Pace Outslugs Coral Springs Charter 10-4 In 3A Regional Semifinal

It’s a passion that never gets old.

Monsignor Pace has a rich tradition of baseball success, but that just makes each new team that much hungrier to leave its mark.

The host Spartans carried on their traditions in advancing back to the regional finals following Tuesday’s 10-4 victory over Coral Springs Charter in a Class 3A regional semifinal played at Miami Pace in Miami Gardens.

“This is what you play for,” Pace Manager Tom Duffin said. “The season is a tune-up for the playoffs, and this is money time. This is where you earn your reputations and where you build legends.”

The Spartans (21-6-1) will now travel to face St. Brendan on Friday afternoon in a Class 3A semifinal, after the Sabres defeated LaSalle 13-10 on the other side of the playoff bracket.

As always when facing an elimination situation, Pace now moves on with the comfort simply in knowing its season continues.

“It’s a good feeling because you work hard all year. For the kids, they put in a lot of hours, practice Monday through Saturday, you have off-season conditioning and the fall leagues,” said Duffin. “It happened to be one of our nights. It was a good team we beat, but at this point it’s about winning and moving on, living for tomorrow. My hat’s off to Coral Springs Charter. Dan Rovetto runs a class show and he does great things. We knew we were going to come in for a dogfight.”

Early on the Spartans showed that they had brought sticks to this dogfight, as the offense pounded away to put the hosts on the board 3-0 in the bottom of the first inning.

Even after the Panthers answered back, Pace continued to hack away and find the holes as they finished with 11 hits on the night while putting runners on base in every inning.

Brandon Gomez led the way in going 2-for-3 with a double and four RBI’s, including a sacrifice flyout that pushed across Bryan Bermudez for the team’s final run in the bottom of the fifth, putting Pace up by seven runs.

Bermudez added a sac-fly RBI of his own, while reaching base in all three of his other trips to the plate after twice being hit by a pitch and also singling to lead off the offensive charge in the first. He also scored twice.

Despite a valiant effort from the visitors, as the game wore on the hosts clamped down to take control.

For Rovetto and his Panthers squad, the loss brings to the end a season full of accomplishment and program records that helped to raise the bar for the ball club.

The Panthers (22-8) have come a long way as a program, and they did not simply come knocking on the door on Tuesday night. They had come through a gauntlet of district games, as well as a non-district schedule that proved they could hang with the best of them following those results.

Coral Springs Charter had one of the strongest second halves of any team, winning 16 of its final 17 games, and it clicked the way all championship-caliber clubs tend to in order to be successful. When the team arrived to play on Tuesday night, it was not with the intention simply to just show up.

Despite playing a very difficult schedule under a first-year manager, Charter managed to set a program record for wins in a season.

“I’m proud of the way the kids reacted and how we made progress as a program,” said Rovetto. “With me coming in and putting in a new system, the kids really responded. I’m grateful for that, as well as for my coaches who have had my back through this whole thing.”

Even after falling behind, the Panthers’ bats awoke quickly to prove that this dog belonged in the fight, and that there was plenty of fight in the dog.

After Pace took a 3-0 lead on RBI singles from Gomez and Austin Miro while batting through the order in the bottom of the first, Charter responded in the top of the second by sending eight hitters to the plate and tying things up at 3-3.

The Panthers loaded the bases with the first three batters as Brandon Laboy reached on an error, Newil Guzman walked and Cody Woodburn was hit by a pitch. Jorge Solano then scorched one past third to drive in Laboy and put Charter on the board.

After Guzman came across on a wild pitch, Luis Guillorme sent an RBI single into left field to score Woodburn with the tying run.

The top of the Panthers lineup did the bulk of the team’s damage, as the top four hitters of Solano, Joe McChrystal, Guillorme and Stephen Kerr combined to go 7-for-16 in the contest.

“We competed with them and we didn’t give up,” said Rovetto. “That’s what we teach our kids, to fight to the end. We showed some character. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to tip your cap to Coach Duffin over there. They’ve got tradition here, and the facilities are beautiful. They were the better ball club and you’ve got to respect that. Hopefully we’ll work hard and have a chance at them again in the future.”

The Spartans had a big six-run fourth inning that put them back ahead for good, as they once again batted around the order in sending 10 hitters to the plate during the frame.

Again it was Miro who helped spark things with an RBI single, which was followed by an RBI single from Leroy Garcia.

“I’d say our offensive approach was what really helped us tonight,” said Duffin. “We stressed the game plan, which was don’t chase the pitcher’s pitches and make him come to us. Our guys, halfway through the season we got swing-happy, and some guys were pressing and getting out of their zones. But guys like Brandon Gomez and Austin Miro had great two-strike swings tonight and drove in some runs. That type of approach is going to help us.”

Coral Springs Charter was able to muster one final rally charge in the seventh, as McChrystal cracked a two-out double and then gave way for courtesy-runner Cameron Perez. Guillorme then singled to send the speedy Perez around third and home.

Kerr followed with a single and Matthew Fierman walked to load the bases and really put the pressure on, but Pace right-hander Alex Perez was able to induce a flyout to centerfield that ended the contest and left the Panthers now looking ahead to the future.

“Expectations are never a bad thing in life,” Rovetto said regarding the new standards his team has helped to set with their breakout season this year. “I think that expectations need to happen to constantly push ourselves as players and as coaches. As a program, I think we have some expectations now. I’d like to maintain that bar that Coach Albert set when he started the program, and that Coach Higgins had. It’s our responsibility as a staff to maintain that. But at the end of the day, it’s about the kids. It’s about the experiences that they’ve had throughout the year and the adversity that they’ve faced. I really believe that translates to real life.”

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