THREE-PEAT! Archbishop McCarthy Gets Rare “Three-Peat” Beating Pensacola Pace 4-3

After getting the save in the state semi-final game last night, Senior Andre Martinez started and was the winning pitcher in the State Championship game against Pace 4-3. The Mavericks clinched their third straight State Championship.

Archbishop McCarthy Baseball made Florida high school baseball history and got its coveted “three-peat”, a record three straight state championships by defeating the highly touted Pensacola Pace Patriots (25-7) by the score of 4-3 in the Class 6A title game on Friday at Digital Domain Park in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

 

It was also the first time ever that a team jumped in school size classification (from 4A to 6A) and won a consecutive state title in baseball.  Head Coach Richard Bielski notched his fifth state title as a head coach, two with Hialeah (2001, 2002) and three with the Mavericks (2010, 2011, 2012). The Mavericks completed their championship season with a record of 27-4-1, after posting a 29-3 record last year and 27-5 mark the year before. ”I dream really good, but I didn’t dream this good,” Bielski said of winning a third consecutive title. “This was something I never even dreamed of before. It just goes to show you the quality of player, the quality of kids we have year after year.”

 

Jason Morozowski delivered two clutch bunt singles for the Mavericks in a 4-3 win against Pace in the State Championship Game.

Miami Westminster Christian had been the lone three-peat champion in high school baseball history, winning titles from 1996-98. Overall, 24 other teams in tournament history had a chance for a three-peat only to fall short.

 

Clinging to a 2-1 lead in the fourth, Jason Morozowski drove in Jonathan Quintana from third with an RBI single, a suicide squeeze bunt play successfully executed with two outs. Adam Duarte’s RBI single to right-center field drove in Quintana in the sixth for a 4-1 lead. Those extra runs proved to be crucial as the game wore on. Pace mounted a rally to tighten the lead to 4-3 with RBI singles from Daniel Hampton and Patrick Ervin in the bottom of the sixth inning. ”We knew Pace was a tough team and they wouldn’t lay down,” Bielski said. “We scratched out runs every way we could.”

 

Brian Gonzalez, the second reliever of the inning for starter Andre Martinez in the 6th after Ryan Castellanos faced two batters, struck out Elliot Pearson for the third out to end the inning and quash the threat. Gonzalez earned the save. He got Hampton to ground out to short for a force out at second base to end the game.

 

Left-Hander Brain Gonzalez picked up the save in a 4-3 win against Pace in the Class 6A State Championship Game

“I knew Pace was going to be tough,” Gonzalez said. “I faced their best hitters on their team. I knew if I could throw strikes my team would back me up.”

Martinez (12-1, and 2 post season saves) earned the victory pitching 5 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on five hits and striking out five. It was Martinez’s first start in a championship game after pitching in the semifinals each of the past two years. McCarthy scored in each of the first two innings. The first came when Duarte scored from third when Brandon Roberts grounded out. Michael Hernandez scored the second-inning run when Duarte grounded out to first.

 

“We knew we would have our hands full,” Pace coach Charlie Warner said. “They did what they had to do to win today. I have a lot of respect for their program.”

There have now been 14 state championships from Broward county since 1987 including back-to-back titles by Westminster Academy, Nova and Flanagan.

 

And now the Archbishop McCarthy Mavericks have the first ever three-peat, one of the most challenging and valiant achievements in all sports.

 

After having claimed the Super 25 USA Today, Perfect Game, Baseball America and National High School Baseball Coaches national championship crowns last year, Archbishop McCarthy is sure to have a legitimate claim to a repeat national title and #1 ranking again this year after posting their third straight state title and also third 27 plus win season in a row.  Maverick Director of Baseball Operations and Assistant Coach Alex Fernandez, a 1997 world champion with the Florida Marlins, said in the post game celebration, “it really doesn’t get any better than this. We knew we had the team that could do this and everybody contributed today and all season long to make it happen. It is how we have built and will continue to build our program.”

Pile Up! The Archbishop McCarthy Mavericks are the first Broward County team to Three-Peat as State Champions.



Maverick’s Eliminate Lakewood Ranch For A Chance At A Three-peat!

The Mavericks have done it again, eliminating the Lakewood Ranch Mustangs in the state 6A Semifinal and advance to the state championship game for the fourth year in a row.

The Mavericks wasted no time and posted a quick 5 runs in the top of the second inning. The inning started with two walks that were quickly converted to runs.  Eddie Silva singled to push in the first run of the inning and start the rally. Jason Morozowski and Brandon Roberts also had key hits in the inning to give the Mavericks a comfortable lead.

Righty ace Nick Travieso allowed only two runs in six and a third innings of work and picked up the win.  Ryan Castellanos and Andre Martinez both came in to relieve in the top of the seventh and deliver the final 1-2 punch.  Martinez picks up the save. Final score 6-4.

The Mavericks defend their state title tomorrow May 18th at 4pm at Digital Domain Park.

 

Archbishop McCarthy at Lakewood Ranch Box Score

Team

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

R

H

E

Archbishop McCarthy

0

5

0

1

0

0

0

6

8

2

Lakewood Ranch

0

1

0

0

0

0

3

4

5

1

WP: Nick Travieso, LP: Seth McGarry, SV: Andre Martinez



MAVERICKS’ TRAVIESO-MARTINEZ PUNCH KNOCKS OUT BELEN JESUIT

Nick Travieso and Andre Martinez — the Maverick aces who have carried Archbishop McCarthy in this post season — combined to hold down a relentless Belen Jesuit Wolverine team (20-9) by the score of 2-1 in one of the most pulsating and intensive high school games ever at Archbishop McCarthy. The total team win propelled the Mavericks to their fourth consecutive regional final playoff game. Travieso pitched six and one third innings battling the Wolverine lineup and working out of jams all night to get his 7th win, then gave way to Martinez who fanned the last two batters to record the save — his first of the season. Archbishop McCarthy improved to 24-4-1 on the season.

Wolverine starter Alex Lavanderos matched Travieso inning for inning, and battled out of multiple jams himself with timely strikeouts until the bottom of the 5th inning. In the 5th, catcher Mike Hernandez led off with a line drive single into the right center gap. Adam Duarte then bunted courtesy runner Blade Bielski to second base. The Mavericks the broke through and scored the first run of the game when Jason Morozowski — who had made multiple stellar defensive plays at second base during the game — ripped a ground ball double down the third base line.  Brandon Roberts then walked and Morozowski stole third base on the play putting runners on the corners with one out. Morozowski then scored on a sharply hit ground ball by Nick Basto making it 2-0 on the fielders choice. Basto’s RBI proved to be the game winning run.

But the Wolverines quickly answered when shortstop Alex DeGoti led off the top of the 6th with a solo homerun. The Belen would-be rally fizzled out quickly as the following three batter were retired in order by Travieso.

Belen threatened for once more in the top of the 7th with two baserunners and one out. That is when Martinez was called upon to relieve for only the second time this season, and he delivered with his first save ever in his 4-year high school playoff career.

The Mavericks will now face the Naples High School Golden Eagles (20-9) on Friday night at home with the winner advancing to the 6A State Final Four next week at Port St. Lucie.  The Mavericks (2011 and 2010) and the Golden Eagles (2009) are the last three 4A state champions.  The last time the two teams faced each other was in the State Semi-Final game in 2009, won by Naples 7-3 en route to their lone state baseball championship.

Gametime Friday night is 7PM.



MARTINEZ DOES IT AGAIN, MAVERICKS ADVANCE TO REGIONAL SEMI-FINALS

Senior Andre Martinez allowed one hit and struck out 11 in five innings to launch the Mavericks (23-4-1) to the 6A southeast regional semi final playoff for the fourth consecutive year with a resounding 7-0 victory over the Hialeah-Miami Lakes Trojans (17-11). Martinez’ tenth win of the season sets up a showdown next week versus the 15-6A champion Belen Jesuit Wolverines (20-8) who eliminated the Pembroke Pines Charter Jaguars earlier today 10-0.

Lead off man Adam Duarte reached base four times and set the table for the Maverick offense, scoring twice and knocking in a run to get things started and give Martinez a quick cushion.

Jason Morozowski tripled home three runs in the 4th to extend the lead to 5, then scored on a Brandon Roberts single.  Nick Basto then boomed a double scoring Roberts to put the game out of reach at 7-0.

Ryan Castellanos pitched a one-two-three 6th inning striking out two Trojan batters, and  Brian Gonzalez came in to shut the game down in the 7th.  The Maverick pitchers struck out 14 in total, allowing only one base hit in another dominant pitching performance.

Game time on Tuesday for the semi-final between the two district champions is 7pm at AMHS.

 

Hialeah Miami Lakes at Archbishop McCarthy Box Score

Team

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

R

H

E

Hialeah Miami Lakes

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

1

Archbishop McCarthy

1

1

0

5

0

0

-

7

7

1

WP: Andre Martinez, LP: Mateo Cuecha, SV: -



TRAVIESO STIFLES PINES CHARTER, MAVERICKS WIN FIFTH STRAIGHT DISTRICT

Mavericks celebrate after capturing their fifth consecutive district title. The Mavericks will host the Hialeah-Miami Lakes Trojans in the Regional Quarter-Finals.

Nick Travieso continued his dominant pitching, carrying another no-hitter into the 7th inning, and lifted the Mavericks (22-4-1) to their fifth consecutive district title and sixth overall in school history with a 4-1 victory over Pembroke Pines Charter (14-7). Travieso struck out nine and allowed two hits, both in the 7th, after allowing no hits in his last 19 innings pitched during his last four outings.


The Mavericks’ offense once again produced runs early to give their righty ace Travieso, a University of Miami commit, the quick lead.  

Lead off man and starting catcher Adam Duarte, pressed into duty behind the plate for the second straight game, walked and scored on a Nick Basto sacrifice fly to get Archbishop McCarthy on the board first.  Duarte later delivered a two-out single scoring Jonathan Quintana, who had doubled with the fourth Maverick run in the sixth.

Jason Morozowski had three hits and scored twice, once driven in by a Brandon Roberts triple in the third. Basto had a terrific night in the clean up spot, adding a run-scoring single and a triple to his first inning run batted in.  The top of the Maverick order set the tone for Travieso to settle into a groove and dominate the Jaguar lineup.

Jaguars Carlos Lopez and Eduardo Espinosa both singled in the 7th to break up the no-hitter, but Jesse Gonzalez lined out to Morozowski for the final out.

That’s when the traditional dog pile ensued….. the Mavericks have clinched their last four district titles at home and celebrated with their home fans.

The district 6A-15 champion Mavericks now advance to meet the 6A-16 runner-up Hialeah-Miami Lakes Trojans on Thursday May 3rd at 7PM at home in a Regional Quarter-Final Playoff. 

Runner-up Pines Charter will travel to Belen to face the 6A-16 district champion Wolverines at 4PM, also on Thursday May 3rd.

The winners of those games will play in regional semi-final playoff on Tuesday May 8th (time and location to be determined).
Pines Charter at Archbishop McCarthy Box Score

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Pines Charter 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 2
Archbishop McCarthy 1 0 2 0 0 1 - 4 9 0

WP: Nick Travieso, LP: Patrick Mitchell, SV: -



MARTINEZ NO-HITS HOLLYWOOD HILLS, WINS HIS 9th TO SEND MAVERICKS TO DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Senior lefty Andre Martinez hurled a no-hitter for the Mavericks — the third no-hitter in the last five games for Maverick pitchers — to vault Archbishop McCarthy to their fifth consecutive district championship game 11-0 over Hollywood Hills. Martinez struck out 11 Spartan batters, picked off a would-be base stealer who had reached on a walk, and was magnificent in the 5-inning mercy rule victory for the Mavericks (21-4-1)

Martinez received plenty of offense from the Maverick lineup early on.  Archbishop McCarthy scored five runs on three hits and three Spartan errors in the first, two more in the second and four in the fourth to make quick work of the semifinal game. Lead off man and starting catcher Adam Duarte got things rolling in the first by reaching base on an error after working the count. Duarte added two singles later in the game. Run scoring hits by Jason Morozowski, Brandon Roberts, Nick Basto, Brian Gonzalez, Eddie Silva and Jonathan Quintana gave Martinez everything he needed to settle into a groove and get the no-no.  Nick Travieso and Michael Gigliotti also contributed RBIs in the win.

In the earlier semi-final district playoff game, Pembroke Pines Charter’s Matt Coolidge held off a late rally by Ft. Lauderdale as the Jaguars (14-6) held on to defeat the Flying L’s (11-10) by the score of 5-3 to advance to the district 6A-15 championship game on Thursday at 7PM against the Mavericks.  Alejandro Kan was the winning pitcher for Charter and Carlos Lopez homered in the win.

The Mavericks and Jaguars — perennial cross town rivals in district play — will now face each other for the district crown Thursday night.  Archbishop McCarthy won the only meeting of these teams in 2012 by the score of 8-0.  Both teams automatically advance to the FHSAA Regional Quarter-Finals next week by virtue of playing for the district title.  To follow the regional brackets for the baseball state championships culminating in Port St. Lucie at Digital Domain Park, go to www.fhsaa.org/baseball.

 

Hollywood Hills at Archbishop McCarthy Box Score

Team

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

R

H

E

Hollywood Hills

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

5

Archbishop McCarthy

5

2

0

4

-

11

9

0

WP: Andre Martinez, LP: -, SV: -



Mavericks Top Dade Christian On Senior Night

The Mavericks topped Dade Christian 4-0 on senior night at Archbishop McCarthy to cap off another 20 win season, the fourth in a row.

Seniors Adam Duarte, Jason Morozowski, Nick Basto, Brandon Roberts, Nick Travieso, Richard Trotter, Andre Martinez, Bernardo Garces, David Thompson and Ryan Castellanos were honored in an emotional pregame ceremony.

Then they went out and scored 2 in the first and never looked back. Maverick pitchers Travieso, Castellanos, Thompson and Morozowski allowed one hit en route to the 20th victory.

Next up: District playoffs start Tuesday night April 24th at 7pm at home.

Dade Christian at Archbishop McCarthy Box Score

Team

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

R

H

E

Dade Christian

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

6

Archbishop McCarthy

2

0

0

0

2

0

-

4

3

0

WP: Nick Travieso, LP: Anthony Munoz, SV: -



Mavericks Defeat St. Thomas Aquinas On The Road

The Mavericks took to the road on Tuesday night, April 17 to face St. Thomas Aquinas 12-6-0 under clear skies at Raiders Park. Lefty starter Andre Martinez had a stellar outing striking out 9 and allowing only 2 hits and 1 run in six innings of work to record the win.

 

The Mavericks struck hard in the third inning when Eddie Silva led off the inning with a line drive home run blast over the American flag atop the big green monster in deep left center field. The solo homer opened up the flood gates for the Mavericks.  Mike Hernandez, Adam Duarte, Jason Morozowski, and Brian Gonzalez each singled in the inning to produce 3 more runs.

 

The Mavericks threatened again in the fifth as Brandon Roberts doubled to deep right center.  Nick Basto singled to advance Roberts to third but the Mavericks were unable to capitalize and produce more runs.

 

The Raiders went scoreless for 5 innings and posted their only run in the bottom of the fifth from a solo homerun by catcher Johnny McNamara.  Lefty reliever Brian Gonzalez, shut down the Raiders in the bottom of the seventh striking out two of the three batters faced to pick up his third save of the season. Final score, Mavericks 4, Raiders 1.

 

The Mavericks improve their record to 19-4-1 as they prepare to face off against Dade Christian this coming Thursday 4/19 at home.

Archbishop McCarthy at St. Thomas Aquinas Box Score

Team

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

R

H

E

Archbishop McCarthy

0

0

4

0

0

0

0

4

9

0

St. Thomas Aquinas

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

1

2

1

WP: Andre Martinez, LP: -, SV: Brian Gonzalez



Archbishop McCarthy’s Nick Travieso No-Hits Gulliver Prep

Article compliments of Anthony Uttiarello.  www.browardhighschoolbaseball.com

There’s nothing that says it is almost playoff baseball more than going to an Archbishop McCarthy game at this time of year. No matter how difficult the Mavericks’ schedule is during the season, by the time playoff season rolls around, Archbishop is usually ready to go. The team showed that quality again Friday night with a 2-0 win over Gulliver Prep.

Facing nationally ranked teams is nothing new for the Mavericks. This season alone, they have played ranked teams from Maryland and Oklahoma, and their stiffest competition has come from their county neighbors down in Miami-Dade. Friday night, Archbishop sent senior Nick Travieso to the mound against the Raiders, and Travieso delivered possibly the best pitching performance of the season.

The University of Miami signee took a perfect game into the sixth inning and finished with a no-hitter, striking out nine along the way. A pair of errors and a hit batter allowed for the only base-runners of the night for Gulliver.

All season, Travieso has been in the spotlight when he has taken the mound. Major League scouts have flocked to Mavericks games to see the right arm of Travieso, and Friday night, the senior gave the scouts something to think about in the upcoming draft. Travieso’s fastball was consistently at 94-95, and he actually topped out at 99 on several pitches.

“What?,” said a clearly stunned Travieso when asked what it feels like to throw a 99 mph fastball. “99? Wow. I’ve never done that in my life. I guess that’s an amazing feeling. I didn’t even know that happened until right now.”

“It’s great that happened, but I’m really not throwing for the scouts right now, I’m throwing for my teammates. We are almost at playoff time, and this was a great team win tonight. Our only goal is to get back to the states and hopefully win another state title. Everything else is secondary.”While he was stunned at his own accomplishment, Travieso, always the team player and emotional leader of the Mavericks, quickly deferred to his teammates.

Gulliver Prep’s Ivan Pelaez may not have matched Travieso on the radar gun, but he was equally up to the task of keeping the Mavericks off the scoreboard. Archbishop was held scoreless for the first three innings and scratched a run across in the fourth. A one-out single by Brandon Roberts, followed by a stolen base, brought up Brian Gonzalez. The sophomore came clutch, delivering a two-out single to give the Mavericks the lead.

That lead grew to 2-0 in the fifth after Travieso singled to lead-off the inning. Travieso moved to second on an error and was removed for a courtesy runner. Eddie Silva moved the runner to third on a groundout to second, playing the type of fundamentally sound baseball that has helped Archbishop win 11 of their past 12 games. Catcher Mike Hernandez then drove in the second run of the game.

“No doubt about it,” said Mavericks head coach Rich Bielski, when asked if Silva’s groundout was a key part of Friday’s win. “He didn’t get the bunt down on the first two strikes, but he kept battling, and he hit the ball to the right side, and that’s what it’s about. Ask any coach, and they’ll tell you its all about fundamentals and execution.”

Although Gulliver lost, the team gained more valuable experience playing in a playoff atmosphere against a quality opponent.

“These games prepare us for what is coming at the end of the year,” Gulliver head coach Javy Rodriguez said. “Facing a guy like Nick, those are the type guys we’re going to face in the playoffs, so we got to be ready to go. I thought we played pretty good defense and pitched well tonight, but one thing we have to do moving forward is put the ball in play offensively.”

Gulliver Prep at Archbishop McCarthy Box Score

Team

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

R

H

E

Gulliver Prep

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Archbishop McCarthy

0

0

0

1

1

0

-

2

6

2

WP: Nick Travieso, LP: Ivan Pelaez, SV: -



MAVERICK PITCHERS NO-HIT KEY WEST AT NEW MARLINS PARK

Andre Martinez, Nick Travieso, Ryan Castellanos, David Thompson and Brian Gonzalez combined to strike out 16 batters and allowed no hits in a 7-0 blanking of the Key West Conchs (5-11) on Monday at the new Marlins Park in Little Havana.

The Mavericks (16-4-1) won their second “Field of Dreams High School Invitational” game hosted by the Marlins. The game featured two perennial regional rivals in Key West and Archbishop McCarthy…. The Mavericks defeated the Conchs in a regional playoff game 12-2  last May 13th at Key West en route to the state championship.

The brilliant pitching performance enjoyed superb run support from the Maverick lineup who pounded out 10 hits. Gonzalez went three-for-three with two booming doubles to the leftcenter field gap, a single and an RBI to lead the attack.

Jason Morozowski singled twice and knocked in three runs. Catcher Michael Hernandez singled three times and drove in Michael Gigliotti with the Mavericks first run. Brandon Roberts singled home Morozowski for an RBI and Nick Basto tripled and scored.

Next up for the Mavericks: American High at home Tuesday night at 7pm.

Key West Conchs at Archbishop McCarthy Box Score

Team

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

R

H

E

L

Key West Conchs

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

Archbishop McCarthy

0

0

0

3

1

3

-

7

10

0

WP: Nick Travieso