Flanagan Wins District Title, Everglades Earns Respect
Gentry Fortuno picked up the win for the Falcons.
The Flanagan Falcons had their rotation set up perfectly for a district finals showdown with their rivals, West Broward. Gentry Fortuno, the teams ace, was being saved for the Bobcats, in the hopes the Falcons could defeat the Bobcats for a third time this year.
Somebody forgot to tell West Broward’s semifinal opponents, Everglades, about that plan. The Gators pulled off the playoff upset of the year on Tuesday, defeating West Broward and advancing to the championship game.
On Thursday, the upstart Gators ran into Fortuno and a motivated Flanagan team, and the Falcons walked away with a 12-1 victory and the 8A-14 crown.
“Tonight, we did what we had to do, and I am proud of the way the guys handled their business,” said Manager Ray Evans. “They stayed with their approaches at the plate, and did what they needed to to win the district title. None of our teams wants to be the one that doesn’t have their year up there on the banner with all the other district champions, so it was easy for them to stay motivated for this game.”
While Evans and his Falcons have their eye on a state, and possible national title, the Flanagan manager did pause to acknowledge the accomplishment of the Everglades team his team had just defeated.
“What they did on Tuesday was incredible,” said Evans. “I believe this is the first time they have ever advanced this far, and they had many chances to fold the other night. The fact that they kept fighting, and didn’t fold under that pressure, is something they should be proud of. It was impressive.”
Impressive is what the Falcons were on this night. After Fortuno gave up a run in the top of the first, he settled in and struck out three of the next six batters he faced, turning in a three-inning tune-up for next week’s regional quarterfinals match-up with Miami Beach.
Everglades was the 8A-13 runner-up.
Offensively, Flanagan stayed within their game plan of hitting the ball the other way and being aggressive on the bases.
In the first inning, the Falcons sent 15 batters to the plate, and scored 10 runs. If they learned anything from the Gators’ victory over the Bobcats, it was to not take them lightly.
“We saw what they did to West Broward, and we weren’t going to overlook them,” said Miguel Presno, who went 3-for-3, with two doubles, two runs, and three RBIs for the Falcons. “Our approach is the same no matter who we are facing. We need to execute our game plan, and only worry about the game we are in. Each game is important, no matter who is on the other side of the field.”
In the Falcons’ first inning offensive barrage, Presno, Oscar Rodriguez, Kevin Mora, Luis Barranco, and Eric Rivera all had base hits. Ryan Dodge had the big blow in the inning, a two-run home run to right-center. Of the Falcons’ seven hits in the inning, five were to the right side of second base, and that is something that had Evans excited after the game.
“We work all the time on hitting the ball the other way,” said Evans. “It is one of the keys to success, and the teams that have won here over the years, have executed that approach. This team has been real good with that this year, and even better lately. We like how things are falling, and we think we have a real good chance to do something special this year.”
On the other side of the field, Everglades Manager Oddibe McDowell reflected on being happy with how far his team had come, but disappointed in the outcome Thursday night.
Ryan Dodge is greeted by teammates after his first inning home run.
“This team has come a long way from where we started the season,” said McDowell. “We began the year rough, and there has been improvement throughout the season. The biggest thing with the game of baseball is the mental approach. If you believe you can accomplish something in this game, that makes you dangerous. To see these guys believe they could win the other night, and then execute, is something that is hard to get through to young players.”
While McDowell was pleased with how far his team has come, he was still unhappy with Thursday’s result.
“You never feel good after a game like this. I am disappointed with how the game tonight turned out, but we’ll get back to work and be ready to play next week, and we’ll be ready to go.”
Flanagan, meanwhile, has only one goal in mind.
“Winning the district title is always nice, but this team has much higher expectations,” said Evans. “Each year you want to go one step further than you did the year before. Last year, we didn’t play our best game at the end. You can always run into games like that, but I have a good feeling about this team.”
Flanagan will host Miami Beach on Thursday. Everglades will travel to face Miami Senior.
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