Posted 5/2/07

 

Class 6A regional quarterfinal -- Douglas 6, South Plantation 1: Daniel Matra wasted no time showing his hot hitting as a clean-up hitter.

On the first pitch he saw, the catcher hit a home run -- his ninth this season and second in the past two postseason games -- to jump-start the Eagles into an early lead and help end South Plantation's improbable playoff run in a 6-1 victory.

 

''I don't like to look at too many pitches,'' Matra said of his two-run blast over center field, which gave the Eagles (23-5) a 3-0 first-inning lead. He is coming off a game where he hit a grand slam in a victory against Taravella five days before. ``I like to be aggressive, and lately I'm feeling pretty good with the bat and hitting the ball hard.''

 

South Plantation (17-12) cut the lead to 3-1 in the second when Steve Vrabic hit a one-out RBI single to score Cody Phelps, who led off the inning with a single. But Douglas gradually increased its distance from the Paladins, with Brad Terboss scoring on a fielder's choice in the second and leadoff hitter Joey Hage adding a two-run home run in the fourth.

 

The Paladins, on the other hand, squandered their opportunities, finishing the game with a total 10 runners left on base while loading the bases in two occasions.

''We had a lot of ups and downs this season with a lot of people not thinking we'd get this far,'' said South Plantation coach Paul Liotti, whose team also had to rally around his four-year-old daughter, who successfully underwent the final stages of chemotherapy. ``I'm proud of the fact we were in this game and fought to the end. The character we showed as a team is what I'm going to take away from this game.''

 

Douglas, which faces the John I. Leonard-Palm Beach Central winner on Friday, used three pitchers, with Andrew Gianino (7-1) earning the win going five innings. The Paladins made the Eagles sweat it out for the last time in the top of seventh when they loaded the bases with no out. That's when Douglas coach Dean Florio inserted Kyle Forney, who earned the save on a line out to second followed by a game-ending 6-4-3 double play.

''We've been grooming Kyle for these situations for six weeks,'' Florio said. ``We've offered to get him some work in other [game] situation, but he's the type that wants the ball with the game on the line. He gets really excited about that.''

 

-- CONCEPCION LEDEZMA

 
 

Matra's grand slam powers Douglas to title

Sunsentinel.com
 Staff Reports
Posted April 27 2007

Senior catcher Daniel Matra hit a grand slam for his eight home run of the season, and Douglas pulled away in a six-run fourth inning for a 10-4 victory over Taravella in the District 11-6A championship game Thursday night at Coral Springs High.

For the Eagles (22-5), it marks their third consecutive district championship and sixth title in the past eight years.

"He [Matra] knows that his priority is to control the pitching staff," said Douglas coach Dean Florio said. "We lost 10 seniors from last year's team, so he's become one of our senior leaders," Douglas coach Dean Florio said.

 
 

Elorriaga-Matra lifts Douglas in Classic final
 By Shandel Richardson    South Florida Sun-Sentinel    Posted April 6 2007

 

DAVIE · So much for the idea that bottom-of-the-order hitters are the least effective.

Douglas sophomore Max Elorriaga-Matra put an end to that theory during the Nova Titans Classic.

Elorriaga-Matra, who bats ninth, had two home runs, including a grand slam, to lead Douglas to a 16-5 victory Thursday against Dunwoody (Ga.) in the championship. The game was called in the sixth inning for the 10-run rule.

"Everyone thinks that the bottom of the order can't hit," said Elorriaga-Matra, who also homered in the semifinals and has six on the year. "I guess I showed that some ninth batters can hit. Coach says it's like the second leadoff spot, and I guess it's true."

Elorriaga-Matra batted second in the lineup earlier in the season, but struggled. Coach Dean Florio decided to move him to the last batting spot to help him relax.

"We had him up in the lineup early in the year and talent-wise he's always been there," Florio said. "But he's still only a sophomore, he's young. We put him in the nine hole for one reason, so he can just find a comfort zone. And the other reason is some teams think the nine hitter doesn't have any pop and I think people know now that he does."

Elorriaga-Matra helped get things started in the first inning. Douglas had built a 3-0

lead with the help of four walks by Dunwoody pitcher Ron James. Then, with the bases loaded, Elorriaga-Matra broke it open with a homer over the left-field fence.

The comfortable lead allowed Douglas (18-3) to stay in control throughout. It was the Eagles' 17th consecutive victory. Elorriaga-Matra had a two-run homer in the sixth. Douglas finished with four home runs, getting them from Anthony Rizzo and Daniel Elorriaga-Matra. Rizzo has 10 homers, tying him for the school's single-season record.

"We started off slow the game before, so tonight we talked about being warmed up before the game started," Florio said. "We wanted to come out swinging. Guys came out here expecting to hit."

Dunwoody (13-2) entered as the third-ranked team in Georgia's Class 3A and had solid hitting in the tournament. It scored 15 runs in the previous round against South Plantation.

But Douglas pitcher Andrew Gianino slowed the hitters before being relieved in the fifth.

 
 

Douglas rallies to reach final of Titans Classic

By Shandel Richardson   South Florida Sun-Sentinel   Posted April 5 2007

 

 

DAVIE – There never is a point in any game where the Douglas baseball team worries.

No matter the deficit, coach Dean Florio said the team always is capable of a comeback. That was the case Wednesday when Douglas fell behind early before recovering for a 12-9 victory against Pompano Beach in the semifinals of the Nova Titans Classic. Douglas (17-3) faces Dunwoody (Ga.) for the championship tonight at 7:30.

 

Dunwoody defeated South Plantation 15-11.

"The thing with our team is even if we're down, even if we start slow, the hitting is going to be there," Florio said. "The hitting has been consistent. There's not many holes in our lineup."

It was Florio's 200th career victory in 10 seasons at the school. Douglas has won 16 straight since starting the year 1-3.

"There's a lot of people coming for us right now," Florio said. "A lot of people have told us that it might be good to lose one before the playoffs. I told them that we're not worrying about that right now. We're not cocky, we're just confident."

 

The confidence showed in the ease of how it recovered from an early four-run deficit. Douglas trailed 5-1 by the second inning.

Then Douglas had a big third inning. Centerfielder Joey Hage, who went 5 for 5, started it off with a double and scored on a single by Matt Holsman.

The next batter, Anthony Rizzo, hit a two-run homer, his ninth of the season. The scored was tied at 5 when Adam Kam singled in a run.

"It's been like that the last few games," Hage said. "We've gotten down, but I think it's good for us. We need to learn to be down and be able to come back."

Hage gave Douglas the lead for good with an RBI single in the fourth, to make it 6-5. The Eagles added four more runs in the inning to earn a comfortable advantage.

Despite the two-inning scoring barrage, Pompano Beach (11-8) refused to go way. Rafael Diaz and Thomas Ziol had an RBI singles in the sixth inning and two more runs scored on Douglas errors, making it 10-9.

"The thing about our kids is they're always going to compete," Pompano Beach coach George Petik said. "I told our kids that we kind of pecked and pecked at the lead.

"But it was like we were bringing our little pistol and [Douglas] came with bombs."

One of those bombs was a solo homer from Max Elorriaga-Matra. Douglas added one more run to finish the scoring.

 

 
Sun-Sentinel.com

Hage is hitting his stride

 

Douglas star has set county record, wants to bat .500 for senior season.


By Shandel Richardson
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted April 3 2007
 

 

PARKLAND – They are words rarely heard during an at-bat by Douglas center fielder Joey Hage.

So his teammates are surprised when they hear, "strike three!"

"When Joey strikes out, it just makes you want to say, `What the heck?'" first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. "He's probably only struck out two or three times this year and it is usually because of a bad call."

Hage, a 6-foot, 180-pound senior, is perhaps Broward County's top hitter. He has batted at least .400 in five varsity seasons (he played as an eighth-grader at Coral Springs Christian) and recently broke the county's record for career hits. He is one of the reasons Douglas is 15-3 and riding a 14-game winning streak.

"First of all, he takes a lot of pride in his hitting," coach Dean Florio said. "A lot of high school kids just swing the bat and hope to hit the ball. He actually understands the full concept of waiting for the right pitch. He doesn't strike out too often because he just wants to put the ball in play."

Hage's skills come from a combination of his strong work ethic and his father's baseball knowledge. Joe Hage Sr. played in the College World Series in the 1970s at Southern Illinois and later in the minor leagues for the New York Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates. The two have spent endless hours working on hitting techniques. The family even has a batting cage in the backyard, which is frequented often by the Douglas players.

"I've been working with him since he was at a very young age," the father said. "He loves the game. He worked hard at it and you can tell by what he's accomplished."

Hage led the area in hitting as an eighth-grader and has continued to dominate pitchers. He is batting .440 this season, breaking the record of the 184 hits on March 12 against Flanagan. It was held by Nova's Dan Rovetto (1995-98). Hage now has 193 career hits.

"I didn't know I had broken the record until my dad told me," Hage said. "I just remember thinking, `That's awesome.' It was something that I've worked almost my whole life for."

Hage, whose sister Nicole is an All-American golfer at Auburn, still has another decision to make. He has signed with Florida International but is still waiting to see if he's selected in the Major League Baseball draft. He is ranked the 130th best prospect in the country by Perfect Game USA.

Until then, he will focus on his high school goals. He wants to raise his batting average to .500 to cap his senior season.

"I think it's possible," Hage said. "I still have enough games left to do it.

 Shandel Richardson can be reached at sdrichardson@sun-sentinel.com.

 

 

 

By FRANK E. DeMARZO        fdemarzo@MiamiHerald.com
 

Vesnesky powers Eagles to seventh win in a row

Munga Vesnesky picked up three hits, including a two-run home run, to lead Douglas past Coconut Creek.

 

Coconut Creek was determined not to let Douglas' Anthony Rizzo get the best of them, intentionally walking the Eagles leading hitter five times. Unfortunately for Creek, it should have kept just as watchful of an eye on Munga Vesnesky.
 

The Douglas third baseball had three hits, including a two-run home run in the fourth inning as the Eagles won their seventh in a row, 10-2 on Wednesday at Deerfield Beach.

''Anthony is a great hitter, but after a while it got annoying, and I just wanted to make them pay for it,'' said Vesnesky, who also had a two-run double in the sixth. ``I just wanted to hit it as hard as I could.''

The game was scoreless until the fourth when Rizzo was intentionally walked to start the inning, but was thrown out attempting to steal. Danny Matra then singled to left before Vesnesky then hit a deep shot to center field. In the sixth, Adam Kam led off with a ground-rule double. Max Matra followed with a bunt-single before Zachary Davis' RBI single. Then Joey Hage effectively sealed the win with a three-run home run.
 

''You never know what to expect going in. It's a tough one always going against Creek,'' coach Dean Florio said. ``And you saw early on that it was tough.''
 

Winning pitcher Tucker Donahue allowed two runs, but he had a no-hitter through the sixth inning before he was replaced after his pitch count started getting high.

BASEBALL | DOUGLAS 10, COCONUT CREEK 2

Photo by Candace West

 

Douglas' Anthony Rizzo tries to tag Coconut Creek's Ryan Chase, who was safe at first during a game Wednesday, March 14, 2007

 

Douglas 000 206 2--10 11 4
Creek 000 101 0-- 2 0 0
 

WP: Tucker Donahue
LP: Ronnie Gray
Records: Douglas 8-3