Second baseman Blake Bielski
Photo by Stuart Browning
: There will be plenty of tough games this year for the Mavericks, who move down to Class 5A this season. Chief among those will be American Heritage, which captured the state championship two seasons ago. Like Archbishop McCarthy, American Heritage is a perennial state championship contender and has won several mythical national championships over the past 10 years. The teams play on March 7 and March 21.
Local outlook: Broward County is one of the toughest areas in the country to play. Flanagan and Douglas join American Heritage and Archbishop McCarthy to give the county some of the top baseball talent in the country.
Overall outlook: If Archbishop McCarthy can complete a fifth-straight state championship season, in a division that is arguably one of the toughest playoff brackets in the nation, the Mavericks could claim the national No. 1 ranking. The Mavericks already have one loss on the season, however, so minimizing losses the rest of the way will be key.
Coach quote: "We are experienced. We have an extremely offensive lineup with players who have already experienced and captured at least two state championships."
- Rich Bielski 