South Florida baseball team has unusual roster

Todd Fitz-Gerald of American Heritage (Plantation) has an unusual roster that includes five players whose first names are Brandon, including two different players whose names are the same, Brandon Diaz.

"You have to use last name or number," Fitz-Gerald told the Miami Herald last Saturday after the Patriots defeated Jupiter 6-1 in the championship game of the Selective Recruiting Invitational tournament at the University of Miami's Mark Light Stadium.

Junior shortstop Brandon Lopez, a Miami commit, had four RBIs for American Heritage and was selected the tournament's Most Valuable Player. Senior catcher Brandon Sedell, who is being recruited by Florida, had a key double and also picked off two baserunners.

Second baseman Brandon Diaz made a key defensive play and also drove in a run with a squeeze bunt. The other Brandon Diaz came on in relief and pitched a perfect seventh inning to close out the win as the Patriots improved to 9-4.

GULLIVER WINS MATCHUP OF STATE POWERS
Gulliver Prep (Miami) gave its coach, former University of Miami shortstop Javy Rodriguez, a welcome-back present Saturday night with a thrilling 7-6 win against Jesuit (Tampa) in a matchup of traditional state baseball powers at Mark Light Stadium.

Jesuit, last year's Class 4A state runner-up, had a 6-5 lead with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning before Gulliver, the 2010 Class 3A state runner-up, tied the game with three consecutive singles to force extra innings.

Gulliver won the game in the bottom of the ninth when rightfielder Henry Hernandez, who was nursing a back injury all of last week, doubled and scored on a double by Adrian Marin, who fouled off several two-strike pitches before delivering the game-winner.

"That was one of the most exciting games I've ever been a part of," Rodriguez told the Miami Herald after the game.

STATE CHAMP DWYER HEADED TO D. C.
The nationally ranked Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens) boys basketball team, which recently won the Class 5A state championship in impressive fashion, is gaining national exposure.

The Panthers, who were 32-1 and finished the season with a convincing run through the playoffs, have accepted an invitation to play in the National High School Basketball Invitational March 31-April 2 at Georgetown Prep in suburban Washington, D.C. Dwyer, ranked No. 6 in the MaxPreps.com Xcellent 25 boys basketball rankings, will square off against No. 18-ranked Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) on March 31 in the quarterfinals of the third annual showcase tournament. It will be Dwyer's first appearance in the event, while Findlay Prep has won each of the first two titles. Findlay's roster includes three Division I signees: Nick Johnson (Arizona), Amir Garrett (St. John's) and Myck Kabongo (Texas).

Also participating in the eight-team postseason tournament are No. 5 Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md.) and No. 11 Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.)

"Just to be in the arena with those type of programs says a lot for what we've accomplished," Dwyer coach Fred Ross told the Palm Beach Post. Dwyer's game against Findlay (28-3) will be televised on ESPNU. The semifinals April 1 will be televised on ESPN2 and the championship game April 2 on ESPN. South Florida also will be represented by Hollywood Christian in the four-team girls tournament field. One other Florida team, Winter Park, also is in the boys field.

Winter Park, the Class 6A state champion led by heralded Duke signee Austin Rivers, handed Dwyer its only loss (76-64) this season in the prestigious City of Palms Classic during the Christmas holiday break. Dwyer also lost to Dr. Krop (Miami) early in the season, but Krop later was forced to forfeit the win by the Florida High School Athletic Association because of an ineligible player.

Dwyer's roster includes highly touted senior guard Jacoby Brissett, one of the nation's top-rated quarterbacks who has signed a football scholarship with the University of Florida, and 6-foot-7 senior power forward Gregory Louis, a Penn signee. The Panthers also boast 6-10 center Joell James, one of the state's top-rated juniors. Ross said that Louis and James each are nursing injuries but he expects them to be healthy enough to play in the D.C. event.

"We're just going to enjoy the experience," Ross said.

Brissett and Dwyer's football team received national attention last season when they lost to Glenville (Cleveland) 22-20 on national TV in a controversial finish in Ohio.

BROWARD-DADE ALL-STARS TOP PALM BEACH
Andrew Smith of Highlands Christian (Pompano Beach) and Patrick George of Dr. Krop (Miami) each scored 17 points to lead the Broward-Dade all-star team to a 112-102 win against the Palm Beach County all-stars Saturday night in West Palm Beach.

Robert Lockhart of West Boca Raton had a game-high 25 points and Victor Adams of Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens) tossed in 18 points to lead Palm Beach.

BROWARD GRADS SHINING IN NCAA TOURNEY
Nine players who starred in high school in Broward County are on teams that made the NCAA men's basketball tournament, including Kentucky sensational freshman guard Brandon Knight, who played at Pine Crest (Fort Lauderdale). Knight had an outstanding first weekend of the tournament in leading Kentucky to a Sweet 16 berth.

The other players with south Florida ties include Florida's Kenny Boynton Jr. from American Heritage (Plantation), Kansas State's Martavious Irving from Boyd Anderson (Lauderdale Lakes), Florida State's Jon Kreft from Douglas (Parkland), Butler's Khyle Marshall from Flanagan (Pembroke Pines), Syracuse's Fab Melo from Sagemont (Weston) and Bradon Reese from Pine Crest, Boston University's Jeff Pelage from Pine Crest, and Kentucky's Eloy Vargas from American Heritage.

There's also seven Broward natives playing in the women's NCAA tournament. They include Central Florida's Racine Davis from Plantation, Maryland's Alicia DeVaughn from Ely (Pompano Beach), Rutgers' Chelsey Lee and Erica Wheeler from Parkway Academy (Miramar), Georgia Tech's Dawnn Maye and teammate Chelsea Regins from Dillard (Fort Lauderdale), and Miami's Krystal Saunders from South Broward (Hollywood).

Steve Dorsey is a freelance writer based in West Palm Beach, Fla., who covers the South Florida region for MaxPreps. He has covered the state's prep sports scene for the past 29 years and also is a contributing writer for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and American Football Monthly magazine.