West Broward Electrifies Fans With 3-1 Regional Win Over Coral Springs

The last time the West Broward Bobcats and the Coral Springs Colts were on the field at Colts Stadium, it was in the semifinals of the HSBN Fall Classic last November. In a bit of foreshadowing, the two teams played a tight game, but West Broward lost after making a few defensive mistakes.

Fast-forward to Thursday night, and the stakes were much higher for the Colts and Bobcats. A trip to the 8A regional semifinals was on the line. This time, it was West Broward that flipped the script on Coral Springs, playing a near-flawless defensive game and riding the left arm of senior ace Tyler Draughon to a 3-1 regional quarterfinal win.

“I just got finished telling my guys, we won this game last week,” said Bobcats head coach Sergio Ambros. “We grew up as a team last week when we went through the adversity we faced in the district final. We learned how to not panic in these type of situations. When we faced the adversity in the last inning, they relied on what they learned last week, and that’s where the growth factor really showed tonight.”

For much of the night, there was no panic necessary for the Bobcats, as Draughon was cool and collected throughout. The lefty went the distance, scattering nine hits, and coming up with big pitch after big pitch. Keeping his emotion in check would have been hard, with his team riding an emotional high all night, but Draughon knows no other way than calm.

“That’s just how I am,” said Draughon, of his laid-back approach on the mound. “I try not to let a lot of things bother me. Even when they strung some hits together there at the end, I knew I had to stay calm, throw my pitches, and hit my spots.”

The seventh inning provided a scare for the Bobcats, but it was the first inning where the team seized control of the momentum. Third baseman Mark McGinnity hit a two-out home run to left, giving the Bobcats the lead. West Broward is a close-knit group, and McGinnity explained how the team communication helped leading into his first at-bat.

“Before the at-bat, I asked Danny (lead-off hitter Danny Pardo), ‘how’s he throwing.’ He told me he was coming in with a lot of change-ups. He said those were the majority of pitches he saw, so I figured he would come with a change-up first pitch, and that’s what he did. It was right there, and I took care of it.”

The Colts had their opportunities in the first couple of innings to tie the game, but could not come up with the big hit. In the first, Lewis Brinson and Allan Sharkey hit back-to-back two-out singles but were stranded.

In the third, Coral Springs again had a rally going when with runners on first and third and one out, Sharkey hit a ball towards second base that hit Brinson. The ground ball would have scored Tre Dingus from third to tie the score, but when the ball hit Brinson, the play was ruled dead and Dingus had to return to third. Draughon then worked out of the inning without giving up a run.

The game was cruising into the sixth, with both teams exchanging scoring threats, but neither able to put runs on the board. In the sixth, West Broward finally put up two insurance runs. Mike Mordente led off the inning with a double down the right-field line, and he moved to third when McGinnity reached on an error. After a strikeout, Xavier Beltran hit a ground ball to short, and when Mordente beat the throw to the plate, the lead grew to 2-0. Sammy Green followed with a base hit, extending the lead to 3-0.

From there, it was up to Draughon. After Brinson and Sharkey again reached on base hits to open the Colts half of the sixth, Draughon got Jordan Gleicher to foul out to first. The next play defined the night for the Colts. Aaron Maller hit a fly ball to center for the second out, and Brinson faked a break towards the plate. Sharkey, thinking Brinson was going, took off for third. When Brinson stopped, Bobcats catcher Green threw to second, and when Brinson broke for the plate, the ball came back to Green. After a short rundown, Brinson was tagged out, and the double play was complete.

In the seventh, Coral Springs again threatened. Justin Mixon and Dalton Wolchik led off the inning with consecutive singles. Austin Nelson then executed a sacrifice bunt, moving the runners to second and third, and bringing up the tying run. Dylan Ebel then singled, making the score 3-1. With tension mounting, Draughon settled down and got Dingus and Brinson to hit fly balls, ending the game, and preserving the victory for the Bobcats.

West Broward moves on to face district-rival Flanagan for the fourth time this season. The Falcons have won the first three meetings, and Ambros knows that Jose Mesa Jr., who has started all three games between the two teams, will be waiting. Still, Ambros likes his odds.

“That’s what we expected all year long,” said Ambros. “Back in June, when I took the job, I told you we expected to face them four times this year. Our goal was we only need to beat them once, which is the fourth time we play them. That’s what our mindset is, and we’ll get back to practice tomorrow, and we’ll go play Tuesday and see what happens.”

For the Colts, the game was a disappointing end to what was a stellar career for many of the Coral Springs seniors. The team has won three straight district titles, and came within one pitch three seasons ago of going to the state final four. With expectations high this year, Thursday was just not the Colts’ night.

“I told them thanks for the four years,” said Colts head coach Frank Bumbales. “Back-to-back-to-back championships is not easy to do. But I told them, ‘Baseball isn’t life. You’re going to have families to deal with, you’re going to have school to deal with, you’re going to have a job to deal with. Life does not end on a baseball field.’ They fought hard, but tonight, we just weren’t good enough.”

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