Charles W. Flanagan High School Baseball

Despite a valiant and near perfect pitching performance from junior Michael Melendez (6 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3, BB, 3 K) against Baseball America's #1 ranked Farragut High (TN), the Falcons (13-2) could not overcome the four hit, 16 strikeout complete game shutout thrown by Admirals starter and Vanderbilt committ  Phillip Pfeifer, and fell short in the Hofball Orlando National Classic, 2-0.  Only Geoffrey Jimenez (2-3, 2 2B), Matthew Beauchemin (1-3), and Melendez (1-3) could manage hits of the hard throwing junior lefty.  The Falcons out hit (4 to 3) the Admirals, who scored all their runs in the bottom of the third inning after a 2 run double by shortstop Nick Delmonico.  Flanagan left 6 men on base, unable to capitalize on leadoff doubles by Jimenez in the first and third inning.

After the game, a few Falcons were rewarded with tournament accolades, including Melendez, who made the all tournament team after hitting a scorching .667 (8-12) with 6 runs, 2 2B, one HR and 7 RBI; Beauchemin, who won the Big Stick award, going 5-11 (.455), with 3 runs, 2B, HR and 4 RBI; and Jimenez, who won the Gold Glove award, turning in spectacular defensive plays all week long, and hitting a solid .429 (6-14, 3 R, 3 2B, 2 RBI and 4 SB).

The Falcons come home after a solid 3-1 week, giving the nation's #1 team all it could handle in the final, and defeating Virginia's #2 team on Wednesday.  The boys in green are back home next Friday, 4/9, against Douglas at 6:30pm. 

It took 7 innings, over 3 hours and 15 minutes, 25 combined runs and 26 combined hits, and all the drama that fans from both teams could stand to watch, but in the end, the Flanagan Falcons (13-1) overcame potential disaster to win their 11th straight game, defeating the Lake Braddock Bruins (VA), 13-12, in the Orlando National Classic semifinal.

The Falcons saw a 7-1 lead evaporate in the top of the 4th inning, when the Bruins struck for 9 runs, but showed heart and tenacity to have it knotted up at 10-10 after the inning was over. After Lake Braddock took an 11-10 lead in the top of the fifth, the teams traded scoreless halves, until the Falcons retook the lead at 12-11 with three outs to get in the top of the 7th to ensure victory. However, the fiesty Bruins would not go away, getting a two-out single to tie it at 12-12, setting up the dramatic finish for the Falcons.

Mike Melendez (2-2, 3 R, 2 RBI, 2B, 2 BB, HBP) was hit by a pitch to lead off the 7th, and after a Flanagan pop out to third, Matthew Beauchemin (2-4, R, RBI, 2B, HBP) drove him to third with a double to left center. David Gonzalez (2-5, R, 3 RBI) would deliver the walk off win with a single over the thirdbaseman. Pichi Torres (2-4, R, BB) and Geoff Jimenez (2-5, 2 R, RBI, 2B, 3 SB) had multi-hit games for the Falcons, and Torres (3.1 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 2H, K, BB) improved his record to 4-1, earning the win in relief.

The Falcons now face Baseball America's #1 ranked Farragut High (TN) in the championship game on Thursday night, 7:30pm, at historic Sanford Stadium.

Corey Janson drove in 5 runs on a 2 for 4 afternoon, including a decisive grand slam in the bottom of the 5th inning, to break open a tight contest and help senior righthander Adam Quiles (2-0) earn the 9-2 win over Tallahassee Godby in the Hofball National Classic in Orlando.  Quiles ( 6 IP, 2 R, ER, H, 2 BB, 8 K) was efficient, throwing 80 pitches, and masterful, losing his no-hit bid and shutout in the top of the fifth inning.  Junior Keil Conway pitched a perfect 7th inning for the Falcons (12-1), who now find themselves in the tournament semifinal game tomorrow at 1pm.

Offensively, Flanagan got another big game from junior shortstop, Ricky Santiago, who ended the day 3 for 4 with a double and a run scored, while Collin Martindale and Ryan Lozada each went 1-2.  Geoff Jimenez, Pichi Torres, Mike Melendez and Matt Figueroa each delivered a base hit in Flanagan's fifth straight game with double digits in hits.

The Falcons now play Lake Braddock (VA) in the Hofball National Classic semifinal game tomorrow at 1pm.

The Flanagan Falcons (11-1) began their spring break with another power surge on Monday afternoon, defeating the Seacrest Stingrays in a Hofball National Classic tournament game, 14-3, in 5 innings.  The Falcons got home runs from Mike Melendez (4-4, 2 R, 2B, HR, 5 RBI), Matthew Beauchemin (2-3, 2 R, HR, 3 RBI), Ricky Santiago (2-4, 3 R, HR, 2 RBI) and Corey Janson (1-2, R, HR, RBI) to support a fine pitching effort turned in by junior Robert Collin (5 IP, 3 ER, 3 R, 3 H, 3 BB, 7 K), who won his 2010 varsity pitching debut.  Kyle Schmidt, Ryan Lozada and Geoff Jimenez also contributed with hits.  Melendez continued his torrid pace at the plate, now 7 for 9 with 8 RBI in his last 2 games, raising his season batting average to .559.

Flanagan is back in action tomorrow at Sanford Stadium against the winner of Tallahassee Godby and Deland, with game time scheduled for 1pm.

The Baby Falcons improved their record to 10-2 after a 2 game sweep of the Pines Charter Jaguars. 2 games, 2 victories, 2 different ways of getting there.

The Good……Game 1 was a pitcher’s duel. Jose Mesa Jr. (4 IP, 2 H, 5 K, 3 BB, 0 ER), and Peter Llerena (3 IP, 1 H, 3 K, 0 BB, 0 ER), combined to shutout the Jaguars. While the Jaguars pitcher, Jesse Gonzales, did his best to do the same. The Falcons would only manage 4 hits in the game, but took advantage of a few Jaguars mistakes. The lone Falcon run would score in the 4^th inning after Carlos Lopez (2-2, 1 R) was hit by a pitch, and a costly error by the Jaguars 2^nd baseman would allow Lopez to score 2 batters later. Final score: Falcons 1, Jaguars 0.

The Bad….. Game 2 starter, Adam Murray, had been superb all season leading into this game. He finally showed he was human. Murray would give up 5 (4 earned) runs in the top half of the 1^st. The Baby Falcons would get a couple back in the bottom half of the inning from a Andres Sanchez 2 run homer. RHP,Josh Santiago came in the game in the 3^rd, and would also struggle. The Falcons would find themselves trailing 10-3 going into the bottom half of the 4^th inning. The Ugly……. Just when the game looked out of reach, the young ones dug deep. 2 singles started off the bottom half of the 4^th when Jadan Garcia would hit a 3 run shot over the left field fence. The Falcons would score 9 runs before recording their first out. Walks and errors would also aid in the Falcons comeback. The inning was capped by a 2 run double by Garcia (2-3, 5 RBI, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 BB), who was clearly the offensive spark for the Falcons. When the dust cleared, time had run out, and the Falcons would take game 2, 14-10, in a shortened 4 inning game.

The JV squad’s final game will be on Tuesday, April 6, at Coral Springs High. Game time is 6:30 P.M..