Key West tested its skills against the Trojans of Taravella High in a pair of games Feb. 16 and 17. The 4A Conchs struggled at bat against the 7A Trojans, with their lone hit Friday night coming from Noah Burnham in inning six. Jacob Burnham started on the mound for the Conchs, striking out five and allowing five hits over four innings. Anthony Lariz completed the final three innings, giving up one hit and fanning three batters as Key West settled for a 3-3 tie.
On Saturday, the story was similar; this time it was Steel Mientkiewicz with a single hit for the Conchs. Four pitchers shared the duties, with the start going to Christian Koppal, who went 2.2 innings striking out six batters, walking three and allowing four hits. Vinny Moline, Felix Ong and Kasey Kasper saw one inning of relief each in the five-inning game. While the Conchs were not prolific at the plate against the Trojans, Saturday’s game saw a typical Key West machine-like defense without a single error committed in the 10-0 loss. The Taravella games do not count against the Conchs, who often test themselves against larger schools in the preseason. Key West and the rest of Monroe County’s teams will begin their regular season games this week. The Conchs play 5A North Fort Myers in a two-game series starting Feb. 23 at Rex Weech Field.
Marathon ace Dylan Ziels started off his senior campaign with nine strikeouts on Feb. 16 when the Fins faced Berean Christian in a preseason game. Ziels was ranked both in Florida and nationally last season and looks to continue fanning the opposition for his senior season. Marathon beat the Bulldogs 11-0 in four-and-a-half innings of play. The mercy-rule win allowed for many of the Dolphin underclassmen to step to the plate in their first varsity appearances. Ziels pitched three innings, while Gavin Leal and Mason Thornton each pitched an inning of relief. Thornton, Tommy Norris and Jack Chapman each had a pair of hits and Aiden Gonzalez, Gabe Leal, Gavin Leal and Shane Dieguez each registered one hit in the win. Next up for Marathon was Everglades Prep on Feb. 20 in their regular-season opener (results not available at press time).
Coral Shores played a pair of preseason games last week, starting with the Cowboys of Cooper City on Feb. 12. The ’Canes lost 8-1 to Cooper City but had some success with their bats. Maykol Bonito-Rodriguez had a pair of singles while AJ Putetti, Donovan Thiery and Riley O’Berry registered one hit each. Coral Shores spread out pitching duties to five athletes, giving a majority of their bullpen a good look for the upcoming season. Two days later, the Hurricanes played Hialeah Educational Academy, losing 12-0 to the Bulldogs. The ’Canes started their regular season Feb. 20 against ABF Academy Homestead (results not available at press time) and will face district rival Keys Gate on the 22nd.
