Game Of The Week: Fort Lauderdale At Pines Charter

This week’s High School Baseball Network Broward Game of the Week spotlights two teams with a lot of recent history between them.

When Fort Lauderdale travels to Pembroke Pines Charter for a 7 p.m. game Saturday, it will be a reuniting of teams that have been district foes since 2004 when the Jaguars moved up to Class 4A from 3A.

The teams share a healthy rivalry and are 3-3 in their matchups over the past three seasons. They also share a breath of fresh air this season as each steps out of shadows of the private schools with district realignments. Both have had to contend with Archbishop McCarthy as a district opponent for the past seven seasons, but this year, for the first time since 2005, Fort Lauderdale is in a district with all public schools, and Charter has all public school foes for the first time in its history.

The Jaguars have only to face Stranahan and Boynton Beach in their quest for the 6A-14 title, and the Flying L’s have to battle with Northeast, Monarch and Ely for the 7A-14 title.

One advantage Pines Charter has over its two district opponents is stability at the helm. Jaguars Manager Carlos Iglesias has been the team’s skipper for the past seven years. Fort Lauderdale’s Terry Portice also has longevity. He’s been the manager of the Flying L’s for the past 16 years and has been at the school for a quarter of a century.

Pines Charter opened the season Thursday with a 5-0 loss to Cooper City, but the team is ready to rebound against Northeast on Tuesday in preparation for Satuday’s big game with Fort Lauderdale.

Fort Lauderdale opened the season last Friday with a 2-1 win against Western, and the Flying L’s will face South Plantation on Tuesday and Piper on Friday as they gear up for Saturday.

The Jaguars on counting on players such as senior pitcher Danny Melgarejo, who returns to lead the pitching staff. The right-hander, who is known for being cool under pressure, recorded 24 strikeouts in 17 innings last season. He recently signed with Bethune-Cookman.

One the bats get cranking this season, the top hitters are projected to be Daniel Rodriguez-Velez, Rodriguez-Velez, Alex Monge-Rodriguez and Jake Jacobs.

Fort Lauderdale finds itself in a rebuilding year of sorts with the loss of seven seniors to graduation. Among the players who have moved on are Brad Smith and Kenny Miggins. Players such as Lucas Berken, Justin Fucci, Cory Stern and Matt Freeman are eager to step up this season to become the leaders of the team.

As Fort Lauderdale continues to pride itself on sound, fundamental baseball, the Flying L’s hope to rely on their strong showing at home when they get to host the district tournament in April. The school hasn’t played host since 2002, and the Flying L’s are seeking their third title this year. Fort Lauderdale has gone 26-10 at home the past three seasons and boasted a 10-3 home mark in 2013.

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