Alex Ernestine Leads North Broward in Win Over Somerset

Competitive district play is what high school baseball teams and players live for. In a district in which all teams bring solid teams to the pool, every district win is as important as ever for the North Broward Eagles and the Somerset Academy Panthers.

As the sun went down in Coconut Creek Monday night, two talented ball clubs met for the first of two meetings this season, where early sparks by North Broward’s bats and solid pitching left them on top 4-1. The Eagles move into a tie for first in 4A-14, while Somerset moves to 3-3 in the middle of the pack.

Somerset shortstop Derek Cartaya started things off in the first for the Panthers (6-5) with an infield single. He quickly stole second and put himself in scoring position for Christian Khawly. Christian drove a long line drive off the wall in center field, driving the run in, but was thrown out by North Broward center fielder Jarod Schwait at second when attempting to stretch his hit into a double. Somerset hitters saw a lot of pitches early in the game and worked North Broward starter Alex Ernestine deep into counts.

The Eagles answered back quickly in the bottom of the inning. A leadoff walk to Schwait set the stage for their starter and three-hole hitter, Ernestine. Ernestine worked the count and hit a long drive to right-center for a two-run home run to put himself and the Eagles up 2-1.

That would be all the run support he would need.

“I was long with my release point early in the game,” said Ernestine. “I made a simple adjustment and I felt great after that.”

After a shaky second inning for Ernerstine that still left Panthers runners stranded, he settled down and struck out two batters each in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth inning. Ernestine made adjustments and was absolutely flawless through his last four innings of work, giving up no hits.

His opponent, Anthony Molina, worked ahead in counts and kept hitters off balance until the North Broward bats struck again.

“He’s very important to the club,” said North Broward Manager Brian Campbell about Ernerstine’s performance. “We expect big things from him every time he steps on the mound. It’s great to see him face adversity early, and him getting through it is positive for us. It’s positive for him and positive for the ball club.”

Edgar Badaraco lead off the inning in the bottom of the fourth with a base hit. Max Tannenbaum followed and singled to left, and Brian Fagan first showed bunt but instead drove a line-drive to center for a base hit. Badaraco tried to score on the hit, but center fielder Moreno Costa cut him down, throwing a perfect strike to catcher Luis Chaves for the assist.

With runners on second and third, senior Jake Emery drove a 3-1 pitch to center for a double that drove Tannenbaum and Fagan in, giving the Eagles two more insurance runs.

Molina saw his night cut short after four innings of work, and Somerset brought on PJ Ximinies, who threw two innings of shutout ball and silenced the North Broward bats for the remainder of the evening.

After a 92-pitch evening, Ernestine slid over to first base and made way for sophomore Anthony Masiello to close out the game in the top of the seventh. Masiello struck out the first batter, but a walk and hit-by-pitch put pressure on the young lefty. He struck out another, and with runners on first and second, got a Panthers groundout to second for the final out.

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