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Miami Herald
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Western softball rallies in seventh to beat West Broward, return to state
Western's four-run rally in the bottom of the seventh inning stunned West Broward with a 5-4 victory in a Class 7A regional final at Western High. With two outs and the bases loaded, Wildcats starting senior pitcher Ali Solo forced in the winning run when she was hit by a pitch on her right foot to score Katarina Kuma from third. The victory lifted the advanced Wildcats (20-5-1) to the state semifinals at Boombah-Soldiers Creek Park in Longwood where they will look to repeat as state champs. Western will face Oviedo Hagerty on May 23 at either 2 or 4 in a 7A state semifinal. 'We fight to the end,' Western coach John Bradshaw said. 'These girls have been in big games, and they never give up. We preach that day in and day out. A lot of hard work goes into this. Every time we step on the field, we have a chance to win. The opposing pitcher lost control towards the end, and I instructed Ali (Solo) to take advantage of this opportunity. It turned out and we're going to states.' Solo, who wasn't having her best outing, relished in the moment. 'This was probably one of the biggest moments for me,' Solo said. 'I wasn't expecting her to hit me at all. She had been pitching great all night. Honestly, I was going to do anything for my team at that point. I had been struggling at the plate. Taking that pitch obviously got us somewhere.' Up 2-1 entering the top of the sixth inning, the Bobcats added two more runs on an error, allowing Mady Remotigue and Cyara Geronimo to score increasing their lead to three runs. West Broward (18-8) took a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning on a two-run double down the left-field line, with Victoria Carmona and Isabella Cruz scoring. Western had managed a pair of meaningless hits through the first three-innings, before a bunt single by Gia Solano pushed Delaney Clair, who was running for Kennedy Butter, home from third. 'She gave it everything she got,' said West Broward coach Kyle Davis of his starting pitcher in sophomore Cheyanne Chaffin. 'Sometimes it just doesn't go your way. Having a 4-1 lead slip away in the last inning with an out is hard to swallow. We just fell short, and it hurts. It's beyond words.'
Miami Herald
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Two-out, two-run homer by Lorenzo Laurel sends Stoneman Douglas back to state playoffs
Championship-caliber teams find a way. No matter the odds. No matter the situation. When pushed, the great ones deliver. If there were any questions about the resolve of the Stoneman Douglas Eagles baseball team, what transpired in the seventh inning on Thursday night showed why they are a national powerhouse. Down to their final out, Lorenzo Laurel connected on a two-run home run that lifted the Eagles to an 8-7 walk-off victory against West Broward at Anthony Rizzo Field. Laurel's heroics capped a four-run seventh inning, which gave the four-time defending state champions another Class 7A regional championship, and a berth in the state playoffs next week in Fort Myers. Douglas (29-2) has remained undefeated in the postseason, and the Eagles have won 12 straight. 'These guys have got the heart of a champion, man,' Douglas coach Todd Fitz-Gerald said. On Thursday, both Broward County teams showed tremendous heart. Douglas scored twice in the first and second innings, taking a 4-0 against West Broward starter Braden 'Ace' Aguila, who settled and gave his team 4 1/3 innings. For Douglas, Daniel Tartaglia worked 4 2/3 innings, and gave up two runs, before being replaced by another left-hander Breylynn Courtney. In the fourth inning, the Bobcats (21-14) chipped back with RBI hits from Reggie Rodriguez and Anthony Sanchez. West Broward pulled ahead in the sixth inning on Ethan Lindor's grand slam. Suddenly, the Bobcats were up by two, and they added an insurance run in the seventh inning. Manuel Sarcos doubles and Isaiah DelValle had an RBI single. 'That one run, I thought, was going to bite us,' Fitz-Gerald said. It was a big run, because it gave West Broward a 7-4 lead. Had Douglas not rallied, Game 3 would have been scheduled for Saturday at West Broward. 'None of us wanted to get to Saturday,' Fitz-Gerald said. The Eagles' offense quickly responded in the seventh inning. Gio Rojas led off with a single against relieve Angel Figueroa. Nick Diaz followed with a single, and Douglas had runners on the corners. Adrian Bermudez took over on the mound. A wild pitch plated a run for Douglas. And the Eagles made it a one-run game when Michael Ossenfort reached on an error, with another run scoring on the play. Bermudez settled and recorded back-to-back strikeouts, bringing up Laurel. The junior, who is committed to Florida, took a strike before crushing the walk-off homer, which sent the ballpark into a frenzy of celebrating players and fans. 'Lorenzo Laurel has the propensity to come up big,' Fitz-Gerald said. 'I couldn't be happier for him.' The loss was a tough one for West Broward, a team that has repeatedly found a way to advance in the best-of-three regionals. In the quarterfinals and semifinals, the Bobcats lost the first game but rallied to win the next two, and ultimately won their respective series with Southwest, and Columbus. '[They're] a well coached team,' Fitz-Gerald said of the Bobcats. 'Young. They're going to be back.' Douglas' walk-off heroics brought back memories of 2022, when in a similar situation in a playoff game, Santiago Ordonez hit a game-winning home run, also to left field. 'Sometimes you're a team of destiny, or are destined to be here,' Fitz-Gerald said. 'The resolve.' For Stoneman Douglas and the Parkland community, the Eagles advancing to another state playoffs is another opportunity to pay tribute to those tragically lost in the 2018 school shooting. 'For the community,' Fitz-Gerald said. 'Again, we honor the 17 every night that we play, especially here. There's something special about this place. I just think we have angels on our back. I really believe that. 'I try to live the good life. I try to be a great dad, husband, father. These kids give it to us every day. I couldn't be more proud of them.'
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
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
01-03-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Douglas starting pitcher returning from Tommy John surgery leads Eagles to BCAA title
It's been 18 months since senior right-handed pitcher Chase Wildroudt had Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. Friday he was the starting pitcher for Stoneman Douglas against West Broward in the BCAA Tier 1 baseball championship game. With one start already this season, Wildroudt made his second start of the season since his injury on October 24, 2023. He went 5 2/3 innings allowing five hits, while striking out four to lead the Eagles to a 3-0 victory over the Bobcats at Nova High. It was also the Eagles third title in the third year of the tournament. The victory was the 12th consecutive over West Broward, while holding them to 23 consecutive scoreless innings. Douglas (7-1) has shut out the Bobcats six times during their winning streak. 'He's about 18 months from Tommy John surgery and this was his third outing getting better and better each week,' said Douglas coach Todd Fitz-Gerald. 'He did great tonight. He was outstanding managing his pitches. He got some big strikeouts when we needed it.' Backed by a stellar defensive effort, the Eagles allowed one base runner to get into scoring position, while Wildroudt was on the mound. Four times West Broward baserunners were called out trying to steal and advanced on a baseball hit. Junior Jake Rizzo had a pair of RBI, one in the bottom of the second inning and another two innings later. The third run came on a Bobcats (4-4) error in the bottom of the fourth inning. 'This feels great as I was struggling earlier in the season,' Rizzo said. 'I've turned it up a notch and I feel like I've been able to help the team a lot.' West Broward will host Douglas next Friday at 4 p.m. 'It's baseball and right now we got it rolling pretty good,' Fitz-Gerald said. 'We got to go against them next Friday and it could be a different situation. Couldn't be happier on how our guys handled themselves tonight.' With the victory the Eagles haven't suffered a second loss in the first eight games of a regular season since the 2019 season. Senior left-hand pitcher Andrew Sarro was credited with the save. ▪ Teir 2 Championship result: Pembroke Pines Charter 3, Nova 2.
