With a record of 15-5, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School varsity baseball team were determined to keep raising their record in a home game against North Broward Prep on Tuesday, April 16 at 6:30 p.m. After an eventful game, the Eagles won with the final score being 6-5, adding another win to this season’s record.

After winning their most recent game against Flanagan High School with a score of 7-4, the Eagles started the game with high hopes.

The game started with North Broward at bat and pitcher Luke Jacucci-Cherry (1) on the mound.
North Broward hits a line drive and reaches an error by shortstop Devin Fitz-Gerald (3) and their next player at bat walks, resulting with the third and second base filled. Soon after, third baseman Rylan Lujo (14) and first baseman Niko Benestad (6) assisted in the three ground outs that quickly summed up the top first inning.

Now starting with the Eagles at bat, center fielder Alex Rodriguez (13) striking out swinging and D.Fitz-Gerald walks to first base. Shortly after, Lujo flies out to right field and Benestad grounds out, getting D. Fitz-Gerald out trying to advance to second base. At the end of the first inning, the score remains 0-0.

At the top of the second inning, North Broward scored their first point from a walk and got their name on the scoreboard. Heading into the bottom of the second with a score of 1-0 and switching to offense, the Eagles strived to get their name on the board.

“I think we got off to a rough start, but we knew what we needed to do to get it back,” Benestad said. “We know our game and we know how we play and we just have to get it in our heads that we can beat any of our opponents.”

To start the third inning, after North Broward hits a single and walks, Benestad and the new pitcher James Smith (22), who came in as a relief for Cherry, assist in a ground out. Now with third and second bases loaded, North Broward scores on a single, boosting the score to 3-0. Later on, the eagles managed to assist in two outs, transitioning to the next half of the inning.

Now with courtesy runner Jake Rizzo (17) in for catcher Ethan Askin (28), Askin scores a single on a ground ball. Torres strikes out looking, while Rizzo remains at first. Rodriguez grounds out, but Rizzo successfully advances to third base. While still at third, D.Fitz-Gerald walks and Lujo ends up grounding into fielder’s choice. As a result, Rizzo failed to score and D.Fitz-Gerald got out in an attempt to get to second base.

With the score still 3-0 into the fourth inning, it started off with North Broward hitting a triple on a line drive to right fielder Nick Diaz (11) and a ground out with the help of Lujo and Benestad at third and first base. Soon after, North Broward scores on a wild pitch, bumping the score to 4-0, putting the Eagles farther behind. Torres and Benestad successfully assisted in another ground out and with Breylynn Courtney (30) pitching as relief, struck out the final player before going into the bottom inning.

“We went out there and did what we do best. We played strong and we played hard and should be proud of our performance,” Courtney said.

The next half begins with Benestad striking out swinging, but then Bennet Gary (4) hits a single on a ground ball. Diaz also hit a single but on a line drive, which allowed Gary to move on to second base. Designated hitter Gavin Gargiulo (8) doubles on a line drive, leading to Gary scoring the first point for the Eagles and putting Diaz at third base.

Now with the score being 4-1, Askin gets out on a sacrifice fly, allowing Diaz to score the second point and advancing Gargiulo to third base. With the Eagles now on a roll, Torres hit a single on a hard ground ball, which ended up with Gargiulo scoring another point, putting the score at 4-3. Soon after, Torres got caught stealing second and the half inning ended by out on the base paths.

Now with the Eagles closely catching up, Courtney pitched and struck out two players in a row, starting off strong in the fifth inning. North Broward eventually doubles on a line drive to Rodriguez and later hits a single, occupying both third and first base. To end the top inning, Courtney pitched and struck out again.

Starting on offense, Rodriguez singles on a ground ball and D. Fitz-Gerald flies out to center field, Rodriguez stays at first base. Then, Lujo singles on a line drive, leading Rodriguez to score the fourth point for the team, putting the Eagles and North Broward neck and neck. Gary grounds out into fielder’s choice, advancing Lujo to third, but Benestad gets out trying to reach second base. Diaz then grounds out, summing up the fifth inning.

With the Eagles were back on defense with right-handed pitcher Jayden Dubanewicz (27) now pitching, and the score was now 4-4, it was North Broward’s turn at bat. After a fly out on a fly ball, they score a homerun on another fly ball, taking the lead again at 5-4. Then, they hit a single to left field and walked twice, resulting in second and third bases being loaded for another point. But, Diaz was able to catch a fly out, and Dubanewicz struck out pitching.

Back again on offense, Gargiulo singles on a ground ball and Gio Rojas (12) grounds out into a double play. Gargiulo then gets out trying to advance to second, Torres walks to first, but then Rodriguez flies out to left fielder, quickly ending the sixth inning.

In the final inning, the Eagles were determined to take the lead. Dubanewicz struck out two players pitching, which put them at a good start. After a walk to first, North Broward grounded out with the assistance of Lujo and Benestad, quickly wrapping up the top inning.

“We played as a team today and played our hearts out. And that’s all we could’ve done,” Diaz said. “I think the game went well and our energy was up.”

Now in their last attempt to bring up their record, the Eagles were on offense. D. Fitz-Gerald pops out in foul territory to first baseman and Lujo singles on a hard ground ball. Then, Benestad homeruns on a fly ball to right field, allowing him and Lujo to score two points in one play.

This put the Eagles back on top, ending strong with a final score of 6-5. Their next game is away against Doral Academy on Friday, April 19 at 4 p.m.