Flanagan baseball gets another shot at Douglas

BY PATRICK DORSEY pdorsey@MiamiHerald.com

TOM ERVIN / FOR THE MIAMI HERALD

Flanagan's Justin Frias hits the ball to center field for the go ahead run in the fifth inning against Cypress Bay on Thursday, April 24, 2008.

Nearly six weeks ago, Douglas beat Flanagan, and the Falcons bottomed out.

They were 6-5.

But a trip to the state final four was fresh in their memories. And there was a trio of talented left-handers in their rotation.

And they have one of South Florida's top hitters -- a player coach Ray Evans called ''a step above high-school baseball, without a doubt'' -- anchoring their lineup.

So why the struggles?

''There was a lot of doubt going on,'' Evans said, ``[about] if we were really going to be able to hit the ball the way we needed to hit the ball this year.''

Fifteen games later, that doubt is gone. The Falcons' (19-7) pitchers -- Corey Witkowski (7-1), R.J. Fondon (6-3) and Josh Gonzaga (5-2) -- kept scorching, and the rest of their hitters caught up to senior star shortstop Rolando Gomez.

Now, Flanagan heads into Tuesday's regional-quarterfinal rematch with Douglas (16-10) as District 12-6A champs, after Thursday's 8-4 win against Cypress Bay.

''Hopefully [we'll] get up to states again,'' said Gomez, whose team won its regional the past three years -- with state titles in 2005 and 2006.

To get there, Gomez needs to keep hitting. Not that he's had any trouble this year.

A University of Miami signee with strong draft prospects, Gomez is hitting near .500 with eight home runs -- all despite the fact that ''he has been pitched around, walked, [and] had junk thrown to him,'' Evans said.

Plus, he's been a leader in the lineup. Not a loud one, but the classic lead-by-example player -- who even took it upon himself to get better during the Falcons' slow start.

''[I had to] just try to go out there and play harder, try to do more,'' Gomez said, ``[and] try to motivate them more when things weren't going right.''

Lately, things have been going right. But everything could change in regionals, where ''everybody starts off 0-0,'' Douglas coach Dean Florio said.

Just as Evans and Co. are confident in their chances, so are the Eagles.

Florio knows his record, remembers his team's late 5-4 district-final loss to Taravella last week, and understands that Flanagan is ''tough to beat when it comes to regional,'' he said.

But he knows his team, too.

''We beat some very good teams at times, and at times we had some tough, heartbreaking losses throughout the year,'' Florio said. ``But when we play up to our potential we can play with anybody.''

• Also in 6A, Taravella hosts Cypress Bay, with rematches of the 12-6A (Flanagan-Cypress Bay) or 11-6A (Taravella-Douglas) finals possible in the ensuing round.

American Heritage, the 14-3A winner ranked No. 2 nationally by RISE magazine, hosts Boca Raton Pope John Paul II.

Other games listed below.

FLAG FOOTBALL

They might not be the teams some expected -- not one was a district champion last year -- but the four squads in action Tuesday have one thing in common, according to Douglas coach Mitch Kaufman:

''Anybody that's playing tomorrow is there for a reason,'' Kaufman said of the regional semifinalists. ``They're all pretty good at this point.''

Kaufman knows one of the teams: his own, which ran its record to 14-1 with a 26-7 win against Piper last Friday in the first round of regionals.

Next up is District 22 champion Plantation (6-5), with the triumphant team advancing to Friday's state quarterfinal at West Boca Raton High.

Waiting will be the Hollywood Hills-Everglades winner (also played Tuesday, with Hollywood Hills hosting) meaning Broward is guaranteed one spot in Saturday's semifinals.

-- PATRICK DORSEY

TODAY'S SCHEDULE

BASEBALL

REGIONAL QUARTERFINALS

CLASS 6A

Cypress Bay at Taravella, 7

Douglas at Flanagan, 7

CLASS 5A

Naples Gulf Coast at St. Thomas Aquinas (at Nova), 4

Nova at Cape Coral Mariner, 7

CLASS 4A

Key West at Archbishop McCarthy, 4