North Broward Prep Advances Behind Fagan, Kopec

Coming into Monday’s District 4A-13 quarterfinals, Somerset was one of the hottest teams in the county. The Panthers had won eight straight games and were poised to make a run through the district playoffs. Unfortunately for the Panthers, they ran into a North Broward Prep ace that was on top of his game.

Senior Casey Kopec mixed up his pitches beautifully through seven shutout innings, leading the Eagles to a 2-0 victory in the opening round of what is perceived by many to be the toughest district tournament in Broward this season.

Kopec and the Eagles know a little something about winning playoff games. Last year, North Broward Prep was one of only two teams from Broward to advance to the state tournament in Port St. Lucie.

Monday afternoon, it was Kopec and another holdover from that final-four team, Kevin Fagan, who led the Eagles to victory. While Kopec kept the Panthers at bay on the mound, it was Fagan who was the spark plug for the offense. The senior went 2-for-2 with a walk and two runs, and also logged his first game of the season behind the plate for NBP.

“t better as the game went on. I’ve caught in the past. I was a little rusty to start, but it got better as the game went on,” Fagan said. “Offensively, my job is to get on base and set the table for the guys behind me. I just tried to be aggressive at the plate and on the bases today, and let the guys behind me do their jobs and drive me in.”

The Eagles scored a run in the first on a lead-off walk by Fagan, who then moved to second on an error. Two consecutive groundouts gave NBP the 1-0 lead.

They extended that lead in the third. With one out, Fagan tripled to left-center and scored an unearned run as a result of a two-out error. The two runs were all Kopec needed on this day.

The senior retired the first nine batters he faced and allowed only three hits. Kopec struck out nine, and no Panthers runner advanced beyond second base.

“Right from the first inning, I knew I was in a groove,” Kopec said. “I told coach this is my game, and we were going to win the game. I felt great out there.”

Kopec’s command reminded catcher Fagan of something that would be seen in a video game.

“Everywhere I called a pitch, it was right there every time,” Fagan said. “It was like playing PlayStation out there. His control was that good today.”

On the other side of the field, Somerset players and coaches were dealing with the disappointment of their winning streak being broken and their season coming to an end, but the program had plenty to be proud of after this season.

“I’m very proud of the team,” Panthers head coach Onel Garcia said. “They got better as the year went on, and they finished the year strong. I don’t think anyone expected us to have 16 wins this season, so this group is now responsible for putting Somerset baseball on the map, and that’s something to be applauded.”

North Broward Prep moves on to the district quarterfinals, where it will meet top-seeded Coral Springs Charter on Tuesday evening. The two teams split the season series, with CS Charter winning the first meeting 7-5 and the Eagles winning the rematch 9-3. The team that wins game three will move on to regionals.

“We need to throw strikes, we need to play error-free baseball and we need to execute at the plate,” said Panthers head coach Brian Campbell, when asked what his team needs to do to advance Tuesday night. “The lack of execution didn’t hurt us today, but it can bite you at anytime, so we need to get it cleaned up before tomorrow.”

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