South Florida is not sending the usual suspects to Fort Myers this week.
The Florida High School Athletic Association’s state semifinals for Class 7A, 6A and 2A 1A are this week (Classes 3A-5A don’t start until May 24), and the three teams from Broward and Palm Beach that earned spots have a combined three state titles.
Trinity Christian is looking for its third state title, Stoneman Douglas is seeking its second and Dwyer is looking for its first.
Here’s a look at the three teams playing this week. All rankings are from MaxPreps unless otherwise specified .
Class 7A
Stoneman Douglas (26-2)
The Eagles just won’t lose. In the regional semifinals, Stoneman Douglas rallied in the sixth inning to beat Park Vista. In the regional finals, the Eagles were down to their last strike, but catcher Santiago Ordonez hit a dramatic walk-off home run to send Douglas to the state semifinals. Douglas is ranked second in the state and eighth in the nation by MaxPreps and sixth in the nation by Perfect Game. The Eagles have excelled in all facets of the game, putting up a team triple-slash line (batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage) of .322/..434/.520 thanks to standouts like Ordonez, Roman Anthony, Jake Clemente and Gavin Conticello. Douglas’ pitching staff, led by junior Christian Arroyo and sophomore Christian Rodriguez, has also excelled, and the team’s ERA is 1.58. The Eagles face Miami Columbus (27-4) at 1 p.m. on Friday. The Explorers beat Taravella in the regional finals, and they are ranked 14th in the state. Columbus boasts a lot of power, hitting 42 home runs this season — including 10 from Miami commit Ariel Garcia and nine from senior Gabriel Perez.
Class 6A
Dwyer (18-9)
The Panthers continued their hunt for their first title with a win over Doral Academy in the regional finals. Drake Flowers, Raul Feliz and Jack Savery provide Dwyer with a lot of its offensive firepower, and the Panthers have been menacing on the basepaths, stealing 36 bases this season. Dwyer’s pitching will likely determine its fate in Fort Myers. Flowers has handled the most innings for Dwyer; he has a 1.27 ERA and is averaging more than a strikeout per inning. Jorge DeCardenas, Drew Jaloski, Max Iervolino, Clay Miller and Nick Rovitti have all pitched more than 20 innings, and they all boast ERAs of 2.17 or lower. Dwyer, ranked 52nd in the state, faces Valrico Bloomingdale (22-6) in the state semis at 7 p.m. on Friday. Bloomingdale is ranked 61st in the state. Stetson commit Jack Owens leads the Bulls on the mound, posting a 0.92 ERA in 61 innings pitched, while Clemson commit Colby Shelton (.403 batting average, five home runs) is the team’s most dangerous hitter.
Class 2A
Trinity Christian (17-7-2)
The Warriors have seven losses on their record, but they’ve proven they can play with some of the best teams in the state. They played a darkness-induced tie against Calvary Christian and played close with good larger schools like Palm Beach Central and North Broward Prep. Sophomore shortstop Ariel Antigua leads the way for Trinity Christian’s offense. The South Carolina commit has a triple-slash line of .373/.415/.723 with three home runs, 17 total extra-base hits and 38 RBIs. The Warriors also have a solid one-two pitching punch of Pierce Boles and Angelo Allievi. ON Wednesday at 1 p.m., Trinity Christian faces Sarasota Out of Door Academy (22-3), which enters the state semis on a seven-game winning streak. The Warriors are ranked 75th in the state, while the Thunder are ranked 40th. Trinity Christian will likely have to deal with one of Out of Door’s standout pitchers: junior Josh Cone has a 1.41 ERA, and junior Carter Dierdorf has a 1.12 ERA.
