Douglas Walks-Off To Historic Regional Final Championship

In speaking to Douglas Manager Todd Fitz-Gerald in the lead-up to Thursday’s regional championship series game two against West Broward, there was a feeling of uneasiness about the game. Yes, Douglas had won game one 6-0, and had not lost yet in regional play.

But Fitz-Gerald, who always has a feel for the game, just had an inkling that the Eagles would have their hands full in game two.

And that they did.

After jumping out to a 4-0 lead, Douglas watched as West Broward scored two runs in the fourth, four more in the sixth, and one in the seventh, to take a 7-4 lead.

What Fitz-Gerald did not account for, however, in his uneasiness, was that after four straight years of regional and state titles, it was going to take more than a gut punch to knock the current version of the Eagles dynasty out.

In the bottom of the seventh, Douglas showed their championship pedigree, by scoring two runs to cut the lead to 7-6. From there, it was time for another in the long line of Eagles players during this title run, to step up.

Junior Lorenzo Laurel stepped to the plate, and delivered the biggest swing of the year, a two-run blast into the Parkland night, giving the Eagles an 8-7 win, and sending Douglas back to where no Broward public school team has ever gone, to their fifth straight state Final Four.

“Tonight was a great comeback by our guys,” said Fitz-Gerald. “It truly showed how resilient they are. The seniors made it a point not to lose their last game at home, and to continue the winning traditions that the teams before them have sent.”

As for the hero of the night, Lorenzo came into the game hitting just under .300, but with four home runs on the year.

“Really happy for Lorenzo tonight,” said Fitz-Gerald. “Was a huge moment for him, and hopefully we can ride that momentum into next week.”

Despite the tight game Thursday, Douglas will head to Fort Myers as once again the favorite to win a state crown. The Eagles came into the season having many young, unproven, players in the lineup, but head to Fort Myers as one of the most successful teams of their five year run at 29-2.

Douglas won their two district tournament games by a combined 7-0 score, and have rolled off six straight regional games, with a 45-11 score differential.

The Eagles will be the top seed going into the state final four in 7A, and will be awaiting results from Saturday to see who they will match up with in the state semifinals. If Alonso defeats Venice, Douglas will face Alonso.

If Venice prevails, Douglas would be looking at a match-up with Jupiter, who wrapped up their region also Thursday, by knocking off Park Vista in two games.

No matter who the opponent, the task will be tall to take down the four-time champs, but the Eagles Manager is taking it one step at a time.

“Tonight we are going to enjoy this regional title, and tomorrow we will start focusing on those last steps. What we know is there will be four strong teams in Fort Myers, so we will just prepare like we always do, and be ready to play next week.”

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