#1 Douglas Stays Perfect With Close Win Over #2 McCarthy

If there was going to be a team that pushed the mighty Stoneman Douglas Eagles (15-0) to the limit this season, it was always going to be the Archbishop McCarthy Mavericks (12-2).

The two top teams in Broward clashed Thursday night and put on a show as they battled for seven innings until the Eagles finally came out on top, 2-1. It was the kind of game that neither team should have lost and was only determined by a few close plays. The closest (and biggest) play of the night came on a bunt in the fourth inning from Douglas’ Jackson Abram, who was hitting eighth in the order.

The umpires ruled obstruction on the third baseman during what looked like a sure-fire double play for McCarthy and awarded the Eagles what ended up being the deciding run.

“Obviously, we’d probably still be playing 1-1 if it weren’t for that play,” Eagles manager Todd Fitz-Gerald said. “Got a safety squeeze down. The kid got it down, didn’t get out of the box and got tagged. We got in a little rundown there (at third). I think the baserunner was in the baseline and touched him, and that was the call. I don’t get paid to umpire, I get paid to coach and at the end of the day, you have to have some luck on your side.”

Don’t get it twisted. Douglas didn’t luck into a win. The Eagles are now riding a 37-game win streak and eyeing down a third-straight state title in Florida’s largest classification. It’s the kind of thing public schools aren’t supposed to be able to achieve, but that’s what makes Douglas so special.

Devin Fitz-Gerald delivered the team’s only other run of the night, with an RBI double in the third inning. That came immediately after the Mavericks scored their run, keeping the momentum of the game even at a crucial point. The rest of the night was all about pitching. Both sides got an all-time performance from their starters, but it was Jayden Dubanewicz who finished on top with a complete game and eight strikeouts.

“I couldn’t say enough about Jayden,” Fitz-Gerald said. “I thought he pounded the zone, attacked for strike one, made big pitches when he had to make big pitches. He gave up two — really one barrel all night, the little pop fly out home run.”

Dubanewicz, a 2024 Florida commit, might be a junior and the team’s No. 2, but he’d play the role of ace on most other squads. He didn’t start the night off too hot, surrendering a pair of singles in the first and a home run to catcher Noah Alburquerque, but a comebacker that ricocheted off him to end the second inning seemed to spark something in Dubanewicz. He retired 14 of the final 16 batters he faced to close out the game and earn the win.

“I was really confident coming in here,” Dubanewicz said. “They had my number in the fall, but if I just threw my game, I knew I could compete like I did.”

McCarthy’s starter, Connor McShane, was also lights out. He struck out seven over 5 2/3 innings with three walks and held Douglas to a season-low two runs. The future Florida State preferred walk-on certainly showed that he’s one of the state’s top arms who isn’t afraid of any competition.

“I think it’s the same every game,” McShane said. “You can respect them, but you can’t be scared of them. I mean, if you’re scared of them, you lose before the game even starts. I try to pitch like I pitch any other game. Come out, pound the strike zone, you know, miss bats. I did that for a little bit and they managed to get two off me, but I try to put my best foot forward and give us a chance to win.”

McShane certainly gave the Mavericks a chance to win, and manager Aaron Vorachek agreed after the game, blaming the loss on a few missed opportunities on offense. McCarthy had two men on in scoring position with one out to start the game and didn’t come through. A one-out Andrew Idelfonso double in the sixth also went wasted.

Still, it’s hardly a bad loss for the Mavericks, who have only dropped one other game on the season — a 10-0 rout at the hands of IMG Academy. Vorachek said that his loss was far easier to stomach, even if it was not what the team had hoped for.

“We’re playing what the polls consider be the No. 2 baseball team in the state and the No. 3 team in the country,” he said. “That’s who we’re playing. For us to come out and make a baseball game out of it — at that point, it’s anybody’s game. If we scratch for a runner in that last inning and get a ball or two to fall in, we’re walking off with a victory.”

For both teams, this week has been somewhat of a playoff simulation. The Eagles took down the other two-time state champs in the area, North Broward, earlier in the week and then faced the Mavericks, a club likely to vie for the 5A title in May. Getting the job done in tight games validates that Douglas indeed has what it takes to make it all the way to the end for a third-straight year.

“I went into this week telling our guys that we’re playing a semifinal and a state final. We had to play North Broward on Tuesday, which is a juggernaut. Then we had to come over and play these guys ranked No. 5 in the country. I told our guys that if we win these two games, we got a really good shot at being a state champion.”

For what it’s worth, Fitz-Gerald thinks that Archbishop McCarthy has what it takes to win it all, too.

“They (McCarthy) have got a very good ball club over there. I think we’re both in the same position, trying to go to Fort Myers. So, I venture to say, hopefully, they’ll get there.”

Vorachek is working on keeping his team humble and focused after a loss like this. Perhaps it’s the kind of midseason fuel that will make an already elite team even better. The Mavericks will find out very quickly what it all means as they face a tough Westminster Christian club on Friday.

“I don’t want us to peak early,” Vorachek said. “Obviously, we haven’t peaked yet. But, I said we have a chance and moving forward, starting tomorrow night, we can get on another win streak that carries into the playoffs. I always say that once you get to the playoffs, you have to be good, but you better be lucky, too. We just didn’t have anything really fall our way tonight.”

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