HSBN Broward Game Of The Week: Flanagan At McCarthy

For the fans, it is a great matchup long awaited.

For the players, it is a local rivalry with bragging rights on the line.

For the coaches, it is a chance to prepare for the upcoming playoff run.

But whatever motivation brings one out for Saturday’s HSBN Broward Game of the Week featuring Flanagan against host Archbishop McCarthy, all will be sure to witness an epic showdown between two of the county’s most successful programs.

Each ballclub has won three state titles. The Falcons last won in 2010, which was also the season that the Mavericks won the first of their three state titles in a streak that remains active.

Just over three miles distance separates the two schools, yet this is not a common opponent for either team. This is, in fact, the first time these two ballclubs will ever meet.

“We’ve been trying to schedule it for the last few years, but I always run out of games,” Falcons Manager Ray Evans admitted, referring to the 20-game limitation his team struggles to adhere to. “We always try to schedule games outside of our district against teams we may see in the playoffs. But this year, somehow, we made it happen. We are happy to play them; they are a quality program and it’s a nice match up with bragging rights for the kids.”

Even though the teams have never met on the field before, the players all know one another and know who supplies the most firepower on one another’s rosters.

Flanagan approaches the big game with a record of 12-4 and the number five spot in the Broward County Power Rankings. The Mavericks (16-3-1) sit three spots higher at number two.

In what has become typical over the past few seasons, the Falcons lost a couple of games the first week before reeling off an 11-game winning streak that was halted by a 6-1 loss to Palm Beach power Palm Beach Central in the Powered By Tradition Classic in Sanford.

Flanagan built a 7-0 district record during its winning streak before losing 5-2 to Cypress Bay on Wednesday.

The Falcons are led by sophomore right-hander Gentry Fortuno, who enters the week at 6-0 with a 1.14 ERA and a team-leading 44 strikeouts. The lanky righty has posted four shutouts this season and is 14-0 in his short high school career.

Pitching and strong defense have been the name of the game for the Falcons, who have allowed only 39 runs to be scored against them this year while posting a 1.54 team ERA.

Andres Visbal leads the offense with a .469 batting average and an impressive .640 on base percentage, and Ryan Dodge is right there beside him with a .463 batting average to go along with his team highs of 19 hits and 17 RBIs.

Meanwhile, the Mavericks have continued to roll and prove themselves as worthy members in the conversation of the county’s elite. The team carried a 25-game winning streak over from the end of last season — a streak stopped by Monsignor Pace — and has thrived even despite facing some of the toughest competition around.

McCarthy opened the season with an 11-game winning streak and has outscored its opponents 167-59, featuring a “murderers row” lineup with names the likes of Mike Hernandez, Brandon Vicens, Brian Gonzalez and Alex Rodriguez.

Among the teams who the Mavericks have defeated this season are Miami-Dade powers Columbus, Westminster Christian, Florida Christian, Belen Jesuit, Doral Academy and Goleman. McCarthy also has beaten Summit Christian and Benjamin, two small-school powers from Palm Beach County.

For a long time now, people have wanted to see how those bats would fare against the Falcons pitching, how Flanagan would hit in the Mavericks’ ballpark, and who would come out victorious in this Broward “Title-town Showdown.”

“My guys get up for every game, and I’m sure they are excited for it,” Evans said. “Archbishop has been blessed with some players that are really good, and really good people. I coached some of them in a state All-Star game and they are just great people.”

Although this game ultimately is just another date on the schedule, it also serves as a great reward for both squads to play in a spotlight game in which the final result will not have an overall affect on each team’s quest for that fourth state crown.

For in the end, after the fun of playing against such a worthy adversary is over and the game has been played, ultimately what each program will take away is the experience of facing off against the best of the best while all eyes are watching.

It is the type of environment that each hopes to encounter again later in the year, at the state tournament in Fort Myers.

As part of the traditional pregame festivities, each program will select a representative to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. For the host Falcons, this honor has been bestowed to former two-time state title winner Glen Witkowski, who converted from shortstop to pitcher his sophomore year and went on to win 30 consecutive games for Flanagan.

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