Latest news with #Taravella
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
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.'
