As the calendar flips to March, the Key West Conchs baseball team has yet to suffer a loss.
NSU University School pulled ahead with a 1-0 lead against the visiting Conchs on Feb. 24, and both teams put runs on the board in the third to head into the fourth inning knotted up at 5-5. Key West poured on four more in the fourth to take a lead the Sharks were unable to catch. In all, five Conchs put in work on the mound, and Key West’s bats racked up nine runs. Auggy Davila stacked up four RBIs with a single and a triple and Darreld Treminio had two base hits. Donovan Thiery and Kade Maltz doubled while Xavier Perez, Nelson Ong and Jackson Bernhard singled in the 10-7 win.
Key West’s next victim was Miami Sunset, who came to town Feb. 27 and 28. In game one, the Conchs struck in the first inning, when a pair of walks set the stage for a three-run Donovan Thiery home run. Thiery then went on the defensive for the rest of the game, striking out eight batters, walking one and giving up just three hits in six and two-thirds innings. Nelson Ong finished up with the final out to seal the win. Thiery was 2-for-4 at the plate and Tyrone Cervantes, Davila, Maltz, Ong and Treminio accounted for the rest of Key West’s seven hits.
In game two, Sunset got on the board first, scoring one in the first inning, but the Conchs answered with three to take a lead they never surrendered. Maltz and Jackson Bernhard had two hits each while Perez, Davila and Ong added base hits. Maltz started on the mound for Key West and ended with five strikeouts, one walk and four hits surrendered over five and two-thirds innings. Cruz Holmes finished out the final one-third inning before the game was called due to unsafe conditions. Heavy fog rolled in, obscuring the outfield and making it impossible to continue. Next up for the perfect 7-0 Conchs is a three-game series against a visiting Gulf Shores, Alabama ballclub March 5-7.
Marathon took a road trip last week to test their resolve against a trio of District 8 Rural teams. If their trip is any indication, the Dolphins are poised to make a repeat run at a district title later this spring. The Fins outscored their opponents 36-4 in three games, winning them all with runs to spare.
The victories began Feb. 24 at Moore Haven, where Marathon trounced the Terriers 14-2. The Fins piled on 11 hits, three of which came off the bat of Jack Chapman and two from Roco Piscetello. Reef Rella completed five innings on the mound, striking out 10 with two walks and surrendering three hits and two runs before the mercy rule was invoked.
The following night, it was the Miners of Fort Meade who endured an 8-1 beating. Marathon stacked up eight hits, including two each from Chapman, Jason Stubblefield and Gabriele Cirina. The Fins were perfect in the field and Dylan Williams struck out nine, walked two and gave up just three hits over six innings. Cirina finished it out, facing three batters and fanning them all.
Game three ended in a 14-1 romp over Glades Day on Feb. 26. Cirina and Chapman had two hits each out of the team’s total of eight, making it seven in three games for Chapman. The Fins stole five bases and were perfect in the field. Cirina pitched five innings before the mercy rule went into effect, striking out eight, walking one and giving up just two hits to the Gators.
Cirina’s powerful bat stretched his ranking in runs batted in from third in Florida last week to first place. His 18 RBIs moved him to sixth in the entire nation. Catcher Massimo Quargnali has played perfect defense this season and is in a multi-player tie for first place in Florida rankings. Quargnali has 82 putouts and an assist out of 83 total chances so far this season. Those numbers place him second nationally.
On Feb. 24, Coral Shores made the quick trip to Keys Gate for their first of three games last week. Mailon Aguila, Keller Blackburn and Andy Cone each singled in the 8-0 loss.
The following night, the Hurricanes were on the road again, this time at Somerset South Homestead, where Coral Shores poured on the runs for a four-inning mercy rule win. Riley O’Berry had three hits, including a double, to lead the offense. Cone added a single and double to the Hurricane hit total of nine. Coral Shores kept the scoring fast and furious with 10 walks and 11 struck batters. Emileano Barrios pitched four innings, striking out six, walking one and surrendering three hits in the 19-1 win.
A Feb. 27 forfeit by ABF Academy Homestead put the Hurricanes at 4-3 with just over half of the regular season remaining.
