo shot gave the Eagles a 1-0 lead.

Coral Glades starter Alex Kline looked prepared to match Valek on the mound, but the Jaguars defense let their ace down in the third and fifth innings. In the third, Alec Dowell led off with a single and stole second base. Eagles lead-off hitter Colton Bottomley hit a ground ball that was mishandled, allowing Dowell to score and Bottomley to end up on second. Bottomley then stole third and scored the Eagles’ second run later in the inning on a sacrifice fly by K.J. Mayo.

With a 3-0 lead, Valek went back to work, and on this day, one run may have been enough for the Douglas ace. Valek mixed his pitches all day long and had pinpoint control. It was the type outing from Valek that Fitz-Gerald has become accustomed to this season. Douglas offense put the game out of reach in the fifth.

“I though Johnny had a great feel for the change-up today,” said Fitz-Gerald. “We threw about 60 percent change-ups. Even without his best fastball, He can pitch. he’s smart on the mound, and I think he threw a fantastic ballgame today. I couldn’t be more proud of him.”

The Douglas offense put the game out of reach in the fifth when their aggressive style forced several more Jaguars errors and produced four more runs. The inning was keyed by three hits: an RBI double from Dowell, an RBI single by Bottomley and a single by Mayo. Dowell finished the game 2-for-3.

In the sixth, the Eagles offense put an exclamation mark on the game with back-to-back triples from Luis Silverio and Jonathan Lipinski, and a sacrifice fly by Ryan Rudolph. By the end of the frame, Douglas had an insurmountable 9-0 lead. On the day, Douglas had seven hits, four of which were for extra bases.

“We’re a close group,” said Dowell. “Every time we step on the field, we are pulling for each other, and days like today, when one of us gets it going, the rest of us feed off that energy.”

The Eagles will now move on to regionals, but first up, the district championship game against their crosstown rival, Coral Springs.

“We knew coming into the season that at the end, we had eight straight home games, and when we started to hit our stride around Spring Break, we knew we would be ready for districts,” said Valek. “Our goal is to come back here tomorrow night and win a district championship, that’s been our goal all season. That’s all we are focused on right now.”

The Jaguars did have a bright spot in the game. In the sixth inning, center-fielder Kline, who moved to center after coming off the mound, sprawled out in the right-center field gap and made a dazzling play to rob Dowell of his third hit of the game.

“That was one of the best plays I’ve seen in all my years coaching high school baseball,” said Fitz-Gerald.

Despite the lost the game, the Jaguars had one of the most successful seasons in school history, creating mixed emotions for head coach Jorge Miranda.

“These seniors played this season like men,” said Miranda. “They came to Coral Glades as little kids, and grew into men. it was an honor to see that process play out. I am proud of everything they have done, and even though we lost today, this team has plenty to be proud of. They represented the school and the program as well as I could have asked over the years.”

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