Defeating the West Broward High School Bobcats 6–2, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School varsity baseball team took home their first victory of the preseason in their first preseason game. The team gained the most points in the second inning due to a homerun by first baseman Nick Diaz (11), scoring them three runs.
The game started at 6:00 p.m. at the Anthony Rizzo baseball field, with the Eagles beginning on defense. Pitcher and designated hitter Giovanni Rojas (12) was the first on the mound. His pitching prevented all but one Bobcat from obtaining a run before the Eagles switched to offense, making the score 0–1.
“I think our pitching was really good other than the first inning. I think the other team got a little lucky there with timely hits and a score in the first inning, but other than that our pitching was great,” Diaz said.
The second half of the first inning was marked by many strikes thrown by the Bobcats’ pitcher, leading to the end of the inning, with the Eagles unable to score any points.
The second inning seemed to be where the team found their footing. Third baseman Santiago Rincon (27) hit a single, which allowed second baseman and pinch runner Brody Gargiulo (26) to score a run. Rincon also scored a run due to catcher and outfielder Jake Rizzo’s (22) turn at bat, making the score 2-1.
“My single [was the most exciting part of the game for me],” Rincon said. “I was a little nervous, but then I saw my team get behind me. I was really excited.”
Then Diaz stepped up to the plate, halting for a moment as he prepared to bat. He took his swing and successfully hit a home run, allowing the team to earn three more points: one from Diaz and two from his teammates already on base. Diaz’s hit made the game’s score 5–1 as the entire team came out of the dugout to celebrate.
“It felt good to bring energy to the dugout and bring momentum to the game,” Diaz said. “It felt good to help the team get the win. I actually had a talk with coach Federman about my approach to the play. I was thrown a curveball right down the middle and knew what I needed to do.”
Once the third inning began, Rojas took his position as pitcher whilst both teams proceeded to go back and forth in a fight to gain more runs. In the fourth inning, pitcher Breylynn Courtney (4) replaced Rojas on the mound, while the standstill in points continued.
Finally, in the fifth inning both the Bobcats and the Eagles managed to gain one point each, making the game 6–2.
The third pitcher of the night, Luke Cherry (1), sustained an injury while playing, leading to pitcher Andrew Sarro (21) subbing in for him in the seventh and final inning. Sarro stayed in that position until the game ended in a 6-2 win for the Eagles.
“My personal highlight of the game was pitching in when I needed to,” Sarro said. “One of our players sadly got hurt, so someone had to step up and I was happy to be that person. The team did the best on putting up runs when we needed to. We did well with facing good pitchers since last year they were really good against us. We knew what to expect and we handled them pretty well.”
The Eagles’ next game will be on Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. against the Killian High School Cougars.
