By Gary Curreri
When the Pompano Beach High School baseball team kicked off the season, coach Joe Giummule believed his team was good enough to return to the Class 3A regional championship.
The team was ousted 9-3 by Monsignor Pace last year in the Regional championship game, and Giummuli is hoping that history doesn’t repeat itself. With an 8-4 win over Cardinal Gibbons in the Region 4-5A semifinal game on Tuesday, Pompano and Pace are on a collision course set for Tuesday in Miami.
“They are really a talented team,” said Pompano Beach coach Joe Giummule, who is chasing his first regional title in four tries. This is his second attempt at Pompano. He was an assistant at Deerfield Beach (2002) and Taravella (2001) when those squads reached the regional finals.
Starting pitcher Trevor Kniskern got the win for the Tornadoes against Cardinal Gibbons as he went six innings and gave up just one walk and two hits while fanning 10 Chiefs’ batters.
The right-handed junior also helped his own cause with a two-out double and scored on a Chase Costello single. Costello, who ended the day 2 for 3 with three RBIs, came around to score on an Austin Carney base hit.
Pompano Beach added a pair of runs in the third, fourth and sixth. Costello, Mike Schuler and Chris Ajello had two hits each. Ajello also scored three times.
“We just wanted to put the pressure on their defense,” said head coach Joe Giummuli, in his third year at Pompano. “We wanted to get things moving.”
Now, his team sets its sights on its second straight regional final game, against host Miami Pace next Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Pompano Beach (26-3) has outscored the opposition 193-69 this season and takes on a Spartans (26-5-1) team equally as dangerous as they have outscored its opponents 314-116. Pace knocked Highlands Christian out of the regional finals last season.
Highlands Christian falls
Daniel Malay led Highlands Christian Academy with a two-run home run in the Region 4-3A final contest, while going 1-2 at the plate for the Knights in a 6-5 loss to Archbishop Carroll.
The Knights, which led 5-0 in the game, allowed six runs in the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings, ended the season at 10-13. Archbishop Carroll improved to 26-2 with the won.
PBMGA seeks members
Pompano Beach Men’s Golf Association welcomes new members of all playing levels to their Wednesday tournaments. Dues are $35 per year. Wednesday tournament greens fees are discounted. They alternate playing the Pines and Palms Courses. There is a prize pool fee of $5 when you participate in the weekly tournament. Additional information may be found on the website at http://www.pbmga.com.
