Charles W. Flanagan High School Baseball

The Flanagan Falcons will once again play in a Regional Final. The 6th time in 8 years and the 4th consecutive appearance. Flanagan withstood a valiant effort from Palm Beach Gardens but came out on top 7-6 in a thrilling 7th inning win. The Falcons went out on top 4-0 in the 1st inning when Rolando Gomez homered on the 1st pitch he saw, Nick Navarro(2 run homer) and Luis Penate(solo shot) also homered in the inning spotting RJ Fondon the lead. Gardens answered in the top of the 3rd with 4 runs of their own before Fondon settled into the game allowing just 1 more run through 5 and 2/3 innings. DJ Swatscheno would relieve Fondon in the 6th inning. In the 7th he would give up 1 run on 2 hits which tied the game at 6-6. DJ would make up for the 1 run by singling in the bottom of the 7th and then came around to score the winning run on Mitch Massard's double to left field and throwing error by the fielder sending the crowd into a frenzy and propelling the Falcons into Tuesdays Regional Final rematch with Palm Beach Central. Come out and bring plenty of friends to cheer on your team. The game will be at 4:00pm at PB Central. Records: PBG (24-4) Flanagan(22-7) Directions to Palm Beach Central: - I-75 North toward Naples - Take 869 North, Sawgrass Expy North via exit 19 toward Ft. Lauderdale/W.Palm Bch. - Merge onto Florida's Turnpike North toward W. Palm Beach/Orlando - Take SR-802 East exit-Exit 93-toward I-95/Airport/US-1/GreenAcres/Lake Worth - Turn Left onto Lake Worth RD./FL-802 East. - Turn Left onto Pinehurst Dr. - Turn Left onto Forest Hill Blvd./FL-882 West. - End at Palm Beach Central H.S. 8499 Forest Hill Blvd. West Palm Beach, Fl. 33411 Total Est. Time: 1 hour and 5 minutes Total Est. Distance: 58.80 miles

The Flanagan Falcons used their experience to overcome an early deficit to the Taravella Trojans. Trailing 3-2 the offense erupted for 6 runs in the bottom of the 3rd inning as senior SS Luis Penate doubled to left field scoring Joel Carranza tying the game at 3-3. Senior CF Chris Connelly would follow with a double to centerfield scoring Zach Jackson and Penate giving the Falcons a 5-3 lead which they wouldn't relinquish. 3 batters later senior LF Jesse Mesa would homer to centerfield giving the Falcons an 8-3 advantage en route to the 13-3 final in 6 innings. Connelly would finish the night 3 for 4 with 2 doubles and 4 RBI. Flanagan would flex their muscles again homering 3 times with Mesa, Mitch Massard and Nick Navarro all going deep. Massard went 3 for 3 with 3 runs scored and Navarro was 2 for 3 with a BB. Diego Delgado(2-0) won his second consecutive game pitching 3 and 1/3 innings of relief. He allowed just 2 hits without a run and struck out 4. Flanagan will host Palm Beach Gardens on Friday in the Regional Semifinal. The game will be at 7:00pm. Records: Taravella(19-9) Flanagan(21-7)

The smoke from the concession stand floated across the field like a fog and when the air cleared the Flanagan Falcons stood tall as District Champions for a 3rd year in a row. The 2007 Championship game had the look and feel of a heavyweight fight but this opponent wasn't Cypress Bay, it was Paul Liotti's South Plantation Paladins. A team on a mission they gave the Falcons a barrage of shots early taking a 3-0 lead after one inning on back to back home runs from Alex Hoeg and Cody Phelps. Flanagan would answer with a 3 run homer from catcher Nick Navarro in the bottom of the inning tying the game at 3-3. South Plant would look for a knock out in the 2nd inning scoring 6 runs capped by a 3 run home run from Matt Sergey, yet the Falcons would overcome that deficit with 6 runs of their own. Jesse Mesa cut the lead to 9-6 with a 2 run shot to deep right center field and 5 batters later Luis Penate would tie the game at 9-9 with a 2 run homer of his own. The 2 teams would finally settle into the game. Flanagan would look to sophomore lefthander Diego Delgado to keep the game in check and the young man delivered with 3 and 1/3 innings of 1 hit relief. He struck out 5 in the outing. The offense would reward his efforts in the 5th inning when senior 1st baseman Mitch Massard got into the home run party with a 2 run blast to right field giving the Falcons an 11-9 lead. Coach Evans would call on junior ace RJ Fondon to close out the game in the 6th inning. He would pitch 2 innings allowing a run without a hit and striking out the final two batters to earn the save. Diego Delgado was credited with his 1st Varsity win of his career. Both teams will advance to the Regional Quarterfinals next week. Flanagan will host Taravella on Tuesday May 1st at 7:00pm while the Paladins will travel to Douglas on Tuesday at 4:00pm. Records: South Plantation(17-11) Flanagan(20-7)

Flanagan(19-7) took the 1st step in defending their District 12 Title by blasting 6 home runs en route to a 11-1 win over the Cooper City Cowboys(12-14). The win advances the Falcons into the District Championship on Friday. The Cowboys took an early 1-0 lead int he 2nd inning when SS Marc Lau hit a solo home run. Flanagan starter RJ Fondon would not give the Cowboys another opportunity to score the rest of the game and the offense took care of the rest. In the bottom of the 2nd inning, Flanagan unloaded 4 home runs and scored 5 runs. Luis Penate launched a 2 run shot scoring Zach Jackson who came in to run for Nick Navarro after he singled to right field. Chris Connelly went back to back hitting his 4th Hr of the season to deep left center. 3 batters later Jesse Mesa connected on a solo shot to left center and Rolando Gomez doubled that up with his 8th homer of the year. Penate would not be finished, the senior shortstop drove in 2 more runs in the 4th inning with a double to centerfield. In the 6th inning Joel Carranza got in on the action hitting his 8th homer, a 2 run blast to left field. Penate would end the game in fitting fashion, a 2 run walk off bomb to centerfield capping an 11 hit attack. The Falcons will face South Plantation on Friday in the District Championship. The Paladins defeated #1 seed South Broward 7-6 to advance. The Falcons host the game at 7:00.

On a night Flanagan honored their most successful Senior Class in school history the Falcons showed off some off their senior firepower by launching 3 home runs en route to a 10-3 win over Pembroke Pines Charter. Chris Connelly started the 2nd inning off with a solo blast to left field and then Mitch Massard who had a great night going 3 for 3 launched a 2 run homer to center giving the Falcons a 3-1 lead which they never relinquished. He finished with the HR, 2 doubles and 4 RBI. DJ Swatscheno went 1 for 1 with a triple, 2 walks and 3 runs scored. Joel Carranza continued his hitting streak with a single in the 5th and scored on an RBI double by Nick Navarro. Carranza hit a solo HR in the 6th inning tying him with Rolando Gomez for the team lead with 7. Rudy Miret(4-0) pitched 6 strong innings to get the win. He allowed 3 runs on 3 hits and struck out 6. Swatscheno pitched the 7th inning allowing a hit, striking out 1 and inducing a game ending double play as Greg Goldberger snagged a linedrive to 3rd base and doubled off the runner from 1st. The Falcons will host the District Tournament next week starting at 3:30 on Tuesday. The seedings have not been finalized and will be posted by Monday. Records: Flanagan(18-7) Pines Charter(14-10)