Douglas baseball team sets record for most consecutive state titles in state history
Stoneman Douglas’ baseball team was one out away from making more history.
Trying to protect a one-run lead in the top of the seventh, Eagles’ pitcher Breylynn Courtney had one more out to record and one more strike to throw.
Most pitchers might take a breath or a few and calm themselves in such a big moment.
Courtney looked over to the stands behind third base where throngs of Douglas’ fans were cheering and waved his arms up and down a few times, encouraging them to get louder.
That’s the confidence Douglas seems to always have that no matter the situation, it will prevail.
And it’s why the Eagles now own the longest state championship streak in state history after holding off Jupiter for a 3-2 victory in the Class 7A championship game at Hammond Stadium on Saturday night.
“0-2 count, might as well hype them up,” Courtney said. “History was about to be written. I might as well hype up the crowd.”
Douglas (30-2) won its fifth consecutive state title, breaking the state record previously set by another Broward County school, Archbishop McCarthy from 2010-2013.
“Our guys just know how to win,” said Douglas coach Todd Fitz-Gerald, who has led the Eagles to six state titles overall and three national titles. “This is unbelievable. It will never be done again in high school baseball in the state of Florida. No way.”
Jupiter made this championship victory for Douglas the most challenging during its title run.
The Warriors (26-10) nearly tied the game in the top of the sixth on a baserunning gamble that backfired.
Jupiter had cut Douglas’ lead to 3-2 on Ryan Senecal’s RBI single, which scored Camden Hart from second. Hart was the courtesy runner for Brady Blanks, who opened the inning with a double off Courtney.
Senecal fell down after beginning to step toward second, hoping to induce a throw. Courtney threw to shortstop Erick Torres, who kept an eye on Gabe Graulau, the runner at third. He began to chase the runner to first when Graulau attempted to retreat back to third. Torres fired a perfect throw to Jake Rizzo at third and he tagged out Graulau before he could get back to end the inning.
“We work on those every single day at practice,” Courtney said. “I saw Fitz and he said, ‘throw to Erick’ and I just did and they took it from there.”
Courtney returned in the top of the seventh and worked a 1-2-3 inning, culminating with a fly ball to right field that senior Nick Diaz caught and immediately raised his hands to kick off the victory celebration.
“I felt confident going out there and things went south, but my teammates picked me up,” Courtney said.
Rizzo, the nephew of Douglas legend and major leaguer Anthony Rizzo, erased the Eagles’ only deficit of the game with a two-run single in the bottom of the second inning after the Warriors struck first with a run off Douglas starter Danny Tartaglia.
Michael Ossenfort added an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth when he singled to score Diaz.
In the meantime, Douglas’ pitchers navigated through multiple treacherous situations to preserve the Eagles’ lead.
Tartaglia threw three innings, allowing the aforementioned run on five hits and one walk, and struck out one. Chase Wildroudt pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and three walks, while striking out two. Courtney finished things off going the final 2 1/3 innings, allowing one run on three hits and one walk with one strikeout.
Jupiter failed to take advantage of numerous opportunities and stranded 13 runners on base.
“The pitching was outstanding, all three guys. Big play after big play,” Fitz-Gerald said. “Both teams didn’t take advantage of some opportunities. That’s a well-coached team over there.”
Douglas’ championship run has included a state-record 59-game winning streak, national and state titles. Throughout the run, the Eagles have learned to win in different ways. In years past, it’s been on the strength of lineups stacked with power hitters.
This season, it was more about pitching.
Junior lefty and MLB draft prospect Gio Rojas, who struck out 15 during a one-hitter in Friday’s semifinal win over Tampa Alonso, anchored a deep pitching staff, which consistently got the job done.
It was no coincidence that legacy players such as Rizzo and Ossenfort, whose older brother played on prior state championship teams, were key contributors.
Fitz-Gerald celebrated on the field and later met briefly in the outfield with his players, already sending a message to the juniors and underclassmen that it was up to them to uphold their tradition and keep their streak going next year.
“It’s great to see siblings and I’ve got four kids on this team, whose dads I’ve coached,” Fitz-Gerald said. “Hopefully it will be their turn soon. We graduate a lot of guys, but we’ll retool and I think we’ll reload not rebuild. It’s the cycle we go through and that’s how we do things.”
