FHSAA Playoffs: Fitz-Gerald and Flynn Homer in Exciting Stoneman Douglas Comeback Win

What started as a pitchers duel for the first 5 innings, the 9A regional quarterfinal between homestanding Marjory Stoneman Douglas (Parkland, FL) and Cypress Bay (Weston, FL) turned into a wild back-and-forth affair late, with Cypress Bay looking for the shocking upset.

Douglas started the scoring with an unearned run in the bottom of the 1st off Cypress Bay starter Tyler Nejaime. Nejaime, a 2019 Flagler recruit, wasn’t overpowering hitters with his 78-80 MPH fastball, but he had MSD hitters off balance for most of the game. He worked the corners of the plate and used his above average changeup at 69 MPH to miss barrels. On the Stoneman Douglas side, 2019 Arkansas recruit Kevin Heinrich got the ball. The athletic Heinrich was working 86-89, topping at 90 with late life and slight armside run. He also commanded his above average breaking ball well that had plenty of tilt and stayed between 73-76.

The score remained 1-0 Douglas until the top of the 6th when Cypress Bay strung three hits together, with all three of them coming in to score on an error by the Douglas  right fielder and a wild pitch. Uncommitted 2020 Jonathan Roach added to the 2-out barrage for Cypress Bay with a 2-run homerun to make it a 5-1 game, however Roach was called out for missing 1st base after an appeal by MSD. That call gave the momentum back to the Eagles going into bottom 6 after salvaging only a 2-run deficit in what could’ve been a disastrous inning.

Big left-handed bat in Hunter Fitz-Gerald, a Florida Southern recruit, lead off the Douglas 6th with a solo shot to cut the Cypress Bay lead to one at 3-2. There’s a lot to like in the big 6-foot-4 225 pound frame of athletic third baseman Fitz-Gerald. The 2019 grad possesses great bat speed and a level bat path, with good extension after contact. The Fitz-Gerald homerun was then followed by the game-winning hit a few batters later, a 3-run homerun off the bat of 2020 UCF commit C/1B Colin Flynn to put Douglas up 5-3. Flynn kept his hands inside the baseball well and stayed quick and compact to drive the ball out to right-center field.

Tall and lean 2019 Florida Southwestern commit Luke Schiltz picked up the save with a clean top of the 7th for Stoneman Douglas, sitting 86 with a loose arm action. MSD moves on in the FHSAA 9A playoffs to face the winner of Coral Springs and Flanagan in the regional semis after a scare from a scrappy Cypress Bay team.