The Marathon Dolphins had to wait 45 years before their 2025 district championship on the baseball diamond. Their second wait? Not quite so long.
The Middle Keys squad had no problem defeating the Terriers of Moore Haven April 15 in the 1A Rural District 8 semifinals. The Fins led by one until the third inning, when Marathon broke things open with a four-run rally, followed by six more in the fourth. The game ended in an 11-0 mercy-rule win for Marathon and sent them into the district championship game two nights later.
Jason Stubblefield had the hot bat against the Terriers, adding a double and triple plus three RBIs. Massimo Quargnali had two base hits and Jack Chapman, Roco Piscetello and Bradley Buigas each had one. In addition to the seven hits, Marathon capitalized on 10 walks, a hit batter and four Terrier errors to pile on the runs. Gabriele Cirina got the start, striking out six with no walks, no runs and a single hit surrendered over three and two-thirds innings. Chapman slammed the door, pitching one and one-third innings of no-hit ball and striking out three in the process.
Two nights later, the Dolphins set out to defend their FHSAA Rural District 8 title, hosting the Miners of Fort Meade, a team they defeated in February by a hefty seven runs. The Miners had no intention of allowing the Fins to trounce them again, though, and each team’s bullpen put up a strong defense, making for a quiet night at the plate.
“The district championship game was one of the better pitchers’ duels I have seen in my coaching career,” said Fins head coach Joey Gonzalez.
Both teams were held to just two hits each in seven innings of play, making the difference between champions and runners-up come down to patience at the plate, crafty baserunning, and, unfortunately for the Miners, errors.
Marathon’s defense was perfect while Fort Meade committed three errors, costing them dearly. In the first inning, the Dolphins capitalized on a dropped third strike to take a 1-0 lead, which they stretched in similar fashion in the bottom of the third. With two away, a speedy Piscetello took off for home on a passed ball, scoring the second run in a cloud of dust and Marathon celebration.
“We were able to get some traffic on the bases and executed the plan of being aggressive on the base paths, which ultimately proved to be the difference-maker,” Gonzalez said.
The Fins’ hits came off the bats of Bradley Buigas and Massimo Quargnali, who each singled in the title game. Dylan Williams got the start on the mound, and his 10 strikeouts put him at exactly 100 for the season. Williams walked four, gave up one hit and zero runs in five innings of work before Cirina stepped in and collected the save.
The Rural District 8 two-time champs now await the regional brackets to find out whom and when they play next, but a strong season and power ranking gives them what coach Gonzalez feels is a “99.99%” chance of hosting a Sweet 16 game at Simcic Field.
Key West
Key West dispatched their FHSAA 4A District 16 semifinal opponent, Hialeah-Miami Lakes, in just four innings after a 14-hit, 17-run demonstration of incredible offense. Roman Garcia collected three hits while Auggy Davila, Xavier Perez, Kade Maltz, Jackie Niles and Nelson Ong had two each and Tyrone Cervantes one. Davila and Maltz each sent balls over the fence in the fourth inning, with Maltz’s being a grand slam and Davila’s driving in three of his five RBIs.
Defensively, the Conchs were perfect in the field, and Maltz shut down any hope the Trojans may have had via impeccable work on the mound. Maltz struck out four, walked none and tossed four innings of no-hit baseball during which no Trojan set foot on base. The 17-0 win put Key West into the district championship game the following night.
April 16 pitted Key West against a familiar foe in longtime rivals Belen Jesuit. Key West found themselves in a hole in the first after back-to-back Wolverine home runs helped fuel a four-run lead for Belen. Key West managed to chip away at that lead, bringing the deficit to just one in the third inning, but hefty Belen bats amassed 10 hits to the Conchs’ five, and four of the Wolverine hits were out of the park.
Ong had two of Key West’s hits with Davila, Perez and Maltz accounting for the others. Donovan Thiery got the start, striking out six, walking two and surrendering seven hits and five runs, four of which were earned. The big righty lasted five innings before Ong and Davila stepped in for relief.
The 9-4 loss forced Key West to settle for the runner-up trophy and await the regional brackets for their fate. That fate will likely be more challenging than had the Conchs won the district title, but the incredibly difficult schedule the team endured this season could just keep Key West in the running for another state championship.
Coral Shores
Coral Shores’ season ended April 15 after a loss to Keys Gate in the FHSAA 2A District 16 quarterfinals. The Hurricanes, ranked third in the district, drew a bye for the quarterfinals, as did their second-seeded opponent.
Keys Gate jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first and never let up on the pressure, winning 9-0. Keller Blackburn had the lone Hurricane hit in the contest. Riley O’Berry got the start on the mound and fellow senior Glade Harrelson, sophomore Jack O’Keefe and freshman Braylon Lindmar all chipped in with the pitching duties. The ’Canes finished the season 8-10 with notable seasons from O’Berry, who led District 16 with a 2.4 ERA, and Blackburn, who had an error-free season in the field and was one of just two athletes in the district to do so.
JUSTICE LEE ISOM/Keys Weekly
