North Broward Prep rallies again to secure its first state baseball championship
Playing under pressure became a staple of North Broward Prep baseball over the past month.
So what was a little more drama in the most important game in school history.
The Eagles, who won five consecutive playoff games by one run entering Tuesday’s Class 4A final at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, rallied again from an early deficit to beat Citra North Marion 8-4 and secure the school’s first state championship.
The Eagles (21-10-1), who trailed 4-1 in the third inning, chipped away with two runs in the third and broke the game open with five more in the bottom of the fifth to deny the Colts (21-9) their shot at their first state title.
Freshman Riley Luft entered the game in the third after the Colts had done their damage and pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings in relief to keep them at bay while the Eagles made their comeback. Their latest rally came one night after rallying from a 5-0 deficit against Dunedin in the semifinal to win 7-6 in nine innings on a walk-off double by Josh Steidl.
Appropriately, Luft drew the bases-loaded walk from North Marion pitcher Hunter Jones in the fifth, which put the Eagles ahead for good. Senior Dylan Runsdorf followed with a two-run single to help break the game open.
Yoel Tejeda Jr. reached on a two-base error in center field by Eli Garcia to begin the fifth. North Broward Prep senior center fielder Ty Richman laid down a perfect bunt up the third base line to load the bases. Freshman Gian De Castro, who also had a triple in the second inning, tied the score with a single to left field.
MCCARTHY ADVANCES
Archbishop McCarthy sophomore Andrew Ildefonso struck out four over 5 2/3 innings and made a key pickoff throw in the sixth inning to set up the Mavericks’ 4-1 comeback win over Naples Barron Collier in a Class 5A state semifinal on Tuesday at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers.
The Mavericks (21-8-2), who are playing in the state final four for the first time since 2017 when their run of seven state titles in eight seasons ended, will face a familiar foe when it takes on Lynn Haven Mosley on Wednesday at 1 p.m. in the Class 5A final.
McCarthy is 4-0 all-time at state against Mosley, beating the Dolphins (26-5) to win their championships in 2013, 2015 and 2016.
After the pickoff play erased Barron Collier’s potential go-ahead run in the sixth inning, the Mavericks broke a scoreless tie in the bottom half of the inning with four runs. Back-to-back doubles by sophomore Antonio Jimenez and senior Stefano Molaro, who went 2 for 3, accounted for the first run. Sophomore Zaid Diaz made it a 2-0 lead with an RBI single and senior Jake Alfaro provided the big blow with a two-run triple off the left-field wall.
Adrian Vega gave up one run in the seventh when Carter White tripled and came around to score on a ground out. But Vega shut the door from that point on to seal the victory, finishing with a strikeout and two hits over 1 1/3 innings.