North Broward Prep back on top after beating Westminster Christian for third title in four years
North Broward Prep wanted a full circle moment for its core of seniors responsible for one of the best runs in recent memory by any South Florida baseball program.
They got it thanks largely to one of the newer faces on their team.
Kiernan O’Neill drove in two runs including the eventual game winner and then closed out the game on the mound to help the Eagles beat Miami Westminster Christian 5-4 in the Class 3A state championship game on Wednesday afternoon at Hammond Stadium.
North Broward Prep (28-3) secured its third state title in the past four seasons a year after being denied a championship in the final.
“To come back and finish especially for the senior class was important for everybody,” North Broward Prep coach Brian Campbell said. “They finished just like I knew they could.”
Meanwhile, the Eagles denied Westminster Christian (25-5) its long-awaited shot at making history.
The Warriors, who have not won a state title since 2015, were vying to win their 12th state championship, which would have given them the most among any state school all-time.
It was only the fifth time a Miami-Dade County school faced a Broward team in a state final.
North Broward Prep’s stretch of titles is the third-most in a four-year span by a Broward County school behind Archbishop McCarthy and Stoneman Douglas, each of which have won four consecutive state titles in their history.
“A lot of work has gone into this and I’m just really, really proud of them and being their coach,” said Campbell, while fighting back tears at the team’s postgame press conference.
Just after Westminster had leveled the game at 3 with two runs in the top of the sixth, North Broward Prep put two runners on Westminster reliever Austin Weigandt when Nik Koorse singled and Max Burkholz reached on a sacrifice bunt fielder’s choice.
Weigandt retired the next two hitters, but O’Neill reached on an infield single when he hit a ball deep in the hole and Westminster shortstop Manny Marin’s throw to first skipped and sailed wide of first baseman Jose Lopez and allowed two runs to score.
“We battled back and never quit,” said Marin, a shortstop for the United States Olympic team. “We stayed competing. I saw it going up the middle and thought I had it. I just wanted to give our guys a chance. That’s baseball. One play can change the whole game.”
O’Neill was hit by a pitch on his right hand earlier in the game and was still dealing with the pain while coming up with the heroics that would secure the title for the Eagles.
“I think I broke my hand, but there was no shot I was coming out of that game,” O’Neill said. “I just wanted to contribute to the win and didn’t care how much it hurt. I saw a pitch I like and shortstop made an incredible play. I sprinted my (butt) off.”
The Warriors nearly rallied in the top of the seventh under a steady light rain after Willie Alvarez drew a walk from Eagles reliever Riley Luft.
O’Neill then took the mound. He hit catcher Brian Borges with a pitch.
Marin then roped another RBI single to left, which nearly cut the deficit to a run. But Alvarez was thrown out at the plate by Luft.
“It was a crazy moment. I had just come out of the game and didn’t have my best stuff on the mound,” Luft said. “I just had to stay in the right headspace. I got the ground ball and fully sprinted in and gave everything I had on that throw.”
Westminster Christian coach Emil Castellanos said he did not regret sending the runner on the play.
“That ball bounced twice before it hit the plate. I’ll live with it,” Castellanos said. “I won’t look back at my decision. You tip your cap. That ball goes a little to the left or right and all of a sudden they’re on the ropes. I was confident we had more guys coming up who could come through.”
Ethan Puig grounded out to short, scoring courtesy runner Ashton Jacomino to cut the lead to 5-4. But O’Neill induced a game-ending groundout by Talan Beckford to seal the outcome.
“Championship baseball,” Castellanos said. “It comes down to the final wire. The team that makes the least mistakes comes up on the winning side…We fell short.”
Trailing 3-1 heading into the sixth, Puig singled to open the frame and Lopez followed two batters later with a double. This prompted Campbell to bring Luft to the mound.
Suarez, however, roped a two-run single to tie the game. After Luft walked Gabriel Mejia, he picked off Suarez at third for the second out and then struck out pinch hitter Eric Eikenberg to end the threat.
Mateo Gray, a University of Florida commit who pitched a complete game in the Eagles’ semifinal win, belted a two-run home run in the first inning to give North Broward Prep a 2-0 lead.
Luft, an Appalachian State commit, made the key outfield assist to save a key run that could have changed the outcome.
And third baseman Gian De Castro, an Arizona State commit, had the distinction of recording the final out on the ground ball hit by Beckford.
All three seniors, along with FAU commit TJ Gramesty and FAU commit Nik Koorse, who pitched 5 1/3 innings, struck out four, walked three, and allowed three runs on five hits on Wednesday, were cornerstones of North Broward Prep’s four-year run.
“I think our social life is just us. We hang out together and just stay together and we built that bond over the past four years,” Gray said. “We’ve known each other even before high school. It’s very special what we have here.”
This story was originally published May 22, 2024 at 7:27 PM.
