7A-16 Playoff Preview: Raiders The Team To Beat

7A-16
Host: St. Thomas High School

Monday, April 22nd

4PM – Game 2 – (6) Plantation vs. (3) South Broward
7PM – Game 1 – (5) McArthur vs. (4) Cooper City

Tuesday, April 23rd

4PM – Game 3 – Game 2 winner vs. (2) Nova
7PM – Game 4 – Game 1 winner vs. (1) St. Thomas

Wednesday, April 24th

Rain Date

Thursday, April 25th

7PM – Championship – Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner

Full stats for 7A-16 can be found on the 7A-16 Stats Page!

Overview – St. Thomas did a good of securing the top seed in the district early, and then watched as Nova and South Broward battled it out for the second seed. The Titans, after starting slow, gained steam towards the middle part of the year, and were able to rebound and secure the two-seed with a win over South Broward late. Cooper City has shown to be a team that has the ability to pull a couple of upsets. McArthur can score some runs, making any district game a tough one, and Plantation will go into the playoffs attempting to build some momentum. Here is a look at how each team looks going into the playoffs.

1. St. Thomas – New Raiders Manager Troy Cameron took over the program this past summer with one goal in mind, returning St. Thomas to the days when they were perennial state contenders. What he didn’t know at the time was how fast he could make that happen.

After a 9-1 district record, and a score differential of 85-22 in district games, the return to dominance has been swift. The Raiders know, however, that their seasons are judged by playoff baseball, making the next few weeks an indication of just how far the program has come in Cameron’s first season.

The biggest threat to the Raiders playoff run remains the same, the Nova Titans. The teams have played some of the most memorable playoff games in recent history here in Broward. St. Thomas has handled Nova nearly identically in their two meetings this season, winning 7-3 each time.

The strength of the Raiders squad can be found on the mound. Their team ERA sits just under three, and they have compiled 180 strikeouts in just over 120 innings. Aledc Byrd and Frank Rubio have handled much of the load on the mound, with each throwing just over 41 innings. Byrd has racked up 72 strikeouts and a 1.68 ERA, while Rubio punched out 62 batters to the tune of a 1.88 ERA.

Offensively, the Raiders have racked up over 135 runs, and have hit .329 in the regular season. Christian Demby (.460), Rafael Amanau (.413), and Byrd (.393) are among the district leaders in batting average. Demby is also tied for the district lead in home runs (3), and is second in the district with 21 RBIs. Peter Nicoletto, along with Demby, provide the team speed with 11 stolen bases apiece.

The Raiders will also go into the playoffs with a new fan, as Manager Cameron and his wife Lauren, gave birth on Tuesday to daughter Jaden.

2. Nova – The Titans were tested early on when they lost a few games and had people wondering whether this would be a down year for the prgram. By mid-season, Nova had put things together, and played strong down the stretch, going 5-2 in their past seven games.

Perhaps the biggest win of the season came last Tuesday against South Broward. The teams battled it out for eight innings for second place and first round playoff bye in the playoffs. The Titans eventually prevailed, securing the bye and moving within one game of another potential showdown with St. Thomas.

Gabriel Valverde has paced the Titans offense with his .475 average. Brandon McCalla has supplied the power with three home runs. Lewis Rodriguez, Kyle Pangallo, and McCalla all share the RBI lead on the team with 14. As a team, the Titans have hit just under .300, and have scored 102 runs.

Nick Martinez, Louis Pugliese, and Bryan Barrows have handled most of the innings on the mound for Nova. Martinez will bring a 5-1 record and a 2.50 ERA into district play. Pugliese (2.10), and Barrows (2.89), will take their sub-three ERAs into the tournament.

For Nova to repeat last year’s regional finals appearance, they will have to get by another looming battle with South Broward, if the Bulldogs beat Plantation. Should Nova advance past the quarterfinal round, the team is staring at possibly meeting the Raiders two more times down the stretch, something that would be welcomed by both teams.

3. South Broward – The Bulldogs started the season on fire, serving notice that in 2013, 7A-16 was not going to be a two-team race. South Broward ran out to a 5-0 record, including a 6-0 win over Nova. St. Thomas brought the Bulldogs back down to Earth in a two-game sweep back in mid-March, but South Broward recovered and played themselves back into contention for the two-seed.

The late-season game with Nova could be foreshadowing to a potential rubber game match-up on Tuesday. Before that, the Bulldogs will have to take care of Plantation, a team that gave South Broward trouble during a 6-3 win back in March.

South Broward’s biggest wins of the season came against Royal Palm Beach, the Titans, and Somerset.

4. Cooper City – The Cowboys could be the X-factor in this year’s 7A-16 playoffs. The team has has not beaten the top two teams in the district this year, but played both the Raiders and Titans close in several games. The Cowboys also split with South Broward, showing that they are capable of surprising some teams in the playoffs.

Cooper City has limped a bit to the finish like, losing five of their last seven games, with a match-up with Cypress Bay still waiting later this week. The good news for the team is that those two wins came against their first round opponent, McArthur. The 6-4 and 7-6 scores in those games indicate that Monday’s match-up will be another battle.

Should the Cowboys advance, they would have to find a way to beat the top-seeded Raiders to make it to regional play.

generating offense has been a problem for the Cowboys this year, with Hunter Kelly leading the team with a .326 average. The team average of just above .250 shows that Cooper City will have to take full advantage of offensive opportunities in the playoffs. Having scored only 67 runs this season, the Cooper City will be relying heavily on their arms to carry them to regionals.

Statistically, Austin Ryan has the teams best ERA at 1.50. Ryan also leads the team in strikeouts, and is tied with Joey Cutrone for the team lead with two wins. Cutrone has been the team’s horse, with 27 strikeouts in 28 innings.

5. McArthur – The Mustangs have had a rough go of it this season, winning just six games, but they were encouraged early when they beat St. Thomas before the Raiders went on a long winning streak.

McArthur has managed just three district wins, beating Plantation twice in addition to the St. Thomas win.

The Mustangs will open the playoffs against Cooper City, a team that beat them 6-4 and 7-6 in 9 innings. A strong game from McArthur in that matchup could put the Mustangs one step closer to advancing to the regionals for the first time since 2011.

To accomplish that, McArthur will need help from the hitters who have paced the team this year. They include Michael Bosco, Javier Aguilar, Jesus Patricio, Michael Velez and Kevin Rosario, who leads the team with an average around .480. Aguilar is hitting around .400. Bosco and Patricio are just above .350.

Four pitchers have carried the Mustangs from the mound. Alex Schulz has seen the most innings, around 40, and has an ERA just under 2.00. Velez and Alvarez

6. Plantation – The Colonels are in a rebuilding stage and are coming along slowly, winning just one game this year. The Colonels defeated Coconut Creek 15-5 on March 18.

Plantation didn’t manage any wins in its district, leaving the Colonels with a tall task come Monday when they face South Broward.

The Colonels are hitting close to .300 as a team with Matt Costa and Tyler Price leading the way, hitting around .550 and .480, respectively. Sam Reich is hitting around .335.

Robert Henle and Chris Yearsley have been the main pitchers. Henle is approaching 30 strikeouts and Yearsley is not far behind.

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