District Finals Set In Broward After Big Wins On Wednesday

Wednesday was district semifinal day in Broward, as some of the top programs in the county took the field, and played their way into district title games.

Among the winners from Wednesday, were University School, North Broward Prep, Somerset Academy, Chaminade-Madonna, and Coral Springs Charter.

HSBN has some instant reaction from the coaches who won these games!

University School was first up, getting a strong pitching performance from Aidan Jacobs, and defeating Florida Christian 2-1. The Sharks will advance to face Chaminade-Madonna on Friday in the 2A-14 title game.

“We won today using the traditional blue collar style of baseball we play, scrapping out runs,” said USchool Manager Dan Rovetto. “Aiden was a bulldog on the mound tonight, 6.1 with zero earned runs, and then Mark Manuel shut the door. That’s always our recipe, get the ball to mark at the end off games. Offensively Jaxson Wolper had the game-winning hit. So proud of how he has battled through adversity this year, and then for him to get his moment. It was just an overall great game by us, in a great environment. Tonight was a great representation of the type of program we like to be, blue collar and scrappy.”

Down the road, Somerset Academy took care of business in their 4A-15 semifinal, with a 7-1 win over Mater Lakes Academy. They will face American Heritage today for the district crown.

“Early on the game was tight, but our kids just kept battling,” said Somerset Manager Juan Mora. “Kareem Amer showed tremendous leadership on the mound, throwing six quality innings. Jon Mora, who has been carrying us all year offensively, had a huge grand slam to break open a close game. He has had an incredible career, and it was a big moment for him. Now we shift our focus to tomorrow against Heritage. It should be a good one.”

One team that didn’t need a big hit to break a game open on Wednesday, was Chaminade. Madonna. The Lions dominated their 2A-14 district semifinal against Westminster Academy. The Lions were led on the mound by ace Spencer Krasner, who through a five inning complete game, allowing only two hits, while striking out eight. AJ Diaz, Josh Wright, and Chase Potter had two hits each. The Lions face USchool in the district final.

“Today was a nice way to start the playoffs,” said Lions Manager Jerry Albert. “We got excellent pitching from Spencer, and our bats were very good throughout the lineup, from top to bottom. We are looking forward to the challenge of competing in the district final on Friday.”

Heading north, Coral Springs Charter took care of their business in one of the tightest games of the day. The Panthers defeated American Heritage-Delray, 1-0. Edward Canard did the heavy lifting on the mound, shutting out the Stallions. Charter will move on to face North Broward Prep for the 3A-12 title on Friday night.

“Edward threw the ball really well today,” said Panthers Manager Renny Tollentino. “He has been doing that for us all year, so it was not surprising to see him perform like that, and have the kind of success he had today. Our defense behind him was phenomenal. Defense has been something we preach here, so it was nice to see it show up again today. Now, its on to the next one.”

The team Charter will face in the district final, North Broward Prep, found themselves in a surprising tight game in the semis. The Eagles were able to break open a scoreless tie in the seventh, walking off a game Clewiston squad. Ironically, the two teams that will meet for the district title, each surived their semifinals, with identical 1-0 scores.

“We were fortunate today to come away with the win. Clewiston had a terrific pitcher on the mound, Jackson Mann, who really held our offense at bay all game. He was really good, and has a great future in baseball,” said North Broward Manager Brian Campbell. “For us, Zach Tavarez did a great job of holding them scoreless at the front end of the game, and then Caden Coleman closing it out. Caden also with the big hit to start the seventh, it was a big game or him. Anthony Diaz with the game-winning hit, it was great to see him come through in that big moment.”

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