Coral Springs Charter Stuns Nova In Titan Classic Final

The Coral Springs Charter Panthers rallied for six runs in the top of the seventh inning to beat host Nova 6-3 in the championship of the Titan Spring Classic on Wednesday.

Titans pitcher Nick Martinez had thrown an outstanding game, and until the seventh inning had allowed no runs and four hits, given up four walks, and struck out five.

Coral Springs Charter took advantage of a tired Martinez, who had very little in the tank when Titans Manager Pat McQuaid took him out, leaving the bases loaded.

“We didn’t do very well at the end of the game tonight,” McQuaid said. “We wanted to send Nick to finish the game. We tried to stretch him out a little bit, and it just didn’t work out.”

After not being able to put any kind of rally together against Martinez and down 3-0, the Panthers began what appeared to be their last inning in the top of the seventh.

“We struggled early on in the game. We gave away some runs,” said Panther Manager Dan Rovetto.

Panther’s first baseman Cody Woodburn led off the inning showing discipline at the plate and worked the count to draw a walk. After a base hit that put Woodburn in scoring position, right fielder Zach Weber came to the plate and battled Martinez to draw the walk that loaded the bases.

With no outs and the tying run at first base, center fielder Jorge Solano was facing a new pitcher as he stepped to the plate representing the go-ahead run for the Panthers. The crowd was really into it in spite of a chilly night.

Solano hit a slow grounder to the infield, and on an errant throw to try the force out at home, a run scored, putting the Panthers on the board for the first time in the game and giving hope to the Coral Springs team and their fans in the stands, who were getting more excited with every at-bat.

With the bases still loaded, catcher Joe McChrystal hit a scorching line drive to left field for a game-tying, two-run double that sent the crow into a frenzy. Shortstop Luis Guillorme followed with a line drive into left field to bring in the go-ahead run for the Panthers.

After two outs, Woodburn drew his second walk of the game to once again load the bases. Designated hitter John Benestad hit for an infield single that brought in the run, which sealed the victory for the Panthers.

“[The Titans] had some opportunities to break the game open, but we made some big pitches to keep them limited and we got the opportunity to win it in the end,” Rovetto said. “My players knew how important it was to our program to compete. To be able to pull off the victory was a true testament to their dedication and never-say-quit attitude in the seventh.”

The Coral Springs Charter team scored all six of their runs in the seventh inning. The Panthers ended up with six runs on eight hits and two errors.

The Titans, meanwhile, ended up with three runs on eight hits and three errors and stranded nine runners.

“We played a good defensive game, but we made some base running errors that hurt us,” McQuaid said. “They kids played hard and that’s what you want.”

Stephen Kerr came in from second base to close out the game for the Panthers, striking out two batters and eliminating any possibility of a Titan come back.

“I can’t say enough about Stephen coming in there,” said Rovetto. “He hasn’t had a lot of action on the mound. At the end of the tournament we were really thin on pitching.”

Kerr reflected on his team’s performance.

“It was a rough game the entire way, but we know we can put together a lot of runs in one inning,” he said. “We didn’t play a great game at the start but we knew we could finish.”

Panther shortstop Luis Guillorme went 3-for-4 with an RBI, while catcher Joe McChrystal had two hits and drove in two runs.

“Luis Guillorme was phenomenal and McChrystal behind the plate. Those two carried us throughout the tournament,” said Rovetto.

In the end, the Titan offense just just didn’t have enough to overcome the three-run deficit.

“Our defense was there, but at the end things got rough,” Titan first baseman Brandon McCalla said. “We had to come back, and we just couldn’t pull through.”

Rovetto was excited for the tournament win, but was not completely satisfied with his teams performance.

“I would like us to have more quality at-bats at the beginning of the game and not wait to the end,” Rovetto said. “We were fortunate to get the win against a team like Nova. We can’t expect to come from behind every time against teams like these.”

The win was special for Rovetto, given his history with the Titans. Rovetto spent five seasons as an assistant coach to McQuaid at Nova, the school he starred for in high school, leaving as the all-time hits leader before going on to play at Lynn University. As an assistant, he helped lead the team to back-to-back state titles in 2004 and 2005.

“What an awesome atmosphere to play in for our program,” Rovetto said. “It was truly special to compete against Coach McQuaid. He knows the respect for what he has done. For me, to have my son Rocco on the field after the game was awesome. He is named after my father (whose ashes are spread down the third-base side), and the whole experience was great.”

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