O’Connell Leads Flanagan To Shutout Over Everglades

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Flanagan’s Dylan O’Connell had extra reason to be excited about Tuesday’s district meeting at Everglades. The junior pitcher formally called The Swamp his home, before transferring to his new school this season. Returning for the first time since, the left-hander had himself a big day to help pace his club to a 17-0 victory.

“It is more the mental part than the physical part,” O’Connell said. “I’ve got to stay within myself and not try to overdo it. I can’t let them get in my head.”

The southpaw found his zone on his old mound, tossing four shutout innings while allowing three hits and a walk. O’Connell struck out nine to earn the victory, before turning things over to Steven Gonzalez for the final frame. He had an even bigger impact at the plate, where he collected three hits and fell just a triple short of hitting for the cycle. O’Connell made his biggest statement in the third, when he capped a big nine-run inning by blasting a three-run home run over the right field fence.

“Against my old team, it is just the best feeling you could possibly have,” O’Connell admitted. “I couldn’t wait to do that.”

Flanagan improved to 8-2 overall, while holding strong at the top of District 8A-13 with a 5-0 record. Falcons Manager Ray Evans knows his team does not tend to get too high after big wins like on Tuesday, nor do they get too low when the team takes a loss. The club is heading into the toughest part of its schedule, with games ahead against Killian, Westminster Christian, Park Vista and Archbishop McCarthy. Flanagan will also take part in the HSBN March Madness Shootout that pits 32 of South Florida’s toughest programs against one another.

“It’s not like guy’s heads are going to blow up or anything after tonight, because they know what’s in front of them,” Evans said. “We’re still trying to get an identity and be consistent. When you get a game like this, guys can go ahead and get some good cuts in. Dylan was able to go out there and get his four innings in, and we had a nice relief appearance from Gonzo.”

The Falcons got nice production all over the roster. Peter Moforis reached base four times, going 2-for-2 with a pair of walks, a two-RBI double and an RBI single. Eric Rivera also had a two-RBI double and scored twice, and Arrison Perez drove in a pair with an RBI single. Mark Vientos had an RBI single, Ricky Presno added a sac-fly RBI, and Jorge Gonzalez and Miguel Presno both scored twice.

Across the diamond, the Gators (2-6) have struggled of late by losing their last three in a row. Everglades fell to 1-4 in the district, and the team accepts that the rest of its district games will be crucial if it hopes to make the district tournament. That starts on Thursday, when the club will face district rival McArthur.

“The greatest thing about this game is that you have tomorrow,” Manager Matt Cordova said. “Really, no coach in the history of the game can go out and play and execute for them. They have to wear that, and sleep with that and deal with that. The only shaking out of it is in wanting to shake it off, and feeling it and having it hit hard. We can tell them over and over, but they have got to want to play and want to execute.”

Cordova has been pleased with the positives his guys have given him so far this season, although the team has fallen off course from much of that lately. Starter Justin Carillo has been solid on the mound and given them all the squad could ask for, even despite a tough outing on Tuesday. The offense has strung hits together, such as when Roberto Paulino and Dominic Desisto both singled to start the second inning, but it has lacked the big hit it needs to drive runners in during such scoring opportunities.

Cordova said it all comes down to execution. The team needs to hit when the bases are loaded, needs to throw strikes when it most need strikes, and needs to make outs when it most needs big outs. The coaches can drill it over and over, but the guys still need to make it happen on the field.

“The season is nowhere near over,” Cordova said. “They just have to find something inside that says they want this more. You have got to be a warrior and fight when things are bad. Right now, things are bad. But, I have faith in my players that they will figure it out. Everybody has to do their own part and everybody has to do their job. We can have great leadership, but each individual has to step up.”

When Cordova took over the program this season, he began a process to turn Everglades into a baseball school. Signs of this progress were visible on Tuesday, beginning with the team playing more big games under the lights on its home field. The field itself has come a long way, with improvements to the mound and also a nice, new wind screen that the booster club helped to locate and provide. The environment helped to create a great baseball atmosphere on Tuesday night, which is exactly how the team wants things to feel for its home games.

“You have to give credit to the parents,” Cordova said. “They have wanted something here, and they have gone out and done a good job trying to help me do my job. The field is in about a good shape as it has been in years, and now it is the on-field piece that we have to put together. We hope the on-field performance follows suit.”

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