South Broward Wins 1st District Title Since 2010

Sometimes, storybook endings write themselves. That was the case on Thursday night with South Broward and Nova facing off for the 6A-15 title.

Former Bulldogs player Antonino Schembari returned to his alma mater as an assistant a couple seasons ago, and this year, he took over as the manager at South Broward.

On Thursday, his Bulldogs delivered the first school district title since 2010, defeating Nova 6-5.

“For these guys to go out and accomplish the first district title in 14 years, in year one, is really special,” said Schembari. “It is really a testament to how hard these guys have worked and how they have bought in to the system and culture we are trying to build. It lays a great foundation for the future.”

Early on it looked like this was going to be a wild, high scoring affair. The Titans, who have been playing better baseball down the stretch of the season, scored three runs in the top of the first.

In their half of the inning, South Broward answered right back. A hit by pitch, a Cristian Brennan single, and a two-rbi double by Keniel Marrero cut the lead to 3-2. After tying the game, Francisco Gomez gave the Bulldogs the lead with a two-run single.

In the top of the third, Nova struck again. A couple of walks, a fielders choice ground ball, and a Ricky Relyea RBI single cut the lead to 6-5.

That would be as close as Nova would get, as the pitchers settled in for both teams, not allowing a run over the final four innings of play.

“It was a great baseball game tonight,” said Nova Manager Brian Luebkert. “Both teams fought hard. We just didn’t hit enough. South Broward is a scrappy group of kids, and they came back after we went up 3-0 and answered our runs in that first inning. That was a big momentum swing. Overall, it was just a well-played game.”

Schembari agreed.

“Both times played like they wanted to win a district championship tonight. We were lucky enough to come out on top in a game that could have went either way. It was a big building step game for us, and we are looking forward to playing next week and competing again, in regionals.”

Despite the loss, Nova also held their heads high as their season came to an end.

“It was a good season for us,” said Luebkert. “We had to battle through a lot of injuries through the year, and we played hard right until the last out tonight, we just couldnt get that big hit.”

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