Eagles ‘building a winning culture’

Calvary Christian looking to repeat as state champ, while St. Thomas Aquinas is tasked with replacing Mr. Baseball

For Calvary Christian baseball, last season’s state championship run can only be described as a roller-coaster journey.

From being a nationally ranked preseason team that got off to a hot start to suddenly becoming a sub-.500 squad due to 11 wins being forfeited, the Eagles’ road to the title game was unprecedented.

The Eagles (17-16) secured their second state crown in three years and snapped Clearwater Calvary Christian’s state-record 60-game winning streak with a shocking 5-1 victory over the undefeated Spartans in the Class 4A title game.

“We’re building a winning culture,” Calvary Christian coach Alan Kunkel said. “Everyone is challenging each other to become better and continue our pursuit of excellence. They’re an experienced group of players who understand how to deal with adversity.”

Heading into the 2019 season, Calvary Christian must replace Roberto Pena, who drove in three of the five runs scored by the Eagles during the state championship game. Pena also had a 4-2 record on the mound as a senior with a 2.12 ERA.

Catcher Ben Rozenblum recorded a team-high .379 average and had 33 hits a year ago and will likely be one of the team’s premier hitters once again.

Infielder Dante Diardi, who scored a team-high 36 runs in 2018, will be relied on as well to generate offense. During the state semifinal against Benjamin, Diardi recorded two hits in three at-bats, which helped the Eagles beat the Buccaneers 3-1.

Senior right-hander Skylar Gonzalez was a force in the championship game as he tossed a complete game while giving up just one run and striking out seven.

Calvary Christian’s pitching staff will also feature sophomore right-hander Andrew Painter, who managed to post a 5-0 record in 2018 with a 0.30 ERA and 38 strikeouts.

St. Thomas Aquinas will be faced with the task of replacing third baseman Caleb Roberts, who was named both Florida’s Mr. Baseball and the Sun Sentinel’s Broward County large-schools player of the year last season. Roberts, now a North Carolina freshman, led the state in RBIs (53), slugging percentage (.988) and doubles (18) as the cleanup hitter in the Raiders lineup and was instrumental in their run to the 8A state title.

While playing against Sarasota in the state final, Roberts drove in four runs on three hits to help St. Thomas Aquinas (27-3) secure its third state championship with an 8-4 victory. The Raiders also won titles in 1995 and 2003.

“Last year we were so offensively talented, and we were able to hit the ball with a lot of consistency,” Raiders coach Troy Cameron said. “We need to learn from our success last year and try to build off it the best we can.

“It’s a slightly different group, so we’ll need to find this year’s team identity. I believe this year we’ll be deeper on the mound and better defensively overall.”

Offensively, the Raiders will likely lean on seniors Gabriel Terry and Matt Archer, who both held key roles in last season’s lineup.

Terry, who wasn’t a starter at the beginning of the 2018 season, maneuvered his way into the batting order and finished the campaign hitting .426 with 23 RBIs and 21 runs. Archer was the team leader in hits with 46 and also managed to record a .489 average as well as a .533 on-base percentage.

Pitcher Nate Thomas is expected to be the Raiders’ ace this season after Blake Hely graduated. Thomas recorded a 0.88 ERA during his junior season while going 8-0 and registering 44 strikeouts.

Hely posted a team-leading 10-2 record and rang up 90 strikeouts in his 15 appearances.

After being eliminated in the state semifinal by Orlando Timber Creek in 2017, the Jupiter Warriors got their revenge on the Wolves as they won 6-3 in last season’s Class 9A state title game.

Jupiter (20-11) secured its first state championship in program history while Orlando Timber Creek failed to win consecutive titles.

To reach state for a third straight year, Jupiter must overcome its sizeable graduating class of nine players, which included Dakota Gaillard, who posted a team-high .367 batting average and 36 hits.

“To be in that situation two years in a row speaks volumes about our players,” said Jupiter coach Andrew Mook. “Heading into this year, though, our mindset is getting back to work and improving on the areas we need to do better in.

“We lost our entire middle infield to graduation, so it’s going to be about finding the players who can step up and get the job done.”

Warriors right-hander Jake Garland will be a cornerstone of this year’s team. As a junior, Garland went 6-1 with a 1.26 ERA and team-high 85 strikeouts.

Garland pitched in the state semifinal game against Miami Columbus and helped bring the Warriors to the state championship.

Jupiter’s pitching staff will also be fueled by senior Gavin Scott, who led the team in appearances and finished last season 5-4 with a 1.85 ERA and 54 strikeouts.

Outfielder Mike Robinson will return as the Warriors’ most experienced batter after appearing in 28 games last season. Robinson recorded a .221 average while also collecting 19 hits.

Behind a roster mainly comprised of seniors, the North Broward Prep Eagles are primed to rebound from last season’s regional final loss against Class 5A state champion Monsignor Pace. The Eagles (22-9) lost 10-4 against the Spartans and missed out on an opportunity to make a state appearance for the first time since 2014.

“We weren’t satisfied,” said North Broward Prep coach Brian Campbell. “Don’t get me wrong — [Monsignor] Pace is a great team, but we’re going to try to build off last season’s success.

“We’re a good team on the mound with us returning all of our pitchers, and defensively we’ll be set.”

Seniors Anthony Tomczak and Christian Paillet and junior Dusty Snyder form the core of the Eagles pitching staff, with the trio having

led the team in game appearances in 2018.

Tomczak led the team in strikeouts with 65 and managed to record a 2.76 ERA, while Snyder placed second in the category with 31 strikeouts and also had a 1.39 ERA.

Paillet boasted a 6-0 record with a 2.42 ERA and 15 strikeouts.

Former shortstop Xavier Edwards, the 38th pick by the San Diego Padres in past Major League Baseball draft, was one of the few seniors to graduate from North Broward Prep. Edwards batted .406 and scored a county-best 43 runs in his final high school season.

Trying to compensate for Edwards’ absence will be senior Logan Clyatt, who batted .309 with 30 hits and 26 RBI in 2018.

Dylan Goldstein will be in the mix as well after hitting .263 for North Broward Prep and slugging a team-high five homers.