North Broward Prep Rallies, But Falls 6-5 In 3A Title Game

3A Championship Game Photo Gallery

There can only be one champion. Each year, dozens of teams compete across four Florida regions, to become a state champion. At the end, only one can win their final game of the season.

That is unfortunate, considering the performance that South Walton and North Broward Prep treated fans to in Thursaday’s 3A state final championship game.

The Seahawks won the thriller 6-5, in walk-off fashion, capturing the first state title in school history.

“We have a lot of respect for Coach Brian Campbell and his team at North Broward Prep,” said South Walton Manager Nick Borthwick. “He does a great job, and when I look at them, they are a first-class operation. Much respect. They have some outstanding hitters and they were very talented offensively.”

While South Walton was crowned the champions, North Broward Prep showed that they had a heart of a champion.

The Eagles came back from down 4-0, and 5-1 deficits, to tie the game at five with three runs in the top of the seventh, before a perfectly executed squeeze bunt by Hudson Quinn won the game in the bottom of the inning.

“I can’t say enough of how this team performed not only today, but all season long,” said Eagles Manager Brian Campbell. “They have a very good team over there at South Walton, and they deserved to win. They played an excellent game. Our guys are pretty good also, and tonight they battled all game long, to put us in a position to possibly win the game at the end.”

NBP had a daunting task offensively, as they faced off against the Seahwaks Denton Lord. The senior started the game strong, with his mid-90’s fastball, mixing with several effective off-speed pitches. He shut the Eagles out through the first three innings.

South Walton managed to plate four in their half of the third off Eagles starter Zachary Tavarez.

“There were some pitches there in the third where my arm angle just wasn’t where it should have been, and locating pitches was a bit of a problem,” said Tavarez. “It wasn’t the performance I was looking for tonight.”

Down 4-0, NBP started clawing away at the lead. They scored single runs in the fourth and sixth, and had several opportunities with runners on base. The Eagles biggest threat came in the fourth inning, when they pieced together a triple from Alex Smith, an RBI base hit off the bat of Julian Rodriguez, and a Marcus Hall single. Tavarez hit a ground ball back to the pitcher, that Lord threw wide of first, pulling the first baseman off the bag, and loading the bases for the Eagles.

At least that is how it appeared to most in attendance. South Walton Manager Nick Borthwick asked the first base umpire to ask for help on the call he had made, and when the umps huddled up, the home playe umpire changed the call, saying the first baseman had stayed on the bag.

“That was a tough one,” said Campbell. “An umpire that was 90 feet away from the play, overruled an umpire that was six feet from the play.”

It was one of several calls that went against the Eagles on the night.

With the odds against them, and facing an MLB prospect that was on cruise control, NBP showed their championship pedigree in the seventh. Tavarez singled to lead off the inning, and Adrian Rodriguez had a base hit that suddenly brough the tying run to the plate.

A wild pitch moved the runners to second and third, and a Gabriel Coupet single, suddenly closed the deficit to 5-4. A stolen base by Coupet, and a Caden Coleman single suddenly tied the game at five.

A perfectly executed sacrifice bunt by Alejandro Cabral moved Coleman to scoring position with one out. An intentional walk, a strikeout, and a hit by pitch, loaded the bases with two outs.

Seahawks reliever Parker Granse, however, did what he did just a day earlier in the semifinal, and put out the fire with a strikeout.

So how did the Eagles offense finally solve Lord, and tie the game?

“We have a lot of confidence in our lineup, and after seeing him (Lord) a couple times earlier in the game, we were able to make some adjustments,” said Smith. “It was a tough loss today, but we are going to take this feeling and make sure we come back next year, get bigger, stronger, faster, and finish the job.”

Tavarez agreed.

“This feeling, I am going to keep it with me every day until next season. We are going to work hard, and we are going to be hungry to get back here again, and have a different outcome than today.”

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