High School Baseball Playoffs In Full Swing

A near upset was in the works at Colonial Christian field last week in the Region 4-2A Quarterfinals.

After two innings of play, Redland Christian led Miami Christian 2-1 and the Falcons looked to be making all of the right plays.

However, in a few short innings, the game came crashing down for Redland, culminating in their 16-6 loss and subsequent elimination from the playoffs.

Starting pitcher Ricardo Leon started out strong but several fielding errors left the Falcons in a hard place, needing runs late to avoid elimination.

Despite a late rally in the bottom of the sixth inning, Redland Christian came up one run short from avoiding the mercy-rule result.

South Dade Outlasts Coral Gables

A strong performance all around from both South Dade pitchers and batters gave the Buccaneers a big 3-0 win over Coral Gables in the Region 4-8A Quarterfinals at home.

Starting pitcher Junior Gorordo picked up the win for South Dade with Kendrick Pico registering the save.

Pico, who threw three innings that included six strikeouts, was perhaps the biggest component to South Dade’s shutout hopes, while Gorordo kept the Cavaliers off the scoreboard with five strikeouts over his four innings pitched.

Following in his brother’s footsteps, Alek Manoah helped seal South Dade’s win with a towering solo home run in the third inning.

South Dade’s other two runs came when Danny Vaughan and Sergio Lopez crossed the plate off RBIs from Vaughan and Gabriel Cruz.

South Dade advanced to play Columbus in the Region 4-8A Semifinals, but the contest was postponed due to inclement weather.

At press time, results for that game were still pending.

Colonial Baseball Ousted

Colonial Christian’s baseball team saw their season end on a low note last week thanks to a 10-0 loss to Miami Brito in the Region 4-2A Quarterfinals.

After losing to rivals Redland Christian in the District 16-2A finals, Colonial’s late-season skid continued when they faced perennial state contenders Miami Brito at Tamiami Park.

Micah Long was unable to pitch Colonial to victory as Brito peppered the Patriot defense for 10 runs over five innings.

Palmer Trinity Victorious

Shaking off their District 16-3A Finals loss to Westminster Christian, Palmer Trinity booked their ticket to a rematch with the Warriors thanks to a 6-3 win over SLAM Academy in the Region 4-3A Quarterfinals.

Pitcher Taylor Walker picked up the victory for the Falcons, throwing a complete game that included three strikeouts and only three earned runs.

Once again, Blake Miller led the offense with two RBI after going 1-for-4.

Jarrett Pico went 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs in the victory.

Pico, Even Steinman, ColesonHebble, Justin Kross, and Zachary Peckins all crossed home plate to score runs for Palmer Trinity.

Westminster Rolls To Regional Semis

Westminster Christian continued their push for a state title with a statement 10-0 mercy-rule win over Hialeah Educational Academy in the Region 4-3A Quarterfinals.

Ryan Terry pitched his way to a victory, throwing four innings of eight-strikeout baseball.

Jagr Enriquez threw one inning while striking out a batter to help seal the victory in the fifth inning.

The Warriors saw a breakout performance from Dylan Cloonan propel them to victory as Cloonan went 2-for-2 with five RBI and a run.

Adrian Mayans, Anthony Vilar, Alvaro Valdez, and JakobZarello all added an RBI each.