HSBN Game Of The Week: Coral Springs At Douglas

Coral Springs and Douglas have enjoyed one of the best district rivalries in Broward County over the past few years.

The Colts became kings of 8A-11 by winning three titles in a row, defeating Douglas in two of those championships.

This year, the Eagles have found their form again and knocked off Springs 8-1 on February 20th. Round two of this heavyweight bout will be fought at Douglas this Saturday at 11 a.m. in this week’s HSBN Broward Game of Week.

The Game of the Week concept was created by HSBN with the intention of raising money for the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundation, while also giving fans something to get excited about each week.

Douglas Manager Todd Fitz-Gerald isn’t trying to get too caught up in the hype that surrounds this matchup. Nevertheless, he’s grateful to see his team selected for an HSBN Game of the Week.

“It feels like another game,” he said. “In the end, thats realy what it is. I appreciate being asked to be the Game of the Week. Hopefully it will be an exciting game.”

Coral Springs Manager Frank Bumbales echoed Fitz-Gerald’s sentiments about not treating the game as anything more than it is.

“I’m just trying to play it as another game,” he said. “I don’t want to put added pressure on them. The game itself is big enough. Every player is going to be into the game. It’s definitely a great game to have [as Game of the Week].”

Bumbales has watched the rivalry rise to a fevered pitch over the past few seasons as the Colts have taken charge of the district, but things are a little more spread out this season and the game could be for the top spot in the district.

“There’s no doubt Douglas always has a great team,” Bumbales said. “Our team plays hard and we’ve had some success in last few years, and we just want to keep that success going and give Douglas a good game.”

Fitz-Gerald said his players “just took it in stride” when told this matchup would be a Game of the Week.

“They know the magnitude of playing Coral Springs and the rivalry it has become, so I’m sure they will turn it up a notch and focus a little more,” he said. “Honestly, I’m not too sure what the rivalry is, being here this is my second year, but to be honest, I think the rivalry is between the parents more than the kids. The parents get overexcited about this one for some reason. Who knows?”

Fitz-Gerald said the team is doing “OK” this year with an 8-2 start. He said the Eagles have played three good teams during those 10 games but lost two of those, “so in reality not great.”

“I think with having not one inning of pitching experience to be 8-2 is a blessing,” he said. “Our offense has made it easy for our pitchers to go out and throw strikes.”

Fitz-Gerald said Derek Fritz (.438 BA, 10 RBIs), KJ Mayo (.387 BA, 10 RBIs), Luis Silverio (.375 BA, 11 runs, nine RBIs) and Dominic DiCaprio (.654 BA, 1.231 SLG, .727 OBP, 10 runs, 16 RBIs, four home runs) are carrying the team, as well as Josh Koebel (.308 BA, 10 RBIs), Max Boling (.417 BA, eight runs) and Mike Greenberg (.304 BA, seven runs).

On the mound, Jesus Luzardo is leading the team at 3-2 with 20 strikeouts and a 2.19 ERA in 22.1 innings.

Coral Springs is similar to Douglas in the amount of good hitters it has. The Colts are batting .377 as a team. Colton Smith leads in batting average at .533. He’s scored 10 and driven in eight. Tre Dingus is right behind him at .500 with 12 runs and 14 RBIs, and Justin Mixon also has been among the top producers, batting .469 with 15 runs. Davis Alessio is among the most-improved players, Bumbales said, and his batting average has consistently risen and now sits at .385. Ryan Denardo has driven in nine runs and is hitting .400.

Jordan Barrett, a 6-foot-3 lefty, is the Colts’ top arm. He’s 4-1 with 36 strikeouts and a 1.96 ERA in 25 innings. Michael Montalvo is 2-2 with 16 strikeouts in 20 innings.

Bumbales credits the work of new pitching coach Sean Sarrell for helping Barrett and the other pitchers do well this year and help the team overcome the loss of all its pitchers from last year among the 13 players who graduated.

One added element to the HSBN Game of the Weeks is that both teams will have someone throwing out a ceremonial first pitch. Both teams are still deciding who will throw their first pitches.

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