Douglas Stakes Claim to District Lead With 5-4 Win Over Coral Springs

Douglas catcher Courtland McEachrane dives and makes the tag on a Colts runner in the second inning of the Eagles 5-4 win over Coral Springs.

The Douglas Eagles had their season end last year on the field at Coral Springs, watching the Colts celebrate a regional victory in the 6A playoffs. The Eagles used that loss, and an earlier loss to Springs in the district final, as motivation for the 2011 season.

On Thursday, the Eagles got their revenge. In a battle of the only two undefeated teams in District 10-6A, Douglas escaped with a 5-4 victory, and staked their claim to being the top team in the district this season.

As had been the case in their previous two games, the Eagles fell behind early. Coral Springs scored a run in the first on a lead-off walk to Dylan Ebel, a sacrifice bunt, and a two-out, RBI double by clean-up hitter Alan Sharkey. In the second, the Colts added two more on three consecutive singles, a walk, a balk, and an RBI single by Lewis Brinson.

Douglas went scoreless the first two innings, but finally broke through in the third. Louis Silvero singled, followed by a single by older brother Louis. Danny Payton and Brandon Raaf both had base hits, and an error on right fielder Aaron Maller allowed two more runs to score in the inning. By the end of the frame, the score was tied 3-3.

The Eagles took the lead for good in the fourth, scoring two runs without producing a hit. Two walks, a sacrifice, and another error were the key plays in the inning. Coral Springs’ Dalton Wolchick also balked, the second of the game for Colts pitchers that produced Douglas runs.

The Eagles were led on the mound by John Valeck and Jonathan Lipinski. Valeck went five innings, picking up the win, and Lipinski pitched the final two, securing the save. The two pitchers did the same in opposite order last Friday in a win over Flanagan. Despite the rocky start, Douglas Head Coach Dean Florio knew it was a matter of patience.

“Mentally we were a little different type of team going in because of what happened at the end of last year,” said Florio. “But once we calmed everyone down we got going, playing our game. Today we weren’t necessarily hitting the ball hard, so we went a different route, we got more aggressive as coaches, trying to make things happen, and it worked out.”

The Colts, meanwhile, will have to go back to the drawing board, having now fallen a game behind Douglas in the district race. Coral Springs has been let down in their losses this year by a usually reliable defense. On Thursday, the Colts made three errors that led to two Eagles runs. it will now be the Colts turn to simmer before their next meeting, which is scheduled to take place at Coral Springs on April 8th.

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