By Dave Brousseau
PARKLAND – When the Douglas baseball team took to the field for the decisive game three against West Broward on Saturday everything was a stake in defense of another state title.
The combination of solid team pitching and a second-inning three-run homer by sophomore Sean Torres the Eagles kept the dream of playing for a sixth consecutive state championship.
Starter Drew Bolvin and Tyler Sterzbach combined for seven innings on the mound holding the Bobcats to six hits, while striking out five to earn a 7-0 victory.
The win advances the Eagles (26-6) to the state semifinal game on May 15 against Hagerty (22-8) at 7 p.m. at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers. The winner advances to the title game on Saturday against the Venice/Vero Beach winner.
Douglas will be seeking to extend its current state record of five consecutive championships to six.
“My teammates have trust in me and we have trust in each other,” said Torres. “For me to come through for my team is special. “We came out as a different team after the second game loss. They were a good team, but we knew we were the better team today.”
The victory was also the 14th shutout in a playoff game since the 2016 first championship season for the Eagles.
Following the Torres home run, the Eagles three more runs in the bottom of the third inning. Cade Raley had a two-run single, scoring Laurel and Matthew Toback. Torres scored on a bases-loaded walk for a 6-0 lead.
After a Laurel double and passed ball that advanced him to third, he scored the Eagles final run of the afternoon on a sac fly from catcher Jackson Taylor.
West Broward forced a game three in the series with a 12-7 victory in game two. They scored eight runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. The loss snapped the Eagles streak of 32 consecutive playoff victories.
The big inning rallied the Bobcats from a 6-1 deficit that saw Jake Rizzo hit a second inning grand slam in the second inning.
CLASS 6A
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS 6, MIAMI SOUTHRIDGE 5 (8 inn): Jake Carruthers Hunter Mercer each drove in a pair of runs as the Raiders rallied from a 5-3 deficit to win the game in extra innings.
Aquinas (26-6) will play Land O’Lakes in a state semifinal game on Friday at 1 p.m.
The Raiders enter the semifinal game as the defending 6A state champion.
Southridge won game two of the series 12-4.
Dave Brousseau is a veteran journalist who worked at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and is a longtime BCAA Correspondent. Need to reach out to him? Contact him at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.