Special: Broward County District Playoff Preview Article

District tournament play opens Monday, and although some district races are clear-cut, others are anyone’s ballgame. Here’s a preview of the action coming up this week:

DISTRICT 8A-11
Site: Coral Springs
Teams (in order of seeding): Coral Springs, Coral Glades, Douglas, Piper, Taravella, Deerfield Beach, South Plantation
Team To Watch: Douglas

Preview: The Colts and Jaguars earned the all-important bye in the district playoffs by finishing first and second, respectively. The teams have similar stats this season. Coral Springs has a team batting average of .315 and has scored 123 runs, while Coral Glades is hitting .319 with 117 runs. Alan Sharkey leads Springs with a .408 batting average and 23 RBI, and Nick Diaz (.382 average) leads Glades.

The Jaguars are trying to reach the regionals for the first time in school history.

“Throughout the years, we’ve always battled for that three seed,” Glades coach Jorge Miranda told HSBN after the team earned the second seed. “For us, this season, getting that bye puts us one game closer to our goal of winning a district championship. Having to play two games instead of three in the playoffs doesn’t guarantee us anything, but it does make our road to the regionals a little more manageable.”

Douglas is the hottest team going into the playoffs, having won nine of its past 11 games. The Eagles will be looking to win their first game against either Deerfield Beach or South Plantation and then upset Coral Glades in the semifinals Wednesday to qualify for the regionals. The Eagles and Jaguars have split their two games this season.

The rest of the district is young, but that does not mean a dark horse can’t emerge. Taravella beat Coral Springs in the teams’ final district game April 12, and Deerfield showed last year that nothing can be taken for granted. The winner of Tuesday’s Piper/Taravella game will face top-seed Coral Springs in the semifinals Wednesday.

The final will be played at 7 p.m. Thursday.

For more information on District 8A-11, check out the BHSB district page with standings and selected statistical leaders:
https://www.browardhighschoolbaseball.com/division/8a-district-11/

DISTRICT 8A-12
Site: Cypress Bay
Teams (in order of seeding): Flanagan, West Broward, Cypress Bay, Everglades
Team to Watch: West Broward

Preview: Flanagan, unbeaten in the district, is the clear favorite to win this tournament after outscoring its district opponents by an incredible margin of 112-3. A big reason for the Falcons’ success is senior right-handed pitcher Jose Mesa, Jr., who is 8-1 with 104 strikeouts and an ERA of 0.94 in 59.2 innings. Mesa has thrown no-hitters against West Broward, Flanagan’s closest challenger, and Cypress Bay. He pitched six no-hit innings against West Broward in the team’s first meeting, and he also one-hit Western. He struck out 18 and nearly pitched a perfect game against Cypress Bay.

West Broward (17-3) has lost only one other game this season (4-3 to Nova) and is hungry to upset the Falcons. The Bobcats have some effective pitchers in Alex Zapata, Austin Gray and Tyler Draughon.

Flanagan’s Andres Sanchez leads the district in hitting with a .455 average.

The championship is set for 7 p.m. Friday, the only one scheduled to be played that day.

For more information on District 8A-12, check out the BHSB district page with standings and selected statistical leaders: https://www.browardhighschoolbaseball.com/division/8a-district-12

DISTRICT 7A-16
Site: Nova
Teams (in order of seeding): Nova, St. Thomas, Plantation, Cooper City, South Broward, McArthur
Teams To Watch: Plantation, Cooper City, South Broward, McArthur

Preview: With the district realignments this year, Nova and St. Thomas faced more of a challenge within their district, but when the dust settled, it will still those two teams who finished at the top of the district and are the favorites to win the tournament.

Titans ace Troy Massaro has been sidelined with an injury, but the team has carried on without him as Trent Monaghan has shouldered much of the load on the mound. St. Thomas gave the Titans their only loss this season, 9-8. Nova also has had close games with Cooper City, South Broward and Plantation, and any of those teams is capable of pulling an upset.

St. Thomas, led by Frank Rubio on the mound, has been inconsistent this season and is 2-2 in its past four games.

The championship will be played at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

For more information on District 7A-16, check out the BHSB district page with standings and selected statistical leaders:
https://www.browardhighschoolbaseball.com/division/7a-district-16/

DISTRICT 7A-15
Site: Northeast
Teams (in order of seeding): Monarch, Northeast, Coconut Creek, Boyd Anderson
Team To Watch: Northeast

Preview: The Knights have a good chance of earning their first regional playoff berth and are the favorite to win the district. Monarch has beaten its closest competitor, Northeast, twice by the scores of 1-0 and 10-5.

Monarch ace Andrew Pierson leads the Knights with an 8-2 record, 51 strikeouts and a 1.42 ERA in 49.1 innings. Andrew Rohloff and David Webb follow Pierson and are a combined 6-2 with 99 strikeouts.

Northeast’s Corey Korenic leads the district in batting with an average of .420. He’s also one of the Hurricanes’ top pitchers with 37 strikeouts and a 1.62 ERA in 26 innings.

The championship will be at 7 p.m. Thursday.

For more information on District 7A-15, check out the BHSB district page with standings and selected statistical leaders:
https://www.browardhighschoolbaseball.com/division/7a-district-15/

DISTRICT 6A-15
Site: Archbishop McCarthy
Teams (in order of seeding): Archbishop McCarthy, Pembroke Pines Charter, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood Hills, Stranahan
Teams To Watch: Pembroke Pines Charter, Fort Lauderdale

Preview: Seeking their third consecutive state title, the Mavericks are the heavy favorites to win the district title again this year, though Pines Charter or Fort Lauderdale could surprise.

McCarthy, led by pitchers Andre Martinez and Nick Travieso, has outscored its district competition 32-0.

But McCarthy beat Fort Lauderdale only 2-0 and Pembroke Pines Charter hung with the Mavericks for four innings before McCarthy pulled away.

Travieso was the winning pitcher in the game against Fort Lauderdale, and after the game, he gave HSBN his thoughts about the fiesty Flying L’s.

“They have a great team, and they always give us a battle every year,” Travieso said. “They always find a way to be crafty, whether it’s on defense or at the plate. They use a lot of small ball, and that always allows them to stay in the game.”

Outside of their district, the Mavericks have been tough to beat as well as they have just four losses (Westminster Christian, Summit Christian, Miami Columbus and St. Brendan) and a tie (Barbara Goleman).

The championship is set for 7 p.m. Thursday.

For more information on District 6A-15, check out the BHSB district page with standings and selected statistical leaders:
https://www.browardhighschoolbaseball.com/division/6a-district-15/

DISTRICT 5A-16
Site: Pompano Stadium
Teams (in order of seeding): American Heritage, Pompano Beach, Hallandale, Dillard
Team To Watch: Pompano Beach

Preview: American Heritage is the clear favorite in this district as Pompano Beach has managed three runs in two games against the Patriots. Heritage won the first meeting 5-3, but the Patriots showed they are the kings of this district with a 9-0 win April 9 in which Shaun Anderson tossed a no-hitter.

After that game, Pompano coach Ryan Combs has this to say about the Patriots’ advantage: “There’s a couple of things we need to sure up before we see them again, but as far as we’re concerned, they can have the first two, we’ll take the next two. Those are the two that are the most important, so we’ll see what happens.”

Matt Fengler of Pompano is tops in the district for batting with a .466 average and six homers, but Heritage has a trio of hitters above .400: Danny Zardon (.452), Brandon Lopez (.447) and Zack Collins (.443).

Heritage has a quartet of solid pitchers led by Alex Seibold (7-0, 55 strikeouts, 1.21 ERA, 38 innings). Anderson (4-1, 57 strikeouts, 0.95 ERA, 44.1 innings), Domenick Mancini (5-2, 50 strikeouts, 1.47 ERA, 38 innings) and Brandon Diaz (2-1, 40 strikeouts, 1.73 ERA, 24.1 innings) are the other three.

The final is set for 7 p.m. Thursday.

For more information on District 5A-16, check out the BHSB district page with standings and selected statistical leaders:
https://www.browardhighschoolbaseball.com/division/5a-district-16/

DISTRICT 4A-13
Site: Broward College
Teams (in order of seeding): Coral Springs Charter, Pine Crest, University School, Somerset Academy, North Broward Prep, Cardinal Gibbons, Chaminade-Madonna
Teams To Watch: All of them

Preview: The saying “it’s anybody’s game” truly fits this district, which has been the most competitive of all the districts. There is no favorite, with top-seeded Coral Springs Charter having a slight advantage over the other teams as it has to play one game instead of two to reach the championship.

Each team has at least one strong pitcher capable of shutting down the opponent if he is on. University School’s Michael White, who is 9-1 with 68 strikeouts and 0.36 ERA, may be the most effective pitcher. He threw a no-hitter March 2 against Chaminade-Madonna, which has a pair of aces in Brandon Burgess (7-3, 37 strikeouts, 2.40 ERA) and Chris Flores (3-5, 49 strikeouts, 2.23 ERA).

Cardinal Gibbons features Thomas Woodrey (4-2, 53 strikeouts, 1.94 ERA) while Colton Rogers (5-1, 52 strikeouts, 0.67 ERA) and Nick Scahill (3-3, 32 strikeouts, 2.69 ERA) are Charter’s top guys. Somerset can count on Brandon Acevedo (6-2, 62 strikeouts, 1.05 ERA), Casey Kopec (3-3, 55 strikeouts, 2.80 ERA) leads North Broward, and it’s Shea Parikh (6-2-2, 35 strikeouts, 2.35 ERA) at Pine Crest.

Rogers called the district “a mystery” and his coach, Mike Higgins, said he didn’t foresee his team atop the district standings.

“There was no way of seeing this,” Higgins said after his team beat University School 8-1 on March 30. “We have seven very good teams. Every team has at least one good pitcher. We’re blessed to be in this position, but there’s a lot of baseball left.”

The championship will be at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

For more information on District 4A-13, check out the BHSB district page with standings and selected statistical leaders:
https://www.browardhighschoolbaseball.com/division/4a-district-13/

DISTRICT 3A-14
Site: Westminster Academy
Teams (in order of seeding): Calvary Christian, Coral Springs Christian, Westminster Academy, Sagemont, Highlands Christian
Teams To Watch: Coral Springs Christian, Westminster Academy

Preview: District 3A-14 is similar to 4A-13 in that all of the teams have a shot of getting to the championship and winning it. Highlands Christian is only 4-19 this season, but two of those wins have come against district opponents (Calvary, Westminster), proving no team can be overlooked.

Calvary is the favorite as it finished surprisingly as the top seed, but it’s just slightly ahead of the other teams. The Eagles will need a good outing from top pitcher Austin Sovay (5-2, 49 strikeouts, 2.40 ERA) to get to the championship.

Coral Springs Christian and Westminster are the second and third seeds, respectively, and will play in a semifinal on Tuesday. Billy Atkins (4-1, 54 strikeouts, 1.28 ERA), Ryan Cabreja (5-2, 32 strikeouts, 1.47 ERA) and Touki Toussaint (4-0, 33 strikeouts, 1.24 ERA) are the Crusaders’ top pitchers. Westminster has its pitching spread primarily among four players: Weston Clemente (1-2, 16 strikeouts, 1.91 ERA), Will Buschmann (1-1, 35 strikeouts, 1.42 ERA), Daniel D’onofrio (3-1, 14 strikeouts, 1.94 ERA) and Daniel Burns (4-0, 23 strikeouts, 3.14 ERA).

Toussaint also is the top hitter in the district with a .508 average.

“A lot of people thought our district would be down,” Springs Christian coach Matt Cleveland recently told HSBN. “High school players, talented or not, if they’re coached the right way, are always going to be competitive. It’s exciting.”

The championship is set for 7 p.m. Thursday.

For more information on District 3A-14, check out the BHSB district page with standings and selected statistical leaders:
https://www.browardhighschoolbaseball.com/division/3a-district-14/

DISTRICT 2A-13
Site: Zion Lutheran
Teams (in order of seeding): Zion Lutheran, Sheridan Hills, Posnack
Team To Watch: Sheridan Hills

Preview: Unbeaten in district play this season after having outscored its opponents 53-3, Zion is the clear favorite to win the tournament and goes straight to the championship without passing Go or collecting $200. Posnack and Sheridan Hills will battle it out to see who gets to play Zion.

Sheridan is capable of the upset, especially if its gets a career day from Chris Meyer, who leads the district in five categories: batting average (.442), stolen bases (12), ERA (0.68), strikeouts (48) and victories (five).

For more information on District 2A-13, check out the BHSB district page with standings and selected statistical leaders:
https://www.browardhighschoolbaseball.com/division/2a-district-13/

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