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Miami Herald
04-05-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
History repeats as West Broward eliminates Columbus for second straight season
The approach West Broward took during the regular season has prepared them for the new best-of-three regional playoffs format. Coach Howard Stein preached to his club to simply, 'win the week.' Since most of the time, West Broward played three games in a week, taking at least two of three was the goal. That has actually proven to be the case in the regional playoffs as well. On Saturday, West Broward not only 'won the week,' the Bobcats claimed the series with a 14-4 mercy-rule victory over Columbus in the Region 4-7A semifinals. The Bobcats' path to the regional finals wasn't an easy one, since they lost Game 1, 4-3, at Columbus. But on the road in Game 2, they recovered and took a 3-0 victory, keeping their hopes alive. Under the new format, the first two games of the regionals are being hosted by the higher seeded team. If a third game is necessary, the lower-seed gets home field advantage. In the regional, Columbus is seeded second, and West Broward is third. 'We've talked all year about just winning the week,' Stein said. 'That's been our mantra all year. Win the week. We lost the first week of the season, and we haven't lost a week since.' West Broward (21-12) eliminated Columbus (27-7) for the second straight season in the regional semifinals. The task ahead doesn't get any easier, with top-seed Stoneman Douglas next on the slate beginning on Wednesday at Douglas. 'These guys are gamers,' Stein said. 'They're true gamers. Once the game starts, no matter how we practiced. How we take IO [infield/outfield drills pregame], they play. They're not scared, and no moment is too big for them.' West Broward was clearly focused on Saturday for the 10 a.m. winner-take-all showdown with Columbus. The Explorers started off quickly, pushing across two runs in the first inning off Adrian Bermudez. With two-outs, Aquiles Arzeno and Max Alvarez delivered RBI singles. West Broward responded with three runs in the first inning. Explorers starter Mike Say recorded one out, and was charged with three runs (two earned). Columbus repeatedly went to the bullpen, using seven pitchers. In the first inning, the Bobcats scored three runs. Columbus pushed across two more runs in the second, ending Bermudez's day on the mound. Bermudez worked 1 2/3 innings, being charged with four runs. Again, West Broward came back, and led 7-4, after two innings, which took nearly 90 minutes to complete. 'Our kids really competed,' Stein said. 'We got down. But there was never panic. We really played with grit. We work hard, and no matter what the score is, these guys fight to the last out.' West Broward scored at least one run in every inning, and Figueroa, who came in with two outs in the second inning, didn't allow another run. The Bobcats' offense racked up 15 hits, including three doubles and a two-run homer from Ethan Lindor. Lindor belted a two-run homer for West Board. Lindor also had a double, as did Manuel Sarcos and Anthony Sanchez. 'We really grinded every at-bat, and we got pitchers out of there,' Stein said. 'We just keep grinding, and grinding and grinding. 'Once Angel came in. He really calmed everything down, and it was a ball game again. And then, we just kept tacking on, tacking on, tacking on. We had good approaches. Put the bat on the ball and put a lot of pressure on them.' West Broward ended it with two outs in the sixth inning on Bermudez's RBI single. Columbus wasn't able to manufacture much off Figueroa. Rene Ramirez had a terrific day at the plate for the Explorers, collecting three hits, including a double, and he scored a run. Mario Magana went 1-for-4, and scored a run. Jose Correa had a run batted in, and scored a run. In both of West Broward's regional series wins, the Bobcats lost their first game, but went on to win the next two games. In the quarterfinals, they rallied from a game down to beat Southwest. Now, the challenge to get past Stoneman Douglas is ahead. These rivals met twice in the regular season, with Douglas winning both times. A year ago, Douglas defeated West Broward in the single-elimination regional finals. Now, these two 7A powers meet again with a trip to the state finals in Fort Myers is on the line. 'That's where we want to be,' Stein said. 'To be the best, you've got to beat the best. We're excited about it.'
Miami Herald
01-05-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Gio Rojas strikes out nine, Stoneman Douglas rolls in regional playoff against Taravella
When Gio Rojas is on the mound, Stoneman Douglas normally doesn't need many runs to celebrate a victory. The postseason has been a prime example. In both games started by Rojas, the Eagles threw shutouts. They squeaked out a 1-0 win against Western in the district title game. And in Game 1 of the regional quarterfinals, the Eagles edged Cypress Bay, 3-0. Rojas was back on the mound on Wednesday in Game 1 of the Region 4-7A semifinals. What was different in this outing is Douglas' offense provided plenty of support. If the offense heats up, combined with their outstanding pitching, chances are high that the Eagles will be back in Fort Myers seeking a fifth straight state title. Rojas on Wednesday struck out nine in 5 1/3 innings, and at the plate, Jake Rizzo and Nick Diaz each belted home runs that powered Douglas to a 12-2 win against Taravella. Rojas even helped his cause with a double, and two hits, and three RBIs. 'He loves to play,' Douglas coach Todd Fitz-Gerald said. 'He's the happiest kid around. He's always smiling. Always happy. Loves to swing the bat. Loves to be on the mound competing. That kid feels no pressure. That kid is unbelievable. He's a different human. He's on a different level. I couldn't be happier for him.' Rojas and the entire Douglas lineup put on a show in Game 1 of the best-of-three regional semifinal. Now with a win on Thursday, Douglas will advance to the regional finals. If the Trojans rebound, a decisive game three will be at Taravella on Saturday. 'Taravella, they're scrappy,' Fitz-Gerald said. 'They're going to compete. They're going to pitch. They're going to grind out at-bats. They probably had the best swings on Gio than anybody has all year.' The Trojans came out swinging, and actually nearly took the lead in the top of the first inning. J.C. Martinez led off with a long drive that sent left fielder Bennett Gary to the fence. Gary, a Miami commit, made a terrific catch, robbing Martinez of a home run. Rojas did give up six hits, and Taravella had a few chances. But when necessary, the Eagles' ace executed pitches to avoid any serious trouble. 'He didn't have his best stuff today,' Fitz-Gerald said. 'But it was good enough, obviously. I'm really happy to see our offense finally win a game, because we needed that offensively. Hopefully, that carries over to tomorrow.' Overall, it was a nice team win for Douglas, which pitched, hit and played solid defense. On a day the wind was blowing in, two Douglas players were able to hit the ball out of the park. Rizzo blistered a line drive homer to left. And in the sixth inning, Diaz belted a two-run home run to center that gave the Eagles a 10-run lead, promptly ending the game due to the mercy rule. Diaz had quality at-bats all night. Taravella started left-hander Zach Stephens, who has an unorthodox approach. Stephens has a knack of effectively getting bad swings on pitches less than 80 mph. Conversely, Rojas has his fastball max at 97 mph, and in the sixth inning, he touched 95 mph. 'You saw Diaz's two-swings early,' Fitz-Gerald said. 'Nice and easy. Just staying through, kind of like BP. Sometimes when you face a guy like that, you want to drop and lift. But the wind was blowing in, and I told the guys, just stay behind the ball. We really slowed it up [Tuesday] in our practice preparation, and they stuck to the plan. I couldn't be happier.' Stephens also dealt with some tough luck. While the lefty allowed seven runs on seven hits, just three runs were earned. Gary set a tempo early, leading the first inning off with a single, and he scored three times. Michael Ossenfort chipped in with a double. For Taravella, Ryan Valdez had two hits and an RBI, and Anthony Tizol doubled and drove in a run. Tyler Morgan also had two hits, while Stephens – in a left-on-left matchup with Rojas – ripped a single. Whoever prevails in the Douglas-Taravella series will face the Columbus-West Broward winner beginning next Wednesday in the best-of-three regional finals. Columbus took Game 1 against West Broward, 4-3.
Miami Herald
27-04-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
West Broward hangs on to beat Southwest to advance to 7A baseball regional semifinals
Head coach Howard Stein made no bones about it. Asked when the news came out before the season began that the FHSAA state regional baseball playoffs had gone to best two-out-of-three instead of the traditional one-game format and if he was happy about it, his answer was emphatic. 'I hated it and I was one of the biggest opponents against it,' Stein said. He then paused and unveiled a sheepish grin on his face. 'What a great rules change.' Stein was all for it now because under the old one-game format, his Pembroke Pines West Broward team's season would have ended Wednesday when No. 6 seeded Southwest traveled to Broward County and knocked off the Bobcats 4-1. West Broward took maximum advantage of the second opportunity. Two days after shutting out the Eagles in game two (6-0), the Bobcats traveled to Southwest's Andre Dawson Field on Saturday afternoon for the 'rubber' match and hung on for a 5-4 victory in a Region 4-7A quarterfinal matchup. West Broward (19-11) advances to next week's regional semifinal round and the No. 3 seeded Bobcats will travel to Miami to take on No. 2 Columbus with Games one and two scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday at Columbus at 4 p.m. It will mark the third straight year the two have met in the same round with the Explorers winning in 2023 and the Bobcats last season. West Broward, on the strength of a strong offensive game from junior second baseman Ivan Sabater, had built a 5-0 lead through four innings and were one out away from wrapping up an seemingly easy 5-1 win. But Southwest, as it seems to have done so many times on its home field, would not quit. A half dozen times, the Eagles were literally down to their last strike before both Ajay Perez and Orisjoe Valdes worked walks off West Broward pitcher Angel Figueroa. Senior captain Albert Bell then stepped up and, again with two strikes, hit a towering drive over the fence in right center for a three run homer as the Eagles dugout celebrated. Stein then brought in ace closer Derek Sclafani to try and get the final out. When Sclafani induced Michael Cabrera to hit a routine grounder to second, it appeared he had done so. That was until the Bobcats second baseman booted it bringing Max Rico to the plate. When Cabrera attempted to steal second, the throw down went into center field and he took off for third. In a moment that Southwest coach Mandy Palaez and his team will look back on as an opportunity lost, West Broward center fielder Ethan Lindor bobbled the ball. Palaez initially waved Cabrera home. But Cabrera, not realizing what had happened with Lindor's bobble, had already stopped and headed back after rounding third. One pitch later, Sclafani struck out Rico swinging to end the game. 'I threw him a two-seam fast ball that was outside and got him to chase it,' Sclafani said. 'I didn't really didn't think I'd be going in but I knew I had to be ready just in case I got the call and I was.' Palaez didn't fret too much over that final sequence involving Cabrera. 'Once he had stopped, it was a good thing he didn't try and score because he would've been out,' said Palaez after he had finished giving his team its season-ending speech in right field following the contest. 'I'm proud of our kids. We never ever quit in a game and we showed that out there again today.' West Broward built its lead by plating three runs in the second thanks to five hits, one a double by Sabater. Sergio Garcia and Anthony Sanchez followed with a bunt single and infield hit, respectively before Carlos Paneque and Lindor delivered with RBI singles to complete the rally. One inning later, Sabater stepped up and drilled one over the right field fence for a solo home run and 4-0 lead chasing Eagles starter Uclides Alvarez. 'Their pitcher (Alvarez) didn't have a lot of velo (velocity) to get it past me and he pitched me outside so I decided to stay back and hit it the other way,' said Sabater when asked about his two big hits. 'That was my plan the whole game.' Trailing 5-0, the Eagles (17-11) finally got something going with a two-out rally in the fifth on back-to-back singles by Perez and Valdes before Bell hit an RBI double off the center field fence chasing West Broward starter Adrian Bermudez. With runners on second and third, Figueroa entered and got Cabrera to ground out to second to end the threat. 'Give them credit,' said Stein pointing over to the Southwest postgame huddle in right field. 'They're a well-coached team and those kids scrapped, clawed and just wouldn't go away. Right down to the last out, they gave us a real scare but fortunately our guy made a big pitch when it counted the most. Columbus again – it's going to be a great series and we're excited for the opportunity.'
Miami Herald
27-04-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Big first inning propels Taravella past Western in 7A baseball regional quarterfinals
Check another goal off the list for the Taravella baseball team. The young, talented, and fundamentally sound Trojans on Saturday took care of business and tripped up Western, 9-4, in the decisive third game of a Region 4-7A quarterfinal series. JC Martinez powered Taravella with four hits, including a double and home run, and finished the afternoon with four hits and three RBIs. Left-hander Joey Ghann allowed just one earned run in 4 2/3 innings, and Taravella now advances to the Region 4-7A semifinals against four-time, defending state champion Stoneman Douglas. Game 1 of the three-game set will be on Wednesday at Douglas, the top seed in the region. Game 2 will be on Thursday, and if Game 3 is necessary, it will be on Saturday, May 3, at Taravella. 'We set two goals for the season,' Taravella first-year coach Jorge Miranda said. 'First goal was making it to regionals. We had a good enough regular season to get to regionals, comfortably, within the first four or five seeds. And win one series.' Already, the Trojans accomplished those objectives. Even though they lost 2-0 to Western on April 14 in the first game of the district tournament, Taravella entered the regional quarterfinals as the fourth seed. Western was fifth. The Wildcats forced a game three with a 9-3 win on Thursday at Taravella. Taravella (17-11) seized control on Saturday with a five-run first inning. All the runs scored with two outs. Anthony Tizol opened the scoring with a two-run home run to right. Western starter Ryan Schaefer was hurt by walks, issuing five of them, and the right-hander was lifted after recording two outs. Sebastian Mayfield kept the inning alive with his two-out walk. Tizol followed with his homer. 'Scoring five runs with two outs set the tone,' Miranda said. With a big lead early, Ghann pitched to contact, and let his defense work behind him. Third baseman Colton Dishman, especially, stood out at third base. 'I think rolling into the next couple of innings, and having ground ball after ground ball, and my third baseman making play after play, allowed us to kind of calm down,' Miranda said. Zach Stephens had an RBI double for Taravella, and Jeremiah McFarlane added a run-scoring single, and the Trojans never looked back. Western (13-16) trailed 6-0 before getting on the board in the fifth inning. Gavin Andreu had a single and scored a run. For Western, Miguel Tapia and Taisuky Rodriguez each scored runs for the Wildcats. A decisive blow came in the top of the seventh when Martinez blistered a two-run home run to left-center, making it 9-3, before Western added a run in the seventh. Bryson Plante pitched the final 2 1/3 innings for the Trojans. 'In games like this, it's about putting balls in play, playing good defense and getting outs,' Miranda said. 'That's what we did.' The regional semifinals should be filled with drama and excitement with neighboring Stoneman Douglas and Taravella. Douglas' pitching has been dominant all season, and it's been especially strong in the postseason. In the two regional wins against Cypress Bay, they gave up just two runs. And Douglas pitchers tossed two shutouts in the district tournament. Coach Todd Fitz-Gerald's team certainly is among the favorites to win the 7A state title. 'Douglas is a great program,' Miranda said. 'Deep pitching staff. Good athletes. Fitz is a great coach. We're going to go in there as underdogs. 'Not saying nobody is going to give us a chance, because, obviously, I think we're a good enough team to go out there and compete. We're going in there with the mentality of playing loose, playing free, and whatever happens happens.'
Miami Herald
22-02-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Doral Academy girls edge past Miami High to secure return trip to state semifinals
Doral Academy's path to its first state final four did not require a playoff victory over Miami High a year ago. The Firebirds knew that was a fluke. During the 2024-25 season, the two Miami-Dade County girls' basketball powerhouses couldn't get away from each other after being placed in the same district. After splitting two lopsided results, the decisive game appropriately came down to a last-second shot. And when Miami High guard Sydney Wilson's jumper from just behind the free throw line bounced high off the back rim as time expired, Doral Academy had cleared its biggest obstacle with a 55-54 win over the Stingarees in the Region 4-7A final at its home gym. 'It's an amazing feeling. These are two of the top teams in Miami and much respect to Miami High,' Doral Academy coach Allison Bustamante said. 'We went to their place and they blew us out and we won the district championship here comfortably. Hey, much respect to them but this year it's about Doral Academy.' Doral Academy (21-7) returns to state and will face Orlando Dr. Phillips at 9 a.m. in a Class 7A state semifinal on March 7 at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland. It's the first time Miami High (18-11) has come up short of reaching the state final four in consecutive seasons since 2016-2017. 'From the beginning of the year we went through the highs and lows and we came out of it stronger together and this game was a microcosm of our entire season,' Bustamante said. 'We came out hot, we stumbled, but then we fought back and ended up victorious. I'm so proud of these girls.' And it wouldn't have happened had Doral Academy not established a presence in the paint from the beginning of the contest - a factor that typically had played more in Miami High's favor thanks to their size. Stephanie Vega led the Firebirds on the scoresheet with 16 points. But it was junior forward DJ Myers, who tipped the scales in the battles near the rim. Myers finished with 15 points. She also took a pass from Victoria Valle (12 points) and drew a foul with 12.9 seconds left with Miami High having just taken a one-point lead. Myers calmly made both free throws which ended up being the difference. 'I had a feeling it would (come down to the wire),' Myers said. 'My teammates worked hard. We were scared every time we put up a shot if it was going in or not, but we had to just keep going.' Moments earlier, Miami High had forced a pair of turnovers in succession, which led to the Stingarees erasing a 53-47 deficit with under two minutes left. Jamir Cook, who led the Stingarees with 16 points despite picking up three fouls in the first half, scored with 1:34 to go. Wilson forced a jump ball and hit a layup to cut the deficit to two. After Doral's second turnover with 29 seconds left, Wilson fed the ball inside to Cook, who scored and made a go-ahead free throw with 24.5 seconds left. The Firebirds chose not to call timeout and ran the play inside to Myers that resulted in the go-ahead points. 'That's clearly where they had the advantage over us, but DJ neutralized that and swung that in our favor,' Bustamante said. 'She played the best game I've ever seen her play and that's why she came to Doral, to have games like that when the lights shine brightest.' There were nine lead changes in the first half until Doral took an eight point lead following a 10-0 surge with 2:23 left in the second quarter. Miami High scored five consecutive points to end the half, however, and keep the game close. A Wilson layup tied the game at 41 heading into the fourth quarter. 'I'm so proud of my kids,' Miami High coach Sam Baumgarten said. 'DJ hitting the two free throws was huge. I thought it might go to overtime. Nine times out of 10 Sydney hits that shot, but hey, hats off to them.'
