BOYNTON BEACH - The Flanagan baseball team didn't go quietly into the night, but its fight came too little, too late. For the first time in four years, the Class 6A final four won't include the Falcons.
Nationally ranked Park Vista won the first two games to sweep the best-of-3 regional final on Friday night. The Cobras won the first game 4-2 and the second 6-3 to advance to the state semifinals for the first time in school history. It was their 30th consecutive win.
Park Vista (30-1) scored in just four of the 14 innings, but scored runs in bunches during three of those innings. The Cobras had a three-run second inning in the first game, followed by a four-run third and a two-run sixth inning in the second.
"It's no secret that with your pitching and defense you have to stay out of the big innings," Park Vista coach Larry Greenstein said. "We were able to capitalize offensively and get the big momentum going."
Announcement
Flanagan (21-9) fought back in the bottom of the seventh in the second game, threatening Park Vista's chances at a first-day series sweep. The Falcons scored two runs with two outs and had bases loaded, before a high fly ball to centerfield ended the rally.
LSU-bound Chris Matulis (10-0) won the first game for the Cobras. The senior gave up two runs on seven hits with 10 strikeouts in the complete game, while throwing 117 pitches.
Another Park Vista senior, Eric Rice (9-1), won the second game. Rice gave up four hits, all in the third inning, and struck out seven before coming out in the seventh. While the emphasis of the new regional finals format seemed to be on pitching, both teams used just three pitches in two games.
Senior Corey Witkowski (9-2) was the losing pitcher for Flanagan in the first game, while senior R.J. Fondon(7-4) took the second loss for the Falcons.
"They just did a better job taking advantage of our mistakes," Flanagan coach Ray Evans said. "We made mistakes and you can't do this at this level against good teams and expect to win."
The Falcons totaled just 12 hits all night, with no player registering multiple hits in either game. Park Vista had nine hits in both games.
Comments
Seasons
Sponsors
