8A-12 Playoff Preview: Fight To The Finish

8A-12
Host: Flanagan High School

Wednesday, April 24th

4PM – Game 1 – (3) West Broward vs. (2) Cypress Bay
7PM – Game 2 – (4) Everglades vs. (1) Flanagan

Friday, April 26th

7PM – Championship – Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner

Full stats for 8A-12 can be found on the 8A-12 Stats Page!

1. Flanagan – The Falcons have essentially followed the same script as last year: Start slow but then pick up steam and come into the playoffs strong. With the cherry on top being a win over Archbishop McCarthy in the final HSBN Game of the Week, the Falcons have more or less dominated again this year, at one point winning 11 in a row before losing to Palm Beach power Palm Beach Central in the Powered by Tradition Classic in Orlando over Spring Break.

Flanagan dominated the district again this year, losing just once, 5-2 to Cypress Bay. The Falcons open the district tournament against Everglades, an opponent they outscored 20-0 in two games. But the Falcons haven’t seen the Gators’ ace, Adam Murray.

The Falcons are led by sophomore right-hander Gentry Fortuno, who is undefeated with an ERA just above 1.00 and a team-leading 40-plus strikeouts. He’s pitched four shutouts so far this year. Alex Sarmiento also has done well with at least five wins and an ERA around 1.20.

Pitching and strong defense have been the name of the game for the Falcons, who have allowed only 39 runs to be scored against them this year while posting a 1.54 team ERA.

Ryan Dodge leads the offense with a batting average around .480 to go along with his team highs in hits and RBIs, and Andres Visbal is close behind, hitting around .415.

2. Cypress Bay – It’s been a while since Cypress Bay was the team to beat in this district. Although it’s still the case that Flanagan is the top dog, the Lightning have had a fine season and improved on last year’s 9-11 mark.

The Lightning went 7-3 through its district slate, losing once each to Flanagan, Western and Everglades. Cypress Bay opens the district tournament against West Broward, whom the Lightning beat 4-3 and 6-1 so far this year.

Danny Cepeda has been the most dominant player on offense, with a batting average hovering around .510. He leads the team in home runs, RBIs and run, too, not surprisingly.

The next-best hitter is Juan De La Espriella, who’s hitting just under .300.

The Lightning have spread around their pitching among four players. Jeremy Tache leads the pack with more than 50 innings and at least 8 wins. He has more than 50 strikeouts and an ERA around 1.35. Other pitchers include Tommy Quintero, J.R. Bahder and Ben Fits.

3. West Broward – The Bobcats are eyeing a return to the regional final so they can complete their ultimate goal of winning a state title.

West Broward lost to Palm Beach Gardens in that regional final last year and made it to that round by finally solving Flanagan ace Jose Mesa, Jr., who had dominated the Bobcats in three meetings before that.

West Broward has struggled so far this year against Flanagan, losing 6-0 and 5-2.

Before the Bobcats can even entertain a regional final, they have to start small with a goal of defeating Cypress Bay on Wednesday in the district semifinal. The Bobcats haven’t had much success with the Lightning this year, losing to them twice.

Offensively, the Bobcats are led by Christian Khawly and Danny Pardo, both of whom are hitting a little above .500.

On the mound, four players have seen significant time: Matt Hardy, Mark Mendez, Ben Feinman and Michael Schappell. Hardy is approaching 70 strikeouts and has an ERA just above 1.00. Mendez has thrown more than 30 innings and his ERA is just under 2.00. He’s also won at least four games.

4. Everglades – The Gators are enjoying perhaps their best season in school history as they’ve come together as a team to excel in the main phases of the game most of the season so far.

The team finished its district slate 5-5, not being able to solve Flanagan or West Broward. The Gators also lost their second meeting with Cypress Bay.

Everglades opened the season 6-1 before a few losses got them a bit off track. But the Gators put together a winning streak during Spring Break.

A big part of the Gators’ success this year can be attributed to ace Adam Murray, who has around 70 strikeouts and an ERA just above 1.00. He’s also won four games.

One of his best performances came in a 2-0 win over Cypress Bay on March 8 in which he struck out 12.

As a team, Everglades is hitting .333 with Murray, Andrew Hernandez, Brandon Escalante, Kristopher Taveras and Anthony Dos Santos hitting well this year, at least .350 or above. Hernandez is right around the .500 mark, and Murray is batting around .470.

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