Falcons Win 11-Inning Thriller Over West Broward To Take 8A-12 Crown

Remember the talk at the beginning of the season of how this had the makings of a down season for Flanagan? Despite that public opinion, the Falcons ended their District 8A-12 tournament the same place they have the past few seasons: in a pile at home plate.

The Flanagan Falcons and West Broward Bobcats are no strangers to playing tight, emotion-filled ballgames. The rivals have had their share of battles over the years, and Friday night at Cypress Bay, the teams put on yet another amazing show for the hundreds of fans in attendance. At stake was the District 8A-12 championship.

The Falcons had won the two games played between the teams during the season by a combined 14-1 score. In those games, the Falcons sent senior Jose Mesa, Jr. to the mound each time, and Mesa did not give up a hit to the Bobcats in 13 innings of work.

Friday night, the West Broward offense was determined not to be shut down by Mesa for a third time, and although they succeeded in getting to the Falcons ace, Flanagan still came from behind twice to win a thrilling 4-3 game in 11 innings. In the end, it was reliever Mike Emigh who stole the show on the mound and picked up the win for Flanagan.

“I couldn’t be happier for Mike. He’s had to deal with a tough situation this year with the injuries,” said Falcons head coach Ray Evans. “I couldn’t be happier for all these guys. This was a total team effort tonight. West Broward came to play, and our guys were able to step up to the challenge. This was a very rewarding win after a great game.”

The teams move on to the first round of regionals Thursday, with Flanagan hosting Douglas, and West Broward traveling to Coral Springs.

The Bobcats and Falcons looked like they would play a quick game Friday night, with Mesa and West Broward starter Alex Zapata exchanging zeroes through the first three innings.

In the fourth, West Broward finally got to Mesa. Luigi Perez led off the inning with a walk. After a strikeout — one of Mesa’s 11 in the game — and a stolen base from Perez, Cody Newell drove in the first run of the game with a single to right. After the second out of the inning was recorded on a pop to short, Marc Hadley came through with an RBI single, making the score 2-0.

The score remained that way until the Falcons’ fifth. Oscar Rodriguez led off the inning with a walk and moved to second on a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt by Christian Nelson. Andres Visbal singled, and when Zapata got Andres Sanchez to ground back to the mound, it looked like the Bobcats would escape danger. Rick Sanchez had other ideas. The Falcons catcher delivered a two-out single to left-center, driving in Rodriguez and Visbal, and tying the score at two.

In the sixth, West Broward answered right back. Newell started the frame with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Gio Ruiz and scored on another Hadley base hit. With only six outs to go, the Bobcats looked poised to wrestle the district title away from the Falcons.

The score remained the same until the seventh. In the bottom of the seventh, Bobcats head coach Sergio Ambros ran Zapata out there to finish the job. Zapata walked Nelson, and after Visbal laid down a sacrifice bunt, Zapata was lifted from the game. Enter Matt Hardy. The right-handed Hardy enticed a fly ball out from Sanchez but still needed one more out to close the title game. Unfortunately for Hardy and the Bobcats faithful, Rick Sanchez again strode to the plate.

The senior was dealt two quick strikes, but the third was not to be. Sanchez hit a two-out, RBI single to right-center, tying the game and ensuring that this Falcons-Bobcats game would live up to, or exceed, expectations.

West Broward managed to get two runners on the eighth, but could not score. The next threat came in the Falcons’ eighth. Nelson hit what appeared to be a double down the right-field line to lead off the inning, but Bobcats right-fielder Danny Pardo came up throwing and gunned down Nelson at second base. The defensive gem was just one of many turned in by the two teams on the day. In 11 innings of baseball, the teams combined for only one error.

The score stayed tied into the 11th, and with fans on the edge of their seats, Flanagan again mounted a threat. Rodriguez was hit by a pitch, and Nelson sacrificed Rodriguez to second. Hardy then got Visbal to fly out to center, but the play was ruled dead by umpires who had called a balk on the pitch, moving Rodriguez to third and taking an out of the board. Ambros then decided to walk Visbal and Andres Sanchez to load the bases.

Gio Ruiz relieved Hardy, and up stepped the offensive star of the game for Flanagan, Rick Sanchez. The senior drove a fastball from Ruiz off the left-center field wall for the game winning single, and the Falcons had again provided the heroics in one of the best rivalries in the county. Sanchez finished the day 4-for-6, with all four Falcons RBIs.

“At the plate, we all had good approaches today, not just me,” Sanchez said. “We were taking pitches, working counts. We had some big at-bats from the guys in front of me, and luckily I was able to be the one to drive in the runs tonight.”

After the first two games against Flanagan, Ambros told BHSB that he believed his team could go toe-to-toe with Flanagan, and despite the loss Friday, West Broward proved its coach right.

“They’re a great team, and this was a great ballgame,” Ambros said. “It was two great teams going at it, and one team had to lose. I’m proud of my guys, they fought hard, and we just came up short. We’ll just go back to practice on Monday, and get ready for (Coral) Springs. They also are a great team with some top players, so we’ll just prepare and go play the game and see what happens.”

The Colts and Bobcats do have some familiarity with each other. The teams met in the semifinals of the HSBN Fall Classic tournament late last year.

Flanagan also has familiarity with its quarterfinal opponent, Douglas. The teams have had a good rivalry over the past several years and met in regional play twice since 2005, with Flanagan winning both times.

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