Miami Springs advances to first baseball state title game

Golden Hawks stun Bishop Verot in Class 3A state semifinals

Miami Springs right-hander Kevin Roque tosses a complete game in 3A state semifinals win against Bishop Verot. / Joe Frisaro

FORT MYERS, FLORIDA – The 37-year drought of any Miami Springs sports team reaching a state championship game is over.

Kelven Perera belted a three-run home run and drove in four runs, and Miami Springs routed Bishop Verot, 12-2, in the Florida Class 3A baseball state semifinals at Hammond Stadium.

Right-hander Kevin Roque gave up two runs with seven strikeouts in six innings for the win.

Perera’s three-run homer in the top of the sixth inning gave the Golden Hawks a 10-run lead, and the game ended via the mercy rule after Roque didn’t allow a run in the bottom of the sixth inning.

This is the first time Miami Springs’ baseball team has ever reached the championship game.

Also, the school’s last team in any sport to compete for a state title was the 1988 Springs girls soccer team.

Miami Springs (27-3) will face top-seed South Walton on Tuesday at 4 p.m.

South Walton (31-3) reached the title game with a 17-2 mercy-rule win against Hernando.

Without the benefit of a hit, Miami Springs manufactured two runs in the second inning. Magdiel Estevez was hit by a pitch to account for the first run, and Jordany Gonzalez walked with the bases full to bring in the second run.

A terrific defensive play by Miami Springs swung momentum in the Golden Hawks’ favor in the fourth inning.

Roque dealt with a bases-loaded two-out situation, but the Springs’ middle infielders came up big get out of the jam. Shortstop Royden Perez made a diving play on a grounder up the middle, and made a flip from the ground to second baseman Yordan Torres, who caught the feed while touching second for the third out.

As a Fort Myers' based school, Bishop Verot (32-3) had a sizeable homefield advantage. But the Vikings weren't able to manage much offensively, or slow down Springs' offense. In the inning for Verot, Nick Raber collected the Vikings’ first hit, a single up the middle.

Joey Lawson provided a two-run homer for Bishop Verot.

Springs responded with a seven-run fifth inning, breaking open a nine-run advantage.

Darian Soto’s swinging bunt with a runner on first resulted in two errors, and brought home the third Hawks’ run. Taylor Ancheta and Kelven Perera each had RBI singles, and Estevez lined a two-run double to left-center.

Bishop Verot made a pitching change, Perez contributed with a run-scoring single, and Gonzalez capped the scoring with an RBI single.

Grayson Carpenter picked up the Vikings’ second hit, with a clean single to lead off the fifth. And Lawson put Verot on the scoreboard with a two-run home run to left.

In the first Class 3A state semifinals game, South Walton pounded out 16 hits, and won in a four-inning mercy-rule game. Denton Lord gave up two runs in four innings. Charlie Willcox had two hits and four RBIs for the Seahawks.

Austin Knierim connected on a two-run homer for Hernando.