Bishop Verot Falls In State Semifinal To North Broward Prep

Fans packed the Bishop Verot section of the stadium to support their Vikings.

The North Broward Prep Eagles held back a scrappy Bishop Verot Vikings squad to earn a 4-1 victory and a chance for its third state trophy, in Tuesday’s Class 3A state semifinal at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers. Champions in 2021 and 2022, before then falling in the final a season ago, now the Eagles (27-3) return once again for the chance to take back the crown.

North Broward will face the Westminster Christian Warriors for the state title.

“Fortunately, we know what to expect,” North Broward Prep Manager Brian Campbell said. “We’re a senior-led team, and a lot of our seniors have been here every four years, since they were freshmen. So, the routine of getting here early and doing stuff on the side fields, it is something you have to get used to. But Bishop Verot had an advantage with the crowd; they had home-field advantage with that crowd. We won the game because Mateo Gray pitched excellent, we did enough offensively and we played really good defense. If we do those three things, we are a pretty good baseball team.”

The Eagles certainly proved they are a pretty good baseball team by the way they shut down a dangerous Bishop Verot squad, one that also benefited from a huge crowd of fans that showed out in support of the local team.

“We were really invested in all the fans coming here,” senior Maddix Simpson said. “We were talking about it for the past few days. It really hyped us up. It felt like a home game for us, and I think we played well.”

Grayson Carpenter connects for a base hit.

Mateo Gray went the distance to earn the complete-game victory, the Eagles struck early to score all their runs in the first two frames, and the defense made all the plays when it mattered most.

Gray was impressive on the bump, providing leadership and inspiration by how he gutted it out in the hot sun for the full seven innings. He surrendered one earned run on five hits and two walks, and he struck out six.

“They were as expected,” Bishop Verot Manager Casey Scott said. “They’ve made a semi-permanent home at Fort Myers the last few years, and they are a really well-coached team and solid. It was just a good baseball game there.”

The Eagles knocked out Verot’s starter after one inning, with three runs in the bottom of the frame. But the Vikings went to the bullpen for Jason Bello, and he held the rope to go the rest of the way and keep his team in the game.

“I just got out there and did what I’ve been doing all year; just got out there and throw strikes,” Bello said. “Hopefully, let my team play and play good defense. I went with the fastball and slider, which has basically been working all year. I just try to get them out in front and try to let my defense work with ground balls and fly balls.”

Bello allowed one earned run on six hits and a walk in five innings of work, and he recorded three strikeouts.

Hits were tough to come by in Tuesday’s state semifinal against the Eagles’ ace, Mateo Gray.

“Tip your hat to Bello, he came in and did a really good job of silencing our bats,” North Broward Prep Manager Brian Campbell said. “We threatened a little bit, but never could punch another one across. So, tip your hat to Bishop Verot, they are a great team. That kid came in and got hit by a ball and was limping, so it was a gutsy performance.”

The Vikings avoided the shutout and got on the scoreboard in the fourth, thanks to a solo home run from Joseph Lawson. But that was as close as they could get, as every other scoring threat was thwarted by Gray recording a big strikeout to end the inning.

“We had opportunities, and Mateo made some good pitches. That’s why he’s as good as he is there,” Scott said. “They got us in that first inning there, and that’s what good teams do. The plan was for us to come out and try to punch first and score, and in games where we scored first we were 19-0 so it was important for us there.”

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