The Marathon Dolphins baseball team made a long-awaited trip south on April 12 to Rex Weech Field to take on the Key West Conchs, renewing a rivalry that lay dormant for more than 10 years. Though Key West emerged victorious in a sound 18-1 win, the Dolphins gained valuable experience for an impending postseason run.
“Key West is a non-district opponent, so this was a friendly county rivalry,” said head coach Joey Gonzalez. “We looked forward to the opportunity of going down there against a really competitive ball club. Win, lose or draw, it was an awesome experience for the boys to be able to get down to Rex Weech Field and play in a large, almost a college-style environment.”
With one week remaining in the team’s regular season, the Dolphins sit atop the standings in the South Florida Baseball Conference. “We lost a couple of really close games that should have gone our way, but the boys have really figured it out and turned the corner going into the final stretch of games,” said Gonzalez. “If we can control what we know we can control in the next couple of weeks, it looks like maybe in two weeks when we head up to Miami Country Day for the conference tournament, we can go in as the regular season champions and get that first-place spot.”
The Dolphins will defend home turf on Friday, April 22 against Westwood Christian. The first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Photos by Barry Gaukel. See more game photos at www.shadypalmphotography.com.
