Flanagan Cruises Past West Broward To Regional Final

Photo Gallery

Flanagan used superb pitching and solid hitting to earn a spot in the 8A Regional Final. Under a bright sky at their home field on the Flanagan campus, the Falcons scored runs in the first five innings while holding the West Broward Bobcats scoreless. When Gentry Fortuno retired the last Bobcats hitter of the day, the scoreboard showed a 9-0 victory for the host Falcons.

The Falcons will travel south to Dade County to meet the Columbus Explorers for the 8A Regional crown and the right to go on to the state tournament. It is the fifth straight season that Flanagan (21-5) has advanced to the regional championship.

“It starts with Gentry on the hill.” Falcons Manager Ray Evans stated. “I have to take my hat off to our hitters today. They got things going early and gave Gentry the lead. Once he had it, he did not let up and he was light’s out.”

After Fortuno set the Bobcats down on no runs in the first, the Falcons went to work. A single by leadoff hitter Eric Rivera started things off. He was moved to second on a sacrifice by Ricky Presno, and Mark Vientos drove a single to left field which moved Rivera to third base. Hunter Platts came up and promptly launched a double to deep center field. This brought Riveria and Vientos home to give Flanagan a 2-0 lead.

Things did not get better for the Bobcats. They left two runners on base in the top of the second and then allowed Flanagan to bat around in the bottom of the inning.The Falcons used a base hit, a fielder’s choice and two walks to load the bases. With two outs, Vientos drew a bases-loaded walk for an RBI. This brought Platts to the plate, and he drove the ball to deep right field this time, and ended up on second base with a two-run double. Another walk and a hit batsman brought the fourth run of the inning in for the Falcons.

From there it was cruise control for the Falcons ace, Fortuno. His control was immaculate, as he threw only 77 pitches in his seven innings. Fortuno struck out eight Bobcats and did not allow a walk. He gave up a first-inning base hit to Richie Garcia and was strong at the end, retiring the last thirteen Bobcats.

“When I get out there, I tune everything out,” explained Fortuno. “I do not let taunts or crowd noises bother me. I am extremely focused, and I am happy with the end result.”

Platts was the hitting star for the Falcons with two doubles and four RBIs.

“I came out to the field feeling a little sick today,” Platts said. “I didn’t know what to expect. When I came to the plate, I was locked in. I saw the ball well and good things happened.”

Eric Rivera scored three times, while Vientos scored twice and had two RBIs. Andy Epstein also scored twice for the Falcons, while designated hitter Dylan O’Connell contributed two RBIs.

Richie Garcia was the only Bobcats player to reach base twice, as he singled and was hit by a pitch. He also made a nice play at third base to end the fourth inning.

This was the fourth meeting of the year between the Falcons and the Bobcats. Flanagan came out on the plus side of all four meetings.

“They had a good season this year, Evans said of his opponent. “They always have a good group of talent. They sent quite a few guys on to play college ball. We see them so often. It is tough to play them four times a year.”

For the Bobcats, the season has ended. While they lose a solid group of seniors, Manager Sergio Ambros has a good core of underclassmen ready to tackle the 2016 season.

“Tomorrow will be the toughest day,” Ambros said. “We won’t get the team together for practice like we did every day. Tomorrow we won’t; the season’s over.”

Leave a comment using your facebook account!