Romero Helps Coral Springs Charter Stay Hot

Some call it Big Mo.

Some don’t believe in it at all.

But whatever your thoughts on momentum in sports, the pastime it probably has the most impact on is baseball.

Two teams met on Friday afternoon in what appeared to be a relatively meaningless non-district contest. However, if you believe in momentum, there was plenty at stake as West Broward hosted Coral Springs Charter.

You see, the Bobcats came into the game having lost three straight and three of their final four district games. Meanwhile, the Panthers had won nine of 10, including three straight on the road in as many days.

And with district tournaments coming up in 10 days, if you believe in the theory of momentum, then you would probably rather be Dan Rovetto. And if you’re Sergio Ambros, you believe in it, but maybe choose to ignore it with the situation your team is in.

“I am to a degree, but this year I’m going to have to reverse my philosophy on it,” Ambros said, when asked about if he believes in momentum after his team lost its fourth straight, 6-4. “Everybody starts 0-0 in the district tournament.”

And Rovetto?

“I think the whole game is built on momentum,” he said. “When you’re hitting the ball well, you see it like a beach ball. When you’re not hitting well, it looks like a golf ball.”

Although the Panthers (16-7, 7-5) did bash out 10 hits in the game, it was the stellar pitching of sophomore starter Tommy Romero that really put them in position to win.

Romero went five innings, allowing two runs – one earned – on three hits with five strikeouts. Both runs came in the fifth inning, and up until that point Romero had allowed only one base hit.

“I was hitting my spots and made good pitches tonight,” Romero said.

While Rovetto was letting one of his rotation guys get a good chunk of work, Ambros started 12th-grader Habby Khawly as a Senior Night favor. Khawly, who had pitched only two innings all season until this point, went two innings, allowing two runs on four hits.

The first of those hits was a solo home run by Joe McChrystal, who lofted the ball up into the gusty wind blowing to left field before circling the bases. Amazingly, no one else took advantage of the jet stream blowing out to homer in the game.

Coral Springs Charter doubled its lead in the third inning when Brandon Laboy crushed a double off the wall to score McChrystal. Those two, along with leadoff guy Jorge Solano, third hitter Luis Guillorme and cleanup guy Matthew Fierman — the top five hitters in the Panthers order — were just a menace all afternoon, as they went 9-for-17 with three doubles, a home run, four RBI, four runs scored and four walks.

The Panthers broke things open in the fifth inning with a three-run outburst. An RBI single by Laboy was followed by bases-loaded walks to Jonathan Benestad and Zach Webber — all with no outs. Reliever Mark Mendez managed to get out of his self-created mess though, when he struck out the next three batters.

The Bobcats (10-9, 5-5) chased Romero from the game by scoring two runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth. A Luigi Perez RBI double put them on the board before he scored himself on a wild pitch.

West Broward pegged another run back in the sixth when Xavier Beltran crossed the plate on a double-play ground ball, but the Bobcats restored their three-run lead in the top of the seventh when a Solano double knocked in Scott Stolberg.

The home crowd, which had been quiet most of the night, was in full voice when the Bobcats loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the seventh. Unfortunately, a strikeout and a double play caused by poor baserunning ended the game.

Despite the win, it was Rovetto who was most concerned after the contest.

“I’m disappointed in the way we came out and played today,” Rovetto said. “Four road games in four days though, so there’s something to say for that. Our mental approach is something I pride ourselves on, but they’re mentally and physically tired. I told them before the game that this season is like a 12-round boxing match, and we’re in round nine at the moment.”

Ambros, on the other hand, admitted to mixing things up a little for Senior Night, and was in a relatively jovial mood as the sun began to go down.

“We obviously wanted to get a win, but we wanted our seniors to be recognized,” Ambros said. “We did a lot of interesting special little things for today.”

In the 8A-12 district semifinals, West Broward will play Cypress Bay. Meanwhile, Coral Springs Charter will face either Somerset Academy or North Broward Prep in the first round of the 4A-13 tournament.

Leave a comment using your facebook account!