THREE IN A ROW

The three-peat is complete as the District 16-4A Championship is back in the hands of the Key West High baseball team for a third straight season after the Conchs claimed the title behind another stellar pitching performance, this time from Jacob Burnham, during a 2-0 victory against Killian High on Thursday, April 2, on the Cougars’ home diamond in Miami.

Burnham would scatter six hits and two walks across his 6 2/3 innings of work in his dominant start, as only in the fourth inning were the Cougars able to place a runner on third base, leaving eight runners on base in the game, as the Conchs’ senior southpaw struck out five batters in the win.

Killian would actually outhit Key West, which reached via three walks in the first three innings before Anthony Lariz connected on a double in the fourth but was left standing at second. The Conchs would score the only runs of the game in the fifth on RBI singles by both Nelson Ong and Roman Garcia following a pair of walks to open the at-bat and a sacrifice bunt by Auggie Davila, with Steel Mientkiewicz getting on with a base knock.

Two runners would get on base for the Cougars during their final trip to the plate, including a single with two outs, but the Conchs would turn to Felix Ong to get out of the final jam and the senior came through with three straight strikes to secure the third consecutive district crown for Key West.

The district title garners Key West (13-12 overall) an automatic bid into the Florida High School Athletic Association State Tournament, with the Region 16-4A bracket being selected on Saturday, May 4, with the postseason set to begin on Wednesday, May 8, potentially at Rex Weech Field.