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."
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3 Falcons Named HERALD 1ST TEAM ALL-BROWARD; GOMEZ is 6A PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Flanagan continued it's dominance of Broward County as 7 players were selected to the Herald ALL-County TEAMS. Shortstop Rolando Gomez, 2nd baseman Alejandro Sanchez and lefthanded pitcher Corey Witkowski earned 1st TEAM ALL-BROWARD after having a terrific senior season. They guided the team to a 4th straight District Title and 5th consecutive Regional Finals appearance. Gomez led the offense with a .474 batting average, county leading 8 home runs and team high 27 RBI. Sanchez batted a cool .404 with 2 home runs and 24 RBI and Witkowski went 9-2 with a 0.91 ERA and 71 strike outs.
Senior 1st baseman/LHP Josh Gonzaga and senior LHP RJ Fondon were named 2nd TEAM ALL-BROWARD. Junior OF-Zach Jackson was selected to the 3rd TEAM and Junior designated hitter Justin Frias was named Honorable Mention.
Shortstop Rolando Gomez was given the top honor as the Class 6A PLAYER of the YEAR. The 5'8, 160 lb. senior had another spectacular season leading the county in a number of offensive catagories. He leaves Flanagan as one of the best players in the schools 12 year history after posting a career .483 batting average, 28 home runs and 100 RBI in 3 seasons.
R.J. Fondon
Florida International University
Four Falcons Named to Post Season ALL-STAR Teams
The Florida Athletic Coaches Association (FACA) Baseball State All-Star Classic has selected shortstop Rolando Gomez, a University of Miami signee, and left handed pitcher Corey Witkowski, a Barry University signee, to represent Flanagan on the South All-Star roster. The FACA All-Star Classic is held in Sebring, FL. and will be played on May 23rd-24th.
The Broward County Athletic Association (BCAA) Senior All-Star Game will showcase 2 Falcons on the South roster. 2nd baseman Alejandro Sanchez, a Bethune-Cookman University signee, and left handed pitcher RJ Fondon, a FIU signee, have been selected to represent Flanagan.
Congratulations to these 4 athletes for their accomplishments on and off the baseball field.
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.
Falcons will make a Class 6A Record 5th Straight Regional Finals Appearance
The Flanagan Falcons are in the mist of an unprecedented 5th straight Class 6A Regional Finals appearance. The Falcons will travel to Lake Worth on Friday May 9th to play Park Vista in the best of 3 Regional Finals after beating JP Taravella tonight 5-2 in the Regional Semifinal. The winner will advance to Sarasota and the State Final Four May 14th and 15th.
The Falcons jumped out on top 2-0 in the 1st inning tonight when Rolando Gomez and Ali Sanchez reached base on back to back singles and with 2 outs Justin Frias delivered a 2 RBI double to left field for the early lead. In the 5th inning Flanagan extended the lead to 3-0 on Zach Jacksons solo home run to centerfield. (his 5th HR of the season) Josh Gonzaga doubled in the top of the 7th and was replaced by pinch runner Geoffrey Jimenez. Frias delivered again when he drove in Jimenez with a double in the top of the 7th for his 3rd RBI on the evening. Falcons starter Corey Witkowski(9-1) pitched a complete game allowing just 2 runs on 4 hits and struck out 6 Trojans. Jackson, Sanchez, Frias and Josh Gonzaga had 2 hits each to pace the offense and Gomez scored 2 runs on the night.
The Regional Final Series will be a doubleheader starting at 4:00pm and 7:00pm on Friday. A 3rd game will be on Saturday if neccessary.
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