Baseball love was in the air at Rex Weech on Feb. 14 when the Conchs took on the ABF Academy Cowboys out of Hialeah. The Cowboys got out to a quick lead in inning one, but Key West shut them down after that, pouring on 11 runs in five innings of play and holding ABF to their first-inning score.
Key West’s bats were on fire, led by Sam Holland, who was 3-4 at the plate including a double and a two-run homer. Jackson Bernhard, Nelson Ong, Roman Garcia and Auggy Davilla had two hits apiece, while Kade Maltz and Xavier Perez accounted for the rest of the Conchs’ hits. To make matters worse for the Cowboys, Key West was perfect in the field and their pitching was on as well. Vinny Moline faced 15 batters over four innings, striking out eight, walking two and giving up four hits. Kasey Kasper put in one inning of relief to seal the deal.
The following night, the Conchs faced the other ABF Academy, the Homestead Bandits. Another night of solid pitching and error-free fielding spelled trouble for the Bandits. Offensively, Garcia was 3-4 including a triple while Maltz added a pair of hits. Ong, Holland, Perez and Davila also registered hits, with Davila’s being a triple. Christian Koppal earned the win, striking out seven, walking two and allowing just a single hit over four innings. Jon Carlos Lampas-Gormley and Cruz Holmes combined for three innings, striking out four over the final three frames. The 8-2 win gave the Conchs a 3-1 record in early-season play.
A six-run fourth inning was the difference maker in a 10-4 loss suffered by Marathon at the hands of Immaculata-La Salle Feb. 11. The Fins put together a four-run rally in inning five to narrow the gap, but the Royal Lions held onto the lead, handing the Dolphins their first loss of the season. The Fins racked up seven hits, including a pair each from Dylan Williams and Bryan Broche, in the loss.
Two nights later, the outcome was very different. The Fins enjoyed a four-inning mercy rule romp over the Hurricanes of Somerset South Homestead in a 16-0 win. Three Fins took advantage of a long center field as Gabe Leal, Mason Thornton and Dylan Williams each hit bombs to the back of center for inside-the-park home runs. Leal added a triple for a pair of hits while his twin brother Gavin also had a pair of hits. Jack Dunn and Jason Stubblefield Jr. each singled. Reef Rella was 3-3 on the night, including a triple. The seventh-grader also saw time on the mound, closing out the final inning with a pair of strikeouts after Shane Dieguez pitched three with six strikeouts for the win.
Coral Shores opened their season Feb. 11 on the road, traveling to Miami to challenge Terra Environmental. Leadoff man AJ Putetti started things off with a single and the ’Canes poured on three runs in the top of the first to give Terra a wakeup call. Terra added runs in the first, third and fourth while the ’Canes stalled offensively, resulting in a tie which would last until the seventh.
Daylight ran out and insufficient lighting made extra innings impossible, and the teams would have to settle for a deadlock in the books. Donovan Thiery started on the mound, lasting two-and-a-third innings and striking out five, until Riley O’Berry and, later, Campbell Lavoie came in for relief. Thiery led the team offensively with three hits and one RBI. O’Berry, Putetti, Maykol Bonito, Eddie Holly and Keller Blackburn added one each.
Two nights later, the ’Canes picked up win number one in their home opener against the Warriors of Dade Christian. Coral Shores led the game until the Warriors tied it up with a three-run rally in the fifth. Coral Shores was patient and took advantage of a pair of walks in the bottom of the seventh. With two outs on the board, Blackburn hit a hard ground-ball single to score O’Berry for the winning run. Lavoie got the start, pitching four and a third innings, then Thiery took over to close it out. Putetti and Benito each had a pair of singles while O’Berry and Thiery each doubled. Blackburn accounted for the final of Coral Shores’ seven hits in the 5-4 win.
