Douglas rallies to beat Columbus to return to state baseball final four

Innings were running short for the Stoneman Douglas baseball team and so were its chances to successfully defend a Class 7A state and national championship.

Christopher Columbus on the other hand seemed poised to pull the upset.

Not so fast.

Senior outfielder Jake Clemente connected on a two-out 3-2 pitch for a deep fly ball that exited the center-field fence for a three-run homer to rally the Eagles from a 4-2 deficit to a 7-4 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning.

It was Clemente’s fourth homer of the season.

Douglas held on for the 7-5 victory.

The Eagles (28-2) victory extended their school-record winning streak to 20 games.

It also advanced the team to the state semifinals on Friday at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers where it will face Oviedo Hagerty at 4 p.m.

The 28th victory of the season also set a school record. The 14-0 record at home was also a first for the Eagles.

Should Douglas win another state title it would the first team that a Broward County team in the upper classification would have back-to-back titles since Flanagan in 2005-06 seasons.

“Their pitcher kept coming with the slider and I sat on that’s, and I was ready to crush it and that’s what I did,” Clemente said. “We felt no pressure being down and felt that we would come back.”

The Eagles victory was the fourth straight over Columbus and third in a row in the playoffs. Douglas defeated the Explorers 3-2 in last year’s state semifinal and 3-0 in the 2016 state championship.

“It’s never easy in this type of atmosphere,” Douglas coach Todd Fitz-Gerald said. “Everything worked out and I think we are the best team. They were a lot tougher than last year.

As for Clemente’s home run.

“Jake had two no so good at bat,” said Fitz-Gerald. “Their pitcher hung a slider and Jake put it over the fence. No one will remember what he did in his first two at bats, but they will remember the oner he hit over the fence.”

Christian Rodriguez (7-1), despite allowing four runs, earned the victory. Chris Arroyo entered the game in the top of the sixth to earn the save.

“Douglas is No. 1 or No. 2 in the country for a reason,” Columbus coach Joe Weber said. “They are a great team and made a ton of great plays tonight. I was proud of our guys and the way they battled.”

Down by three runs the Explorers closed the deficit by one following an RBI single by Nick Mora. Down 7-5 in the top of the seventh, they would need more.

Columbus had extended its lead to 4-2 in the top of the fifth inning on an RBI single by Mike Corral.

Douglas got an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI single to left center by Santiago Ordonez that scored senior Roman Anthony from second.

Anthony reached base with a lead-off single to open the game.

Ordonez added the second run on a throwing error to home when Cameron Harris, who had reached on a single was able to avoid being caught on a steal attempt with a throw to home was high over the Columbus catcher Anthony Gonzalez head.

The Explorers (22-7) sliced the lead in half in the top of the second when Luis Miguel scored from third when a throw from short to first wasn’t in time to get Franklin Francisco for the third out of the inning.

Columbus took a 3-2 lead in the top of the fourth on a two-run single over second base, that allowed Corral and Julien Gonzalez to cross home plate.

MORE BASEBALL

▪ Region 4-6A final - Doral Academy 10, Palm Beach Gardens Dwyer 0: The Firebirds (25-4-1) convincingly avenged last year’s loss in the same round to Dwyer (20-10) to return to state for the first time since 2019.

Frank Menendez threw 4 2/3 innings and struck out nine. Michael Torres went 2 for 2 with a home run. Sebastian Berrios went 2 for 3 with a home run. Robert Rodriguez went 1 for 3 with three RBI. Jake Santos went 1 for 1 with two RBI.

▪ Region 4-2A final - Miami Christian 11, Lake Worth Trinity Christian 1: The Victors (27-3) returned to state for the third time in five years after also avenging a regional final loss last year to the opponent that dispatched them from the playoffs. After Trinity Christian scored first in the top of the first, Miami Christian answered with four runs in the bottom half and tacked on three more in the third and four more in the fourth to invoke the mercy rule the next inning. Miami Christian is seeking its fourth overall state title and third since going back-to-back in 2018 and 2019.

▪ Region 4-4A final - Cape Coral Island Coast 4, Miami Springs 1: A three-hour trip to the west coast ended in disappointment for the Golden Hawks (21-6), who fell short of returning to the state final four for the first time since 2019.

Springs managed just three hits off Island Coast starter Kevin Martinez while Springs starter Jordan Vargas struggled, failing to make it through four innings. After falling behind 1-0 in the first, Springs tied it in the second, scoring what would be their only run of the night on a Jordanny Gonzalez fielder’s choice one-out groundout with the bases loaded.

But the Gators (19-8), making their first ever appearance in a regional final, scored an unearned run in the second to retake the lead before Jake Mueller, an Alabama commit, led off the third inning with a towering solo home run over the left field fence.

“An unfortunate loss and I know how crushed the kids are right now but it doesn’t offset the great season we had,” Miami Springs coach David Fanshawe said. “What it reminds you about again is how really tough it is to go all the way and win it all. This loss is not a symbol of how our year went. I think we had an unbelievable year and a lot of good things came out of it.”

BILL DALEY

This story was originally published May 17, 2022 at 9:54 PM.