Charles W. Flanagan High School Baseball

Once again the Flanagan Falcons have found themselves perched atop the mountain. Led by senior righthander Glenn Witkowski(14-0) the Falcons left no doubt who the best 6A team is in the State of Florida. A convincing 7-1 win over highly favored Sarasota High, left an entire community stunned and in disbelief. Glenn would hurl his 2nd consecutive complete game in the State Championship allowing just 1 run on 4 hits and striking out 8 Sailors. Chris Connelly had another spectacular State Title game performance going 2 for 3 with a towering 420 ft. home run in the 2nd inning which gave the Falcons(29-3) an early 2-0 lead. Connelly would connect for a run producing double in the 3rd inning and came around to score on a throwing error which increased the lead to 6-0. Nick Navarro and Rolando Gomez would have RBI hits in the game to cap the scoring for the Falcons. Check back for more details on Flanagan's BACK to BACK Championships!!! 

The Flanagan Falcons have once again advanced to the State Championship Game after defeating Hialeah 1-0 in the State Semifinal yesterday morning at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota. The Falcons(28-3) were locked in a pitchers duel through 5 1/2 innings as D.J. Swatscheno(9-2) and Nick Hernandez(10-2) traded goose eggs until the bottom of the 6th inning. 1st baseman Mitch Massard would reach base on an error and advance to 2nd on the throwing error. Glenn Witkowski would come up with the clutch hit the Falcons were looking for all morning. With Luis Suarez at 2nd base(pinch runner for Massard) G-Dubb laced a single over the 2nd baseman's head into right field scoring Suarez and lifting the Falcons into the State Championship game. Swatscheno was spectacular throughout the game. The junior lefthander allowed just 2 hits and struck out 9 in the complete game shutout. Hialeah had 1 chance to score the entire game in the 5th inning when he gave up a leadoff double but he quickly thwarted the threat by striking out 2 of the next 3 batters. D.J. would end the game by striking out the side in the top of the 7th inning. The Falcons played great defensively led by centerfielder Chris Connelly and catcher Nick Navarro. Both players made key plays during the game which allowed the Falcons to advance with the shutout. Flanagan will play Sarasota(27-4) for the Title today at 4:00pm at Ed Smith Stadium. The Sailors advanced by beating Deland 7-0 in their Semifinal last night.

The Flanagan Falcons have successfully defended 2 of their 3 Championships from  a year ago winning the Region 3 Championship and will have the opportunity to defend their State Title as they make a repeat trip to Sarasota and the State Final Four. Flanagan (27-3) ranked #3 in the State polls held on late for a 8-7 win over #1 ranked Palm Beach Central (28-2) in Wellington. The game lived up to all the hype as 2 of the states premier 6A teams went toe to toe for 7 innings. With all the returning starters the Falcons had from 2005, they looked to a couple of newcomers to carry them to Sarasota. Sophomore 3rd baseman Rolando Gomez was spectacular defensively making 3 crucial plays yet his speed helped the Falcons advance. Roly beat out a chopper to the 1st baseman in the top of the 7th inning, stole 2nd base, advanced to 3rd on a sacrifice fly and would score the winning run on a wild pitch. The Falcons might not have been in a spot to win if not for another 1st year Varsity player. 1st baseman Mitch Massard came thru with his biggest hit as a Falcon in the top of the 6th inning. The junior laced a double to left centerfield scoring 2 runs with the Falcons trailing 7-5. The hit tied the score at 7-7 and helped Flanagan regain the momentum and eventually the game. D.J. Swatscheno started the game and would get into some trouble in the 3rd inning allowing 2 runs on just 1 hit, a walk and an error. The PBC lead was short lived as the Falcons responded in the 4th inning scoring 5 runs off of Broncos ace Mike Gipson (10-2) Swatscheno would be relieved by Glenn Witkowski in the 5th inning after PBC scored 1 run on 2 hits. Witkowski would get roughed up as the Broncos scored 4 runs capped by a 2 run home run by A.J. Regoli. The Flanagan moto has been "Refuse to Lose" all season long and they did just that, they refused to lose. 3 starters have carried the Falcons all year and all 3 played a role in the win on Tuesday. Swatscheno started, Witkowski came in and Coach Evans turned to his sophomore lefthander R.J. Fondon to close the deal. R.J. would pitch the 7th inning and after striking out the 1st batter on 3 pitches he would hang a curve ball that was drilled into the right centerfield gap for a double. After a fly out to deep centerfield, which the runner tagged up on and moved to third, PBC would bring up Regoli with 2 outs and the tying run at 3rd base. Coach Evans would roll the dice and intentionally walk the winning run bringing up Jon Atteo the pitcher who relieved Gipson and the person responsible for the wild pitch that allowed the go-ahead run to score. The lefty-lefty match up would end in the Falcons favor as Atteo hit a soft liner to left field that had a chance to drop in, but J.D. Martinez would race in to catch the ball in the air and the team would mob Fondon on the mound. Witkowski would get the win improving his record to 13-0 while Fondon earned his 1st Varsity Save. Flanagan will take on Hialeah in the State Semifinal on Friday May 19th @ 10:00am, at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota. The winner will advance to the State Championship game on Saturday.     

The Broward County Athletic Association held their annual awards banquet last night at the Signature Grand. Flanagan's Head Coach Ray Evans was named the 2005-2006 BCAA COACH of the YEAR for the South Division. Evans has compiled a 74-18 record over the past 3 seasons at Flanagan High School notching 2 District Titles, 2 Regional Titles and the 2005 State Championship. The 2006 Falcons are once again on their way to the Final Four in Sarasota after defeating Palm Beach Central 8-7 in the Regional Final. Senior right handed pitcher Glenn Witkowski was also honored at the Banquet. The Jacksonville University signee was given a $1,000 scholarship on behalf of Comcast Cable Communications.

Once again the Flanagan Falcons are crowned District Champions! This time they routed South Broward 15-3 in a 5 inning game. Sophomore R.J. Fondon won his 6th game of the year nailing the door shut on the Bulldogs who had ZERO bark. The southpaw pitched 4 innings allowing just 3 hits and no runs before giving way to Steve Thorsland in the 5th inning. Offensively the Falcons(24-3) exploded for 15 runs on 17 hits with 2 towering home runs off the bat of Rolando Gomez and a Grand Slam by Chris Connelly, by the way all 3 homers came in the SAME inning!!! A 9 run burst in the 4th inning. Both players finished the day with 6 RBI each. Eric McCans added 3 hits and 3 runs scored from the leadoff spot to spark the offense. The Falcons will host Taravella on Tuesday at 4:00pm in the opening round of the Regional Tournament.