After a painful loss to Belen Jesuit in the district title game on April 16, Key West went to work to ensure that it would be the Conchs doing the stinging in their April 24 regional quarterfinal matchup against the Scorpions of Satellite.
The Scorpions struck first, putting one run on the board in the first and adding a solo homer in the second inning that woke up the Conch offense. Key West added four of their own runs in the second to pull ahead and maintained the lead for the duration of the game.
Nelson Ong led the Conchs in hitting, adding two base hits to his season total of 35. Roman Garcia drove in two runs off one hit while Kade Maltz and Kristian Masters each added a hit and an RBI. Jackie Niles accounted for hit number six for Key West in the win.
Maltz started on the mound for Key West, a heavy burden to lay on the shoulders of a sophomore, but Maltz proved he earned the honor, holding the Scorpions to two hits and a single run over five innings. Donovan Thiery stepped in for the final two innings, closing the door on Satellite.
The win put the Conchs at 23-5 heading into the FHSAA 4 Region 2 semifinals against Somerset Academy out of Pembroke Pines. Somerset, ranked No. 6, will face the second-seed Conchs in Key West on Friday, May 1 for the first of a three-game series to determine who will play in the regional final series the following week. Somerset knocked out Belen in their regional quarterfinals, demonstrating their ability to rise to the occasion against higher-ranked teams, and the Panther roster boasts the top hitter in the classification, making for an exciting matchup between two high-caliber teams.
Marathon is also still in the hunt for a state championship this season. The 1A Rural Fins sat this week out due to a smaller pool in the Rural brackets, but will resume their quest May 1 when the Mighty Red Devils of Williston High pay a visit. Marathon, ranked second in the region, earned the home-field advantage over third-ranked Williston. The winner of the three-game series earns a spot at the regional championships against top-ranked Trenton or No. 4 seed Dixie County pm May 8. Marathon lost to Trenton by a single run in a March 16 battle, giving the Dolphins a solid shot to advance to the state semifinals in mid-May.
