Latest news with #Region4-6A
Miami Herald
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Nationally-ranked Doral Academy softball team moves closer to state final four
Doral Academy's softball team has taken things to a higher level this season. The Firebirds are 28-1 following Tuesday's 10-0 mercy-rule win at home over Coconut Creek Monarch in a Region 4-6A semifinal. They are ranked No. 4 nationally by MaxPreps. And just how dominant have they been this postseason? Since the district playoffs began, Doral has even allowed a hit. Senior Meagan Villazon, who stepped up and became the team's ace in the pitching circle this season, pitched her fifth no-hitter in a start of four or more innings this season on Tuesday, striking out 10 of the 15 batters she faced. She also hit a two-run double to help Doral break open a close game with five runs in the third and three more in the fourth. Alondra Aldebol-Borrero went 3 for 3 with a triple and an RBI while Anabela Abdullah went 2 for 4 with a home run and three RBI. Sarah Breaux went 2 for 2 with a home run, a triple and an RBI. On Thursday, the Firebirds will next host the winner of the South Plantation-West Boca Raton semifinal which will be played on Wednesday night, in the Region 4-6A final at Doral. MORE RESULTS ▪ Region 4-2A semifinal - Westminster Christian 9, Oxbridge Academy 8: The Warriors (19-7-1) rallied from an 8-1 deficit after five innings to keep their season alive and advance to the region final. Gigi Khoury led the comeback, finishing with a home run, two doubles and six RBI. Mya Rodgers also had a two-run double and Jasmine Armenteros went 2 for 4 with an RBI. Westminster Christian will next host Florida Christian on Thursday in the Region 4-2A final. ▪ Region 4-2A semifinal - Florida Christian 4, Fort Pierce John Carroll 3 (10): Sienna Gillen pitched all 10 innings, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out nine to lead the Patriots (19-8). Kianny Gil had two RBI and Shaun Fernandez had two hits. ▪ Region 4-5A semifinal - St. Thomas Aquinas 8, Pembroke Pines Charter 7: The Raiders (15-12) hung on for the win at home and will host Stuart South Fork on Thursday night in the regional final. Yenisett Yescas finished with five RBI for Pines Charter (12-15) and hit a bases-clearing double with one out in seventh to cut Aquinas' lead to 8-7. But the Jaguars were unable to drive Yescas home as the rally fell short. ▪ Region 4-7A semifinal - Western 3, Lake Worth Park Vista 0: Ali Solo gave up four hits over seven shutout innings, striking out five and walking one to lead the Wildcats (19-5-1). Analie Diaz hit a two-run home run and Katarina Kuma had an RBI. ▪ Region 4-7A semifinal - West Broward 11, Coral Reef 1 (6): Alivia Artanis went 2 for 4 with four RBI and Natalia Solorzano hit a three-run home run to lead the Bobcats (18-7) to the mercy-rule win over the top-seeded Barracudas (20-7) on Tuesday at Coral Reef. Ava DiFato and Victoria Carmona each had two hits and scored three runs for West Broward. DiFato also had two stolen bases. Sierra Johnson and Brianna Fields each hit doubles and Marley Blanco went 1 for 2 for Coral Reef. Sophomore Cheyanne Chaffin gave up one run in six innings, struck out six and walked three. The Bobcats will next face defending state champion Western on Thursday in the regional final. ▪ Region 4-4A semifinal - American Heritage 6, Somerset Academy 5 ▪ Region 4-4A semifinal - Key West 2, Archbishop McCarthy 1 ▪ Region 4-3A semifinal - Coral Springs Charter 12, St. Brendan 0 (5): Gio Gurgel went 2 for 2 with a home run and five RBI to lead the Panthers (23-3) over the Sabres (15-12). Mia Rodriguez and Addi Brown each had two RBI. Courtney Wahlbrink had two hits and an RBI triple and threw four no-hit innings, striking out seven. Coral Springs Charter will host Somerset Silver Palms on Thursday in the regional final. ▪ Region 4-3A semifinal - Somerset Silver Palms 5, Cardinal Gibbons 1 ▪ Region 4-1A semifinal - Schoolhouse Prep 12, AIE Charter 2 (5): Valeria Vazquez had three hits including two doubles and an RBI. Michelle Dominguez had a three-run double as well for the Wolfpack (14-9), who will host Miami Christian (15-8) in Thursday's regional finals. ▪ Region 4-1A semifinal - Miami Christian 7, Westminster Academy 0
Miami Herald
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
St. Thomas Aquinas baseball tops Doral Academy to punch ticket to Fort Myers
The task in front of the St. Thomas Aquinas baseball team when the Raiders traveled south into Miami-Dade County on Saturday was a big one. After splitting the first two games of their Region 4-6A final best-of-3 series, the last thing the Raiders wanted was to have to play a winner-take-all contest on Doral's home field, a place they refer to as 'the birdcage' because of its match-box style unusual dimensions that have given opponents fits for years. But the Raiders never blinked. St. Thomas wrapped out 13 hits including three long home runs and brought an end to Doral's long home postseason win streak with a 12-6 victory before a standing-room-only crowd. Doral, the No. 2 seed, entered Saturday having won 13 consecutive regional playoff games on its home field dating back to a 4-1 regional semifinal loss to Belen Jesuit in 2017. Aquinas knew it would have to bring its big bats with them to beat the Firebirds at their own game and that's exactly what happened. The win clinched the program's 10th trip to the state final four and first since 2018 when the Raiders won their last of three state championships. Aquinas (27-6) will be the No. 2 seed and take on No. 3 Valrico Bloomingdale at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers on Friday in a Class 6A state semifinal. 'We just had to get back to business today,' said center fielder Nico Sabatino who went three-for-five with a double and two RBI and also hit a grand slam home run in the first game of the series to propel the Raiders to a 8-4 win. 'We didn't let Thursday's loss effect us too much. It happens, that's why it's a best-of-three, a chance to come back and make things right. We came in here today, trusted each other, did our job and this was the result.' Doral (27-7) had Jadyn Nunez, a North Carolina commit, on the mound but the Raiders were unimpressed. After retiring the side in order in the first, Nunez struggled in the second, putting two batters on by hitting them. Cole Lasher then hit a ground ball up the middle that shortstop Kobe Carrion got to but couldn't handle. He then tried to fire back to third to double back the runner but threw wild into the stands, scoring two runs when each runner was awarded two bases. Shortstop Jayden Doverspike, the No. 8 hitter in the lineup then stepped up and launched the first of three Aquinas home runs over the high net in left field and just like that, the Raiders led 4-0. The Firebirds quickly answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning, a solo homer by George Pardo Jr. being the big hit, but the Raiders had an answer to that when they plated five more runs in the top of the fourth to open up a 9-4 lead. Lasher opened the inning with a base hit, was sacrificed to second before C.J. Pangello drew a walk and Sabatino followed with an RBI single which would be Nunez's last batter. Matthew Paez took over on the mound for Doral but things got no better. He gave up a walk, an RBI sacrifice fly by Zack Malvasio and then the big blow when first baseman Brady Buxbaum stepped up and blasted a three-run shot over the fence in left center to finish off the big inning. 'I just tried to change my approach today,' Buxbaum said. 'This entire series I was going up there a little too anxious trying to do too much so it was just a matter of trusting myself and trusting my guys behind me. I got a curve ball, middle, got under it and lifted it up and out. That was a big inning for us because it gave us a big cushion.' With a 10-4 lead, Aquinas starter Jonathan Lopez, normally the team's shortstop, had hung in there, battling the searing mid-afternoon heat for five innings. But when Jaivyn Francois, Gavin Ruvalcaba, Tyler Rodriguez and leadoff hitter Gabriel Milano led off the inning with four consecutive singles to make it 10-5, Lopez came out. With the bases loaded, no outs and Doral's No. 2, 3 and 4 hitters headed to the plate, reliever A.J. Lopez (no relation) induced a sacrifice fly to center off the bat of Leonardo Hernandez and then struck out Caleb Hernandez and Nunez to end the inning. St. Thomas' Andrew Alvarez then finished things off in the seventh with his team's third home run of the game, a two-run shot, again over the high net in left and the Firebirds were done, going down in order in the bottom of the inning to end the contest. The win ended years of frustrating regional losses for Aquinas coach Joey Wardlow, who took over the program a year after Troy Cameron delivered that state title in 2018. 'I don't look at things like that,' Wardlow said shurgging his shoulders. 'The way I approach things is the windshield is bigger than the rear view mirror. I'm always looking forward and that's the way we do things with our kids. We're going to go back to work on Monday doing the same things we've done, not changing anything. Today was great but we've got two more to go and I made sure our guys knew that.'
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Miami Herald
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Doral baseball tops St. Thomas, pushes Region 4-6A final series back to ‘The Cage'
Because of its small match-box style dimensions, the Doral Academy baseball team refers to its home field as 'The 'Birdcage.' And the Firebirds have been historically very tough to beat there. Thus, following a tough loss on Wednesday night in the first game of a best-of-3 series in the Region 4-6A final, their goal when they traveled for a second consecutive night to Fort Lauderdale to take on St. Thomas Aquinas was to do whatever it took to find a way to push the series there. Thanks to a strong pitching performance from Aaron Elissalt, a big two-run third inning blast over the left field fence by Dylan Prince, and two brilliantly executed double plays at crucial moments, that's exactly what happened as the Firebirds hung on to top Aquinas 5-3. St. Thomas will now travel to Doral Academy on Saturday at 1 p.m. with the winner advancing to the state final four at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers. 'We've got'em back in 'the cage' on Saturday and that was our goal coming into tonight,' Prince said. 'We really play well at home in front of our fans and wanted to get this thing back to our place.' Prince's two-run shot completed a five-run rally in the top of the third that staked Elissalt to a big 5-0 lead. But one that he almost lost in the last of the fourth. That's when the Raiders came back around to face him for the second time in the lineup and really hit him hard. After Elissalt hit Brady Buxbaum to open the inning, Josh Jennings followed with a deep shot off the fence in left center to put runners on second and third. Andrew Alvarez then stepped up and launched a towering blast over the high fence in dead center field for a three-run homer and suddenly Elissalt's five-run lead was down to two. It appeared the lead would be cut to one in the next inning when Jonathan Lopez launched another towering high shot to dead center. But in a bizarre fortunate twist for the Firebirds, the ball hit the top of the fence and dropped straight down into the glove of center fielder George Pardo who quickly fired to second, holding Lopez to perhaps the longest single in St. Thomas history. The next Aquinas batter, Zack Malvasio, then hit a laser right at third baseman Gabriel Milano who cooly fielded it and fired to second and then to first for an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play. One inning later, the Raiders had runners on first and second with one out when Jayden Doverspike hit a shot in between third and short. Shortstop Kobe Carrion not only got to the ball but quickly fired to second and then to first for another brilliant turntable inning-ending double play. Closing in on his max pitch count, Elissalt managed to finish the game with a quick three-up, three down last of the seventh to secure the win for his team. 'They've got some big bats and were really hitting it hard but I just wanted to attack every hitter I faced, make them hit the ball and then leave it up to my defense and you saw what happened out there,' Elissalt said. 'Those two double plays were huge. Now we've got them back at our place on Saturday in front of our fans and on our field where we feel like we're tough to beat.' Before Prince came to the plate in the third, Doral had already scored three runs thanks to base hits by Milano and Caleb Hernandez with a walk to Jadyn Nunez sandwiched in between. Leonard Hernandez then stepped up and cleared the bases with a double off the fence in left center setting the stage for Prince's big two-run blast. 'A great job tonight to come in here and get this thing done on their field,' Doral coach Ralph Suarez said. 'Now we've got it back at our place on Saturday and we'll see what we can do.'
Miami Herald
24-02-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Poll: Who should be the Miami Herald's High School Athlete of the Week? (Feb. 24)
South Florida's top athletes were recognized recently in the sports of basketball, cheerleading, soccer and wrestling. This week, we continue a feature where we ask you to vote for the best performer of the week from baseball, basketball, cheerleading, soccer and weightlifting in Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Take our poll below to cast your vote. The poll will be open until Thursday, Feb. 27, around 10 p.m. You may vote as often as you like until then. Here are the candidates: NOTE: You should see a Miami Herald box underneath this note for you to type Yes and click Submit. That will ignite the actual poll to vote. ▪ Mia Conard, Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons soccer: the junior scored the winner (the game's only goal) with 4:30 remaining as the Chiefs (13-5-2) edged Davie NSU University School 1-0 for the Region 4-3A title. ▪ Kaleb Corbitt, Pompano Beach Blanche Ely basketball: the junior scored a team-high 19 points, including a put-back basket off a rebound with 2:38 left to put the Tigers up 48-47 as Ely won the Region 4-5A title over defending state champ Pembroke Pines Charter 59-56. With 7.1 seconds left, he cooly drained two free throws to make it 59-54 and a few seconds later grabbed a key rebound on a purposely missed PPC free throw to end it. ▪ Jonas Duque, Miami St. Brendan basketball: the senior batted away a Northwestern pass, which was snagged by teammate Benny Fragela. He then retrieved the ball from Fragela and dribbled the length of the court to score what proved to be the winning basket as the visiting Sabres came-from-behind to upset top seed Miami Northwestern 70-69 to advance to a basketball region final for the first time in school history. Duque finished with a game-high 30 points including six 3-pointers. ▪ Angel Garcia, Miami True North baseball: the senior catcher caught a shutout (via three pitchers), drove in the winning run and threw out a runner trying to steal third to end the game on a strike-em out/throw-em-out double play as the visiting Titans upset nationally-ranked Parkland Stoneman Douglas 1-0. ▪ Naya Hardisson, Miami Southridge basketball: the sophomore scored a game-high 21 points, including five big points down the stretch as the Spartans (15-10) upset four-time defending state champ Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas 52-49 in a Region 4-6A semifinal. ▪ Amanda Kerry, Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons cheerleading: the senior and three-year letterwinner helped the Chiefs win their first national title at the UCA Championships in Large Varsity Non-Tumbling Division II at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando. Prior, they were second at the FHSSA state tournament in Class 1A Extra Large Non-Tumbling. ▪ Justice Lee, Marathon weightlifting: the junior won FHSAA state titles in Olympic and Traditional categories in Class 1A for the second consecutive season in Lakeland. She became the first dual state champion in Marathon High School history last season and repeated this season. ▪ Adaya Montalvo, Miami SLAM basketball: the senior scored 18 points to lift SLAM (15-12) over Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons 75-52 in a Region 4-3A semifinal. ▪ Haylee St. Hilaire, Miami Doctors Charter weightlifting: the senior won an FHSAA state title in Class 1A in the Olympic category. She helped the Hawks place second at state, a school first. ▪ Nicholas Pineros, Miami Gulliver Prep soccer: the senior scored the first goal and assisted on the second as the Raiders (19-2-2) won the Region 4-3A title with a 2-0 victory over Davie NSU University School.
Miami Herald
22-02-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
American Heritage, Southridge, SLAM Miami girls' basketball teams advance to state
Few teams in state history have put together the kind of stretches of success that American Heritage's girls' basketball team has for nearly a decade. The Patriots extended their run of consecutive trips to the state final four on Friday night by handling visiting Mater Lakes in the Region 4-4A final at American Heritage. Heritage (20-8) advances to the state semifinals for the ninth consecutive season and will take on Tallahassee Rickards at 1 p.m. on March 4 at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland. The Patriots have won six state championships during that span including a run of five in a row from 2018-2022. Mater Lakes finished the season 20-10 after making it to the regional finals for the second time in four seasons. SURGING SPARTANS Miami Southridge continued what's been a historic run for its program on Friday night when it took down Davie Nova at its home gym, 65-54 to win the Region 4-6A championship. The Spartans (16-10) took down the top two seeds in the region and in Class 6A overall in succession beating Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas this past Tuesday and the Titans on Friday. Southridge advances to the state final four for the first time since 1987 and will next face Tampa Steinbrenner on March 6 at 9 a.m. at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland. Freshman Sakura Barnes stepped up for the Spartans and led the way with 22 points while Dianka Hardisson scored 19 points. The Spartans have won five in a row since losing in the GMAC tournament final to Miami High. SLAM IS BACK SLAM Miami is headed back to Lakeland following an impressive 75-40 victory over Miami Carrollton on Friday night in the Region 4-3A championship game. The Titans (16-12) advance to the state semifinals for the second consecutive season and fourth time in program history - all since 2017. SLAM will attempt to win its first ever game at state on Friday at 11 a.m. when it faces top-seeded Sarasota Cardinal Mooney at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland. Jim'Miyah Branton led the Titans with 24 points while Samantha Bautista added 14 points. Adaya Montalvo had eight points. Carrollton finished the season 17-9 after advancing to the regional finals for the first time. Region 4-1A final - Boca Raton Grandview Prep 73, Schoolhouse Prep 45: Sophomore Lya Gonzalez led the Wolfpack (17-9) with 26 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Schoolhouse Prep advanced to the regional finals for the first time in program history.
