No Time To Relax In 4A-14

In recognition of the high caliber of competition in this district, the coaches made an adjustment to the playoff bracket this season. Since all seven teams make the district tournament, the coaches feel the second seed deserves to also earn a bye through the first round of the district playoffs. The two lowest seeds will now battle in a play-in game to face the third seed, and the fourth and fifth seeds will play in the opening round.

An already intense slate of district games just got that much harder. It will be much more difficult for a low-seed program to make a run, which puts a lot more emphasis on the games during the regular season. The teams all admit that they would have it no other way.

“This district is not an easy one to play in,” said University Manager Dan Rovetto. “I respect the coaches in this district that their guys come to play. That is the main reason why we play two times around in districts is we are getting 12 quality games just in our district.”

North Broward Prep survived the gauntlet to claim the district crown last season, setting off a run all the way to the state Final Four. With so many close games along the way, the Eagles understand just how slim that margin of error is, and just how hard it will be to replicate again.

“Obviously we’ve got a tremendously tough district, and the region is tremendously tough as well,” North Broward Prep Manager Brian Campbell said. “So we definitely have our work cut out for us. We’ll see if they’re up for it. Time will tell.”

Chaminade-Madonna also advanced from 4A-14 last season. Manager Mike Moss said that the team put a ton of focus on their district games, and that they always understood how important they are. That put them in good position as the second seed, where the Lions advanced to the championship and earned a regional playoff berth.

“Nobody goes undefeated in this district,” Moss said. “You just have to battle on game day and focus on those games and really be competitive every time out. Every team that you play in this district can beat you; there is no pushover in this district. You just have to be ready every night and you have to know that you are going to lose a few district games.”

Teams know each other from top to bottom. They know who to focus on from each other’s rosters, and they are not intimidated by any big name they face. Guys are actually eager to square off against the best in the district and see how they fare against them.

“We’re not sneaking up on anybody in our district this year,” Pine Crest Manager Wayne Stofsky said. “They know who Griffin Conine is, and Zack Kone, Adam Saks, Michael Rothenberg and Garret Rukes. Our district is tough from top to bottom and you’re going to have to bring your best everyday to win every district game.”

Calvary Christian
2014 Record: 10-16
Manager: Gregg Mucerino
Coaching Staff: Mark Klein, Bobby Lawson
Key Returners: Winn Allen, Josh Lane, Tommy Taborda, Andrew Gottfried, Nick Benevento, Colin Majewski, Jonah Carrigan
Newcomers: Tommy Orr
Team strengths: Pitching

This is the third year together for the impressive core of the Calvary Christian Academy Eagles. Manager Gregg “Moose” Mucerino has seven seniors returning for their final high school season. He is excited at the prospect of his elder troops leading the Eagles into a tough district slate. The Eagles had a tough year last year, going(10-16 and 2-10 in District 4A-14. Now the veterans are ready to give it another go…[Keep Reading]

Chaminade-Madonna
2014 Record: 12-17
Manager: Mike Moss
Coaching Staff: Mark Wiesler, Tim Counsaul, John McCabe
Key Returners: Nick Izquierdo, Shane Stockelman, Joe Baez, Nick Cummings, Mike Drag, Brendan Tuttle, Justin Thomas, Damien Fornash, Alex Smith, Zach Bramlett
Newcomers: Justin Pujols
Team strengths: Offense

Chaminade-Madonna got a taste of postseason success last year, making a nice run to the regional semifinals before falling in a solid extra-inning battle with district rival North Broward Prep. The returning guys got a feel for playoff baseball and now part of their job is to help bring the young guys along so they too can get a taste of that deliciousness…[Keep Reading]

Coral Springs Charter
2014 Record: 14-10
Manager: Mike Higgins
Coaching Staff: Rob Perez, Tom Magrann, Woody Smith
Key Returners: Ryker Faircloth, Tommy Romero, James Doherty, Chris Chico, Zack Webber, Victor Pimental, Greg Budden, Emilio Valdez, Frankie Aquanno
Newcomers: Tyler Ray, Gary Demeyer, Samuel Roman
Team strengths: Pitching

The Coral Springs Charter Panthers are tough. Everything about them is tough, starting with Manager Mike Higgins. Higgins returns to the helm, leading the Panthers after taking a year off due to health issues last season, after being on the coaching staff for the 2012 and 2013 seasons.

The Panthers finished 14-10 last year with a 6-6 record in District 4A-14. Higgins is back with high aspirations for the year ahead…[Keep Reading]

North Broward Prep
2014 Record: 20-10
Manager: Brian Campbell
Coaching Staff: Doug Jennings, Brandon Cooney, Kelly Wright
Key Returners: Anthony Masiello, Brian Fagan, Kevin Thomas, Cristian Monero, Max Tannenbaum, Jared Schwait, Tommy Smith
Newcomers: Franco Comacho, CJ Roth, Ryan Mash, Nick Bohrer
Team strengths: Pitching

Coming off a magical season that carried the team all the way to the Class 4A state semifinals, North Broward Prep Manager Brian Campbell is not looking simply to replicate the same success in 2015. The Eagles survived an incredible gauntlet first through District 14-4A and on through their region before ultimately seeing the ride end following a crazy 8-7, extra-inning marathon in the state semifinal. Now the goal is to turn that final corner…[Keep Reading]

Pine Crest
2014 Record: 12-15
Manager: Wayne Stofsky
Coaching Staff: Sonny Hansley, Ben Summers, Brett Scarberry
Key Returners: Zack Kone, Adam Saks, Griffin Conine, Garret Rukes, Jordan Schulefand, Michael Rothenberg, Sam Wurth, Ravi Bakhai, Jacob Singer
Newcomers: Jared de Faria
Team strengths: Offense, Pitching

New Pine Crest Manager Wayne Stofsky was not looking for the coaching position with the Panthers. He was perfectly happy and content with his position at the helm of the Cooper City program. Stofsky’s daughter is a Cooper City student, he has a baseball academy down the street from the school and he is the President of the Cooper City Optimist Club. But when Stofsky got a phone call to gauge his interest following the resignation of former skipper Ryan Shealy, he picked up the phone…[Keep Reading]

Somerset Academy
2014 Record: 13-12
Manager: Onel Garcia
Coaching Staff: Miguel Useche, Anier Morales, Chris De La Rosa
Key Returners: Mike Van Degna, Derek Cartaya, PJ Ximinies, Kenny Moreno-Costa, Jack Khawly, Mark Bejar, Juan Texiera, Franco Perdomo, David Guadalupe
Newcomers: Jose Hidalgo, Sebastian Munoz, Anthony Munoz, Brandon Valentin, Tyler Hall
Team strengths: Offense, Defense

Onel Garcia is not afraid to play young guys. The Somerset Academy Manager had a senior-laden group last year, guys who were all coming off of great summers and ready to play. Yet several younger guys on the roster earned their chances, and when they made the most of those opportunities they were rewarded with more playing time. They earned what they got and pushed the seniors ahead of them…[Keep Reading]

University School
2014 Record: 15-11
Manager: Dan Rovetto
Coaching Staff: Josh Snyder, Mike Redmond, Mike Ryan
Key Returners: Evan McKendry, Evan Klugerman, Jesse Crosno, Jake Kubilliun, Nick Mannicho, Kyle Oren, Cameron Chafetz, Julian Cabrera, Michael Glantz, Jonathan Baxter
Newcomers: D’Angelo Fulford, Samuel Guillorme, Buddy Hayward
Team strengths: Pitching, Defense

The baseball program at University School is evolving. This was the plan from the beginning for Manager Dan Rovetto. Rovetto is now in his second season at the helm, and all of his assistant coaches also return this year. Coaches Josh Snyder, Mike Redmond and Mike Ryan are all also teachers at the school, and this helps to put faces to the program. The players have been in a full offseason conditioning program, there are travel plans for road-trip games and there are fund-raising programs in place. Everything is becoming constant and people are taking notice that it is a baseball school…[Keep Reading]

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