2A-13 District Tournament Preview

Host: Boca Christian

Schedule:

Tuesday April 22nd

4:00 PM (3) Grandview Prep vs. (2) Boca Christian

Thursday April 24th

4:00 PM Championship: Grandview/Boca Christian winner vs. (1) Zion Lutheran

Overview – Zion Lutheran has put itself in an envious position in this district. By sweeping the district during the season, the Lions earned the top seed and a bye into the district championship. Along with this comes an automatic berth into the regional playoffs, which can become a home game should Zion win its third straight district title.

The Blazers dispatched Grandview Prep handily this season and have all the reason to bring confidence to their district playoff rematch. Should the Blazers handle their business, they will bounce back after missing the regional playoffs a season ago. It will also give this group of players another chance at the district title they have been chasing together these last few seasons.

Veteran Many Rojas is ready to step up and lead his Lions back into the regional playoffs.

1. Zion Lutheran – The Lions are no strangers to the district championship, as the two-time defending champs are already guaranteed the right to defend that distinction. Zion has played well enough to feel confident this season, taking some lumps against some tough competition while also grabbing some big wins along the way. First-year Manager Ray Ayala has his team in the right position and now it is just about taking care of business.

Zion has advanced deeper and deeper each of the past two seasons, and last year they were a game away from going to the state tournament. For this to be the year the Lions will need to take care of business along the way, and that starts with the district championship. Zion outscored their district foes by a combined total of 28-5, and they simply need to keep dialing up that same number.

The team does a good job moving runners when they are on the bases to produce offense. The breakout season on junior Jouseph Renovales has played a big part in this, as the speedy leadoff hitter has challenged the school record for stolen bases and also has scored runs in bunches.

Veterans Blayne Baker and Manny Rojas have been through these sort of tough playoff runs before. Now the club will lean on their leadership and experience to help pave the way to their goal of stamping a trip to Fort Myers.

2. Boca Christian – Looking at the Blazers record might give someone the wrong idea about this squad. Boca Christian played a very tough schedule this season, making many long road trips into hostile territory to take on clubs in their home environments. Besides setting a tremendous example to promote play across Broward and Miami-Dade Counties, the Blazers also took a ton of experience in seeing just about every type of style of play out there.

Adriel Martinez is a key member of the Blazers pitching staff.

The Blazers had their worst games of the entire season when they met up with the Lions, and they will be looking for some payback should they get the chance for a rematch. A district title would simply be icing on the cake for such a moment, and as the district hosts Boca Christian would be able to do in front of their home fans.

The Blazers will have to play their best baseball going forward. For this club that formula has typically involved scoring a lot of runs, which they have had a lot of success doing. The offense has connected for a lot of extra-base hits, while sporting a team average well over .350 collectively. Veterans Tommy Havelka, Blaze McSweeney and Grant Gardiner have all swung big bats this season, and they have also gotten a ton of production from newcomers such as Adriel Martinez and Logan Rataiczak.

The massive improvement in hitting has not come on accident. The team is enjoying the fruits of their labor in building their own hitting cages this year, and guys have put in a ton of work in those cages to improve in that department. It is just another example of the dedication, maturity and class that this program represents.

“I think attitude is everything when it comes to success,” said Grant Gardiner before the season. “If you don’t have a good attitude, how are you going to be successful? As long as you keep the meshing of the team with the god attitude, you’ll get farther in the season.”

3. Grandview Prep – The Pride are a young program making their inaugural appearance in the district playoffs. Like many young programs, Grandview struggled immensely in district play during the season. The team will have to play its best baseball in order to pull of the upset over the Blazers.

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