Pompano Beach Advances To District Semifinals With 15-7 Win Over Pine Crest

Pompano Beach exploded for eight runs in the fifth inning to ultimately prevail 15-7 over Pine Crest in the District 14-3A quarterfinal played at American Heritage High on Monday afternoon.

The Tornadoes (14-5) will face top-seeded North Broward Prep in a district semifinal Tuesday night, with the winner earning a berth in the regional playoffs.

“We couldn’t throw strikes, and hopefully the mental errors are done now, because we have nothing to lose tomorrow,” said Pompano coach George Petik. “The good thing is we swung the bats well today.”

Every Pompano starter reached base, as the Tornadoes pounded out 16 hits and had runners on the bases in every inning.

The game featured two ties and four lead changes, but in the fifth Pompano batted around the order with six hits and eight runs to pull away for good. The Tornadoes first four hitters reached base, and then they continued getting on while keeping the bases loaded and chasing starter Michael Pierson. Senior Jared Sundook had two hits and drove in a run before being caught in a rundown to end the inning. He finished 3 for 4 with a double, a run scored and two RBI.

Pierson took the loss to fall to 4-5 for the season, tossing 50 of his 78 pitches for strikes while fanning three.

The Panthers (14-12) battled back to take their first lead in the top of the fourth inning when Alex Perez had an RBI single to load the bases and Lance Kirschenbaum blasted a grand-slam home run to left field to make it 6-5.

Kirschenbaum was 3 for 4 on the day, while Perez was 2 for 4.

“If you let up for a second in this district, it can beat you,” said Petik. “We need to work ahead in the pitching counts and avoid allowing teams extra outs.”

Pompano took an early lead on a three-run home run by senior Vincent Pellecchia in the bottom of the first inning, setting the offensive tone for the game. They went on to score runs in all but the second inning, while hammering out seven hits that went for extra bases.

Sophomore Tyler Keller pitched four relief innings to earn the victory, recording a pair of strikeouts while improving to 3-0 this year.

The bottom of the Panthers batting order was a bright spot, as Harrison Meister, Dylan Smith and Jake Toffler combined to go 5 for 8 with three walks and four runs.

Pompano Beach split the regular-season series against the Eagles (17-8).

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