Nova Advances To 7A-16 Final Behind Monaghan’s No-Hitter

Nova and Cooper City have a rich history filled with games for the ages. Although Cooper City isn’t quite the county power it once was when these teams went toe to toe for district championships and more, the latest version of the Cowboys did their best to try to take down their renewed district foe with a regional playoff berth on the line Tuesday night.

Unfortunately for the Cowboys, Nova pitcher Trent Monaghan wasn’t going to let the game be his team’s last this season as he went seven innings and tossed his first career no-hitter, pacing Nova to a 6-0 district semifinal win.

The Titans (20-1) will meet another familiar foe, St. Thomas (14-7), for the District 7A-16 championship at 7 p.m. Thursday at Nova. The Raiders advanced by beating Plantation 8-2 earlier in the day.

Monaghan said he and his teammates played with a heavy heart and had some extra motivation to come out and play a good game.

“We had a good reason to play tonight,” he said. “One of our friend’s parents passed away, today actually, so it was somber, but this game was for her. We all had motivation to do it, especially me. I wanted it, especially for him, the kid. We played a good game, got key hits, did what we had to do. Defense backed me up.”

Monaghan struck out eight and was effective with his fastball and curve ball against a team that made him and his defense work for their outs.

“It was more like a gamble per inning,” Monaghan said. “The curveball stayed OK the whole game. I think I got people looking and got some strikeouts. I was happy I brought it down because last game I threw it, it wasn’t that great, but I fixed some things and the curve ball worked tonight. They’re not a bad team at all, they’re a good team. You saw them, they were hitting me far, back to the center field wall.”

Nova got things going with a pair of runs in the second inning. Gabe Valverde and Ryne Saxner scored on Lewis Rodriguez’s double.

Nova added a run in the fourth as Saxner came in on Jose Garcia’s sacrifice fly.

The Titans plated two more in the fifth. Monaghan drove in Lee Kinzel, and pinch-runner Ruben Diaz scored on C.J. Chatham’s double.

Tom Corey added the final run in the sixth.

Despite the lopsided result, Cooper City coach Chris Hinley said his team was pumped for this game.

“We came in and were prepared and ready,” Hinley said. “We had the big win yesterday. Guys were loose, they knew there was no pressure on them. Trent came in and shut us down. He shut us down three times this season. We never could muster much offense. So you tip your cap to him.”

Hinley said the Nova-Cooper City rivalry is back in earnest, and he was hoping Cooper City’s past success would bring his team good luck.

“This is actually the 10-year anniversary of the only team in Cooper’s history that made it to state, and we beat Nova here in the regional final to get to that game, and we were hoping for a little 10-year magic tonight to advance in the playoffs,” Hinley said. “It’s a great rivalry. Two quality programs, and it’s back now.”

Although Hinley said his players didn’t feel pressure, Nova coach Pat McQuaid said his players competed knowing they had business to take care of to get to the regionals.

“This is the toughest game, because you win this and now Thursday you’re playing for a bus ride next Tuesday,” McQuaid said. “So this is the toughest one. There’s a lot of pressure on the kids. Even though you’re favorites, it’s baseball and you get to this time of year, and the scores get closer, there’s pressure on kids to make the plays. I thought our kids came out and played well tonight. We only scored six runs, but when we bunted the ball to move runners, we came up with big base hits. Trent pitched a no-hitter. He lost his focus and walked four people, which is uncharacteristic, but he did a good job of us not having to get to our bullpen. So now we have everybody else rested for Thursday.”

Monaghan said he and his teammates can’t wait for Thursday and another shot at St. Thomas, the only team to have beaten Nova this season.

“Thursday’s redemption,” Monaghan said. “That’s all I’m going to say.”

Leave a comment using your facebook account!