CONCHS CLAIM DISTRICT TITLE IN MERCY-RULE WIN

Coral Shores tops Marathon for district runner-up trophy

THE KEY WEST CONCHS HAVE A DISTRICT CHAMPION BASEBALL TEAM, AND THEY’RE NOT DONE YET.

Patience was a virtue in Key West’s 3-1 win over Miami Killian on May 2. The game would be a defensive battle for both teams with a pitchers’ duel that went scoreless until the fourth inning. Key West’s three-run flurry would be the only scoring the Conchs would do in the matchup, but it was more than enough for the win. Killian managed a single run in the matchup, and had two runners on base in the seventh inning with just one out, but the Conchs held their ground and took the win, placing them in the district championship game on May 4. Key West managed seven hits from seven batters, including Jack Haggard, Matt Greenberg, Gabe Williams, Anthony Lariz, Anden Rady, Jose Perdigon and Sam Holland. Andris Barroso was credited with the win, lasting six innings on the mound, while Jacob Burnham pitched the last inning for the victory.

The win against Killian sent Key West to the district championship game on May 4 against Miami Sunset. This time, the Conchs struck fast and kept striking until they ended the game in a four-and-a-half-inning mercy-rule win, destroying the Knights 13-0. The Conchs piled on a dozen hits in the game, with Lariz leading the stats with three. Haggard, Perdigon and Rady each had a pair of hits, with one of Rady’s clearing the fence in the third inning. Greenberg, Holland and Noah Burnham each added one in the championship win. Felix Ong went the distance, striking out six over five innings and allowing just one hit, one walk and zero runs. The Conchs took on the Somerset Academy Panthers of Pembroke Pines on May 9 in the regional quarterfinals, winning 8-5, and will now move on to the semifinal on Friday, May 12 against Miami Springs.

CORAL SHORES TOPS MARATHON, FALLS TO KEYS GATE IN DISTRICT HEARTBREAKER

A punishing first inning would be too much for Marathon to overcome in the FHSAA 3A District 16 semifinal game against Coral Shores on May 2. The ’Canes met the Fins in Dolphin territory, and despite several starters out of the lineup due to injuries, Coral Shores was able to beat its closest rivals 10-0 in five innings to move on to the district championship game.

Coral Shores struck quickly, pounding Marathon with six hits and scoring seven runs in the first inning. In total, the Hurricanes were good for a dozen hits, with three from AJ Putetti, two each from Campbell Lavoie, Donovan Thiery, Dylan Bloom and Andy Ladesma and one from Maykol Bonito. Thiery pitched five innings, allowing four hits and striking out six.

For Marathon, Bryan Broche, Jack Chapman and Mason Thornton had singles and Gavin Leal hit a double, but Coral Shores was able to protect the plate, shutting out the Fins. Dylan Ziels started on the mound and Broche completed the final two innings in the loss. Marathon ends its season with a solid 17-9 record. The team will lose three seniors to graduation but stands to add a talented group from Marathon’s middle school program to the varsity roster.

In the win over Marathon, Coral Shores earned a shot at the district championship against Keys Gate on May 3. Dylan Bloom started on the mound for the ’Canes, going five innings, with Tate Brumbalow picking up the rest. Both teams scored one in the first inning and the tie held until the fifth. Coral Shores found a bit of the magic they unleashed on the Fins the night prior, scoring three runs and adding two more in the sixth.

Keys Gate answered back in the sixth inning with five runs of their own, tying the game up once again. Heartbreak came in the final inning for Coral Shores when a walk-off Keys Gate single gave the ’Canes the runner-up trophy and an end to their season. Putetti and Zeke Myers each had two hits on the night and Ledesma, Ian Anderson, Grayden Ross and Hugh Connolly also made it to base on hits for Coral Shores. The Hurricanes finished their season with an 8-13 record, losing several close games to opponents in the much larger 7A division.

By: Tracy and Sean McDonald

The Scoreboard

Xavyer Arrington

This Week In Keys Sports

Senior, Coral Shores

Weightlifting, Track & Field

Coral Shores strongman Xavyer Arrington was not finished when he brought home his second gold medal in weightlifting last month. The Naval Academy-bound athlete is committed to play football next fall, but between his state championship in weightlifting and collegiate football career, Arrington will now compete for yet another set of state medals, this time in track and field.

Arrington recently took first place in the FHSAA 2A Region 4 championship in discus and sixth in shot put. The first-place finish in discus guaranteed him a spot at the state championship in Jacksonville on May 18. He is ranked sixth in the discus, but still has his sights set on two medals, having also earned an at-large bid in the shot put event with a 12th-place overall ranking ahead of the state meet.

Arrington has set school records in both events and has set the bar high for future Hurricane athletes. For his outstanding accomplishments in athletics and setting a stellar example for his teammates, Xavyer Arrington is the Keys Weekly Athlete of the Week.

BRAD BERTELLI is an author, speaker, Florida Keys historian and Honorary Conch. His latest book, “Florida Keys History with Brad Bertelli, Volume 1,” shares fascinating glimpses into the rich and sometimes surprising histories of the Florida Keys.

Carl Fisher was synonymous with land development in South Florida during Florida’s land boom in the 1920s. He also knew a thing or two about promotion.

When he learned that president-elect Warren Harding would be visiting South Florida, Fisher sent his secretary, Ann Rossiter, to invite him personally to Miami Beach. Fisher understood that Harding had a penchant for beautiful women, and Rossiter (with whom Fisher was having an affair at the time) certainly qualified as a beauty. When she knocked on the door at his Marion, Ohio, home, she was let right in and visited with Harding in his study.

Fisher wanted to show off his Miami Beach development, and the ploy was successful. When Harding arrived in Miami, Fisher ushered him onto his cruiser and sped off for Miami Beach’s Flamingo Hotel. During his visit, Harding enjoyed some golf with a unique caddy to carry his clubs that was provided by Fisher. The caddy was Rosie, his pet elephant. Pictures of the event were published nationwide and, from there, word of Miami Beach entered the national consciousness.

Fisher also brought Harding to the Cocolobo Cay Club at Adams Key, which, at the time, was one of the most secluded clubs in the country and the perfect place for the president-elect to disappear from the public eye. Captain Charles H. Thompson was brought down to Adams Key to take Harding fishing. Thompson operated his charter fishing out of Miami Beach, where he had guided English lords, dukes and French nobility. Fishing the presidentelect was right up his alley. Thompson later moved to the Middle Keys and became one of Marathon’s fishing legends.

Harding was not the last president to visit the club, and Thompson was not the