Posted on Sat, May. 03, 2008

Flanagan coach Ray Evans was confident before Friday night's Class 6A regional semifinal.

Evans sent right-hander Corey Witkowski to the mound and knew his ace was stellar all season.

The confidence soared after the first inning when the Falcons took a two-run lead. Witkowski allowed just four hits to pace Flanagan's 5-2 victory over host Taravella.

''It was huge,'' Evans said of giving Witkowski the early lead. ``He's been good all year. We knew coming in to this, they had question marks if they were going to be able to hit him anyway. We [knew] if we get out in front early, they're going to be pressing, pressing, pressing the whole game, which they did.''

The Falcons (21-8) got back-to-back one-out singles by Rolando Gomez and Alexander Sanchez off starter Teddy Lee before designated hitter Justin Frias belted a fly ball to left. Outfielder Kevin Alexander lost the ball in the setting sun, and both runs scored on Frias' double.

''It was a tough way to start the game with the ball in the sun,'' Taravella coach Jason Stein said.

Flanagan added to the lead in the fifth on a solo home run to straight away center by Zach Johnson.

Taravella scored in the bottom of the fifth on a solo home run by Lee, who took the loss and finished the season 4-3.

The Falcons added two runs in the seventh when Gomez -- who reached on a walk and advanced on a two-base throwing error by pitcher Jeff Hopkins -- scored on a wild pitch and Frias added an RBI-double.

Taravella (23-6) got its first two runners on in the seventh.

Witkowski (9-1) got the next two batters to ground into two fielder's choices and got Austin Watters to fly out to right to end the game.

FLANAGAN 5, TARAVELLA 2

Flanagan 200 010 2--5 10 2 Taravella 000 010 1--2 4 1 WP: Corey Witkowski (9-1). LP: Teddy Lee (4-3). Records: Flan 21-8, Tara 23-6.

• Nova 9, St. Thomas 5: Nova scored six runs on two hits in the first inning. St. Thomas cut the deficit to 7-5 in the sixth inning. But the Raiders added two insurance runs in the seventh inning.

3A REGIONAL SEMIFINAL

HERITAGE 4, C. SPRINGS CHA. 1

CSC 000 000 1 --1 5 1 AH 120 010 0 --4 7 1

WP: Juan Carlos Fulbaran (9-0). LP: Arboleya. Top performers: Juan Carlos Fulbaran had seven strikeouts. Nick Castellanos was 2 for 2 with an RBI. Brandon Sedell was 2 for 3 with two RBI. Records: AH 27-2; CSC 16-13.

TRACK AND FIELD

Imagine having your fortunes linked to three other people and that one split-second gaffe could ruin it for everybody.

The Boyd Anderson girls' relay teams have navigated that slippery slope all season.

Thanks to precision stick handling and near-telepathic communication on handoffs, Boyd Anderson is the lone school bringing three relay units ranked top four in Florida to the FHSAA Class 4A Track and Field Finals at Showalter Field in Winter Park.

''You have to really trust the next person,'' said sophomore Sharniece Supal, who will run the 1,600 relay with Rebecca James, Eva Pierce and Rachael James. ``Trust that just as you work hard and you gave it all, you have to know the other person you pass the baton to will do the same.''

The team to beat in the 1,600 relay appears to be Miami Northwestern, which brings the state's top time (3:46.01) into the finals, followed by Miami Southridge (3:46.89), Lake Mary (3:50.42) and the Cobras (3:51.50).

While Southridge enters as a slight favorite to win the team title and defending state champion Northwestern is known to ratchet it up for states, a big day by the Boyd Anderson relay, along with a few breaks here and there, could have the Cobras in the hunt.

For the Cobras to stay in contention late, they will need a season-best effort from it's 3,200 relay team of Rebecca James, Pierce, Philimina Louis and Rachael James.

The Cobras clocked the No. 4 time in the state (9:27.89) to win the BCAA title but are looking to redeem themselves after a disappointing performance at the Florida Relays.

In what was a highly anticipated early season head-to-head matchup against Miami Northwestern, the Cobras finished ninth in 9:53.65. Northwestern, meanwhile, cruised to victory in 9:06.89, which has held up as the No. 1 time in Florida.

Rachael James, who along with twin sister Rebecca and Eva Pierce, helped the Cobras set the school record (9:10.76) at the 2007 finals, said the Florida Relays served as a wake-up call.

''I think we were too prideful,'' Rachael James said.

``That was a nice way of the Lord telling us to stay humble.''

-- FABIAN LYON