PP Panthers Advance To Title Game With 4-0 Victory Over Raiders

The Pembroke Pines Panthers came into the 2012 HSBN Fall Classic with one goal: to show that they belong among the elite programs in Broward County. After a 4-0 win over the Raiders on Monday in the semifinals, the team is now one win away from its goal.

“It’s been our focus the entire tournament,” said Israel Santana, who had a key hit in the semifinal. “We’ve been playing well, and our only goal is to win. Now we are in a position to do that, and I think we can finish it off [today].”

The Pines Panthers will meet the Panthers Baseball Club in tonight’s 7:30 p.m. final at Flanagan High School.

Much of the game Monday belonged to the respective aces of the Panthers and Raiders. Brandon Acevedo took the hill for the Panthers, while Alec Byrd went to the bump for the Raiders.

Acevedo was so dominant in this one that the Panthers scored all they needed in the first inning. A lead-off walk to Trevor Takacs started the inning. Takacs advanced to second on a wild pitch and moved to third on an Acevedo single. Luis Mercado then drove in the first run of the game with a sacrifice fly to left.

Byrd got out of the inning without further damage and was stellar for much of the rest of the night. He did not allow another hit until the sixth inning when the Panthers broke through for three insurance runs. Mercado, Etienne Latour and Marlon Romero all had hits in the inning, with the big blow coming on a two-run single by Santana.

“I was just trying to put the ball in play,” said Santana. “That was our approach the entire game. We knew he was a top pitcher and we would need to put the ball in play to have a chance. In the sixth, we did that, and it paid off.”

As for Byrd, he finished the game with nine strikeouts and only one walk. But going deep into a game was something the Raiders ace had not done much this fall.

“He wanted to go back out for the sixth, and I respect that,” said Raiders manager Troy Cameron. “He battled, and they just hit a few balls where we weren’t. It was a solid overall performance by Alec.”

The Panthers’ ace, however, was even more impressive on this night. Acevedo took a perfect game into the fourth and a no-hitter into the fifth. Ross Thibeault broke up the no-hitter with a single. Acevedo finished his night of work after six innings, allowing only two hits while striking out six. Latour closed out the game in the seventh.

“I had much better command tonight than last week,” said Acevedo. “After the second inning, I was just pitching to contact and letting my defense do the work. They played well tonight, like they have all tournament. We are growing as a team, and we have the confidence that we can win. Now we just need to stay focused and finish it off [today].”

The Panthers have used the formula of Acevedo in one game and Latour in the next throughout the Fall Classic, and nothing is expected to change for the title game.

“We will probably go with Etienne [today],” said Panthers manager Onel Garcia. “These guys have played a great tournament. I’m proud of the way they have represented themselves. It’s great to have two teams in the finals.”

Garcia was referring to the younger Panthers, who qualified for the finals with a two game sweep of the Bengals last week. This will be the second time in the two seasons of the Fall Classic that a program has sent two teams to the finals. Last season, the Colts’ program won both the older and younger tournaments.

As for the Raiders, the semifinal loss was bittersweet for Cameron. Although the team is eliminated from the tourney, much important information was learned.

“We learned a little bit about how (our players) perform in pressure situations, and they learned a bit about how us coaches react in big-game situations,” Cameron said. “It’s been a great event for us, and it can only help us moving forward.”

Leave a comment using your facebook account!