Gio Rojas strikes out nine, Stoneman Douglas rolls in regional playoff against Taravella

When Gio Rojas is on the mound, Stoneman Douglas normally doesn’t need many runs to celebrate a victory.

The postseason has been a prime example.

In both games started by Rojas, the Eagles threw shutouts. They squeaked out a 1-0 win against Western in the district title game. And in Game 1 of the regional quarterfinals, the Eagles edged Cypress Bay, 3-0.

Rojas was back on the mound on Wednesday in Game 1 of the Region 4-7A semifinals.

What was different in this outing is Douglas’ offense provided plenty of support.

If the offense heats up, combined with their outstanding pitching, chances are high that the Eagles will be back in Fort Myers seeking a fifth straight state title.

Rojas on Wednesday struck out nine in 5 1/3 innings, and at the plate, Jake Rizzo and Nick Diaz each belted home runs that powered Douglas to a 12-2 win against Taravella.

Rojas even helped his cause with a double, and two hits, and three RBIs.

“He loves to play,” Douglas coach Todd Fitz-Gerald said. “He’s the happiest kid around. He’s always smiling. Always happy. Loves to swing the bat. Loves to be on the mound competing. That kid feels no pressure. That kid is unbelievable. He’s a different human. He’s on a different level. I couldn’t be happier for him.”

Rojas and the entire Douglas lineup put on a show in Game 1 of the best-of-three regional semifinal.

Now with a win on Thursday, Douglas will advance to the regional finals. If the Trojans rebound, a decisive game three will be at Taravella on Saturday.

“Taravella, they’re scrappy,” Fitz-Gerald said. “They’re going to compete. They’re going to pitch. They’re going to grind out at-bats. They probably had the best swings on Gio than anybody has all year.”

The Trojans came out swinging, and actually nearly took the lead in the top of the first inning.

J.C. Martinez led off with a long drive that sent left fielder Bennett Gary to the fence. Gary, a Miami commit, made a terrific catch, robbing Martinez of a home run.

Rojas did give up six hits, and Taravella had a few chances. But when necessary, the Eagles’ ace executed pitches to avoid any serious trouble.

“He didn’t have his best stuff today,” Fitz-Gerald said. “But it was good enough, obviously. I’m really happy to see our offense finally win a game, because we needed that offensively. Hopefully, that carries over to tomorrow.”

Overall, it was a nice team win for Douglas, which pitched, hit and played solid defense.

On a day the wind was blowing in, two Douglas players were able to hit the ball out of the park. Rizzo blistered a line drive homer to left. And in the sixth inning, Diaz belted a two-run home run to center that gave the Eagles a 10-run lead, promptly ending the game due to the mercy rule.

Diaz had quality at-bats all night.

Taravella started left-hander Zach Stephens, who has an unorthodox approach. Stephens has a knack of effectively getting bad swings on pitches less than 80 mph.

Conversely, Rojas has his fastball max at 97 mph, and in the sixth inning, he touched 95 mph.

“You saw Diaz’s two-swings early,” Fitz-Gerald said. “Nice and easy. Just staying through, kind of like BP. Sometimes when you face a guy like that, you want to drop and lift. But the wind was blowing in, and I told the guys, just stay behind the ball. We really slowed it up [Tuesday] in our practice preparation, and they stuck to the plan. I couldn’t be happier.”

Stephens also dealt with some tough luck. While the lefty allowed seven runs on seven hits, just three runs were earned.

Gary set a tempo early, leading the first inning off with a single, and he scored three times. Michael Ossenfort chipped in with a double.

For Taravella, Ryan Valdez had two hits and an RBI, and Anthony Tizol doubled and drove in a run.

Tyler Morgan also had two hits, while Stephens – in a left-on-left matchup with Rojas – ripped a single.

Whoever prevails in the Douglas-Taravella series will face the Columbus-West Broward winner beginning next Wednesday in the best-of-three regional finals.

Columbus took Game 1 against West Broward, 4-3.