Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Cardinal Gibbons aiming for a title
Chiefs return strong squad after losing championship game in extra innings in ’19
Something strange happened at the end of the 2019 high school baseball season. For only the second time in the decade, no Broward or Palm Beach County baseball team returned from the state championships with a trophy.
Of the six local teams who did make it to Fort Myers, Cardinal Gibbons was the one that came the closest to winning a title. Their reward for coming the closest was to lose in excruciating fashion.
The Chiefs scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to send the game to extra innings only to surrender three runs in the eighth and lose the championship to Melbourne Central Catholic. Cardinal Gibbons’ only state title was in 1987.
“It was a great run, so you look at it at two different ends of the spectrum,” Cardinal Gibbons coach Jason Hamilton said. “At one point, we had the second-greatest season in our school’s history. On the other end, you’re 90 feet away from a state championship and you can’t push that run forward.”
Hamilton and his Cardinal Gibbons team have regrouped for this season, which starts Monday, and they’re looking to not just make it back to Hammond Stadium but to bring home some hardware.
Despite losing a few key players, such as first-team all-county catcher Kevin Hirsch, the Chiefs remain a formidable team.
The Chiefs are led by standout pitcher Timmy Manning, a Florida Gators signee who is garnering attention in advance of the 2020 Major League Baseball draft.
Manning led Broward County with 107 strikeouts in 72 innings. He ended his junior season with an 8-2 record with two saves and a 1.65 ERA. At the plate, he hit .353 with a pair of home runs and a .958 OPS.
Manning played in the Major League Baseball and USA Baseball High School All Star Game last year, and MLB Pipeline ranks Manning the No. 89 draft prospect for this year’s draft.
“We haven’t had a kid ranking that high here since we’ve been here, but we have had kids that are big Division I prospects and things like that,” Hamilton said. “Sometimes they don’t take their senior year very seriously in high school because they have bigger things in their future, but he actually has been our hardest worker.
“He’s been our best leader so far. He’s been our best hitter so far. He’s the type of kid that’s very competitive, and he — along with many others — [was] not happy at all about being so close and not finishing it, so
he’s going to do everything that he can to help the team win.”
Another standout player looking to finish his Gibbons career on a high note is shortstop Trevor Kole, a Florida Gulf Coast signee who hit .435 with a pair of home runs last year. Hamilton also expects big seasons from fellow infielders Mike Sarakinis and Felix Torres as well as other returning players.
“The experience of being there is invaluable,” Hamilton said. “[Tuesday,] we opened up against [Miami Monsignor] Pace and we had eight guys on the field that were in the state championship game, so we return almost everybody. And that experience, on top of having a senior-laden team and an older team this year, does kind of give us motivation to try to get back there. But in the back of our minds, we know it’s really hard to return.”
One of the biggest challenges to Cardinal Gibbons’ playoff hopes is district rival American Heritage. The Patriots feature another one of the most promising prospects in Broward: outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. Bradfield was limited by injury last year but hit .524 in 24 at-bats and played with Manning in the High School All Star Game. He is rated the No. 78 prospect for the draft and is a Vanderbilt signee.
The Patriots also return two more Vanderbilt commits: first-team all-county
pitcher Devin Futrell and first baseman Gavin Casas.
Calvary Christian, a perennial powerhouse, has a new coach at the helm after coach Alan Kunkel left the program to take a job on USF’s baseball staff. The Eagles, now coached by Gil Morales, return several key players, including Florida commit Andrew Painter and FIU signee Dante Girardi.
Among larger schools in Broward County, St. Thomas Aquinas and Stoneman Douglas are poised for big seasons.
The Raiders also have a new coach after Troy Cameron joined Florida State’s softball staff.
New coach Joey Wardlow inherits a talented roster that includes Miami Hurricanes signee Nate Thomas and senior infielder Otis McDuffie.
The Eagles, playing at the newly named Anthony Rizzo Field, are led by standout third baseman Coby Mayo, a Florida signee and preseason All-American.
McArthur will also look for another strong season. The Mustangs reached the state semifinals after upsetting the Raiders in the regional finals. But McArthur has several key players to replace, including second-round draft pick Yordys Valdes and first-team all-county outfielder Jose Hernandez.
Palm Beach County also has several teams that could contend for a state title.
Palm Beach Central reached the state
semifinals, where the Broncos lost to eventual champions Sanford Seminole. Palm Beach Central returns a talented core that includes Arkansas signee Michael Brooks, who hit .457 with six home runs and a 1.376 OPS last season, and Miami signee C.J. Kayfus, who hit .407 with a pair of home runs and a 1.198 OPS.
But the Broncos remain in a tough district, joined by Jupiter (15-13 in 2019), Palm Beach Gardens (14-12) and Wellington (20-8).
Other Palm Beach County large schools looking to make a run this year include Dwyer, led by first-team all-county outfielder Jacoby Long, and Park Vista, featuring first-team outfielder Nolan Schanuel.
Among smaller schools, American Heritage-Delray is poised for another run at a state title. The Stallions have arguably the toughest pitching staff in Palm Beach County. Although Heritage lost Sun Sentinel Class 6A-1A player of the year Carmine Lane, they return the dominant 1-2 punch of Ryan Bruno and Nelson Berkwich.
Bruno, who MLB Pipeline lists as the No. 97 overall draft prospect, was a first-team All-County pick after excelling on the mound and at the plate. He had a 1.85 ERA in 30 1⁄3 innings while striking out 49 batters. He also hit .333 with two home runs and a .944 OPS. Bruno is a Stanford signee and was a MaxPreps preseason All-American.
Berkwich, a Vanderbilt signee, was arguably the best pure pitcher in South Florida last season. He gave up four runs all season for a final ERA of 0.45. He struck out 110 batters in 62 innings pitched, including 14 in the regional semifinals. He had six double-digit-strikeout games and pitched a complete-game shutout in the state semifinals.
Bruno and Berkwich are joined by Mason Manriquez, who was a first-team AllCounty pick for Wellington last year. He went 5-1 in 2019 with a 1.38 ERA.
His addition to the staff rounds out what should be a dominant rotation for the Stallions.