Columbus cruises past Sunset in GMAC baseball quarterfinal; Braddock, Southwest, Springs advance
Columbus junior pitcher Danny Castillo was in the second inning of his second-ever high school start.
He was one bad pitch away from setting off a disaster mostly of his own making after he hit two consecutive batters following an infield single to load the bases with no outs.
Castillo took a couple of breaths then struck out the next two hitters he faced and induced an inning-ending ground out from the third to escape the frame unscathed.
“No matter who is on base, I have to stay sharp and have to be better,” Castillo said. “I’ve learned a lot this season. It was a really good lesson.”
That’s the kind of growth the Explorers are seeing of late from a young team with only four seniors on their roster, and what they hope will carry them far this coming postseason.
Castillo followed his Houdini act in the second with another four scoreless innings for six shutout frames overall, which helped Columbus dominate visiting Sunset 9-0 in a GMAC quarterfinal Friday at the Explorers’ home field.
“I went in the dugout, I got a nice yell from [Columbus coach Joe] Weber and it woke me up a little bit,” Castillo said. “I realized I have to stop putting my tail between my legs when I put guys on base and just keep attacking.”
The Explorers (15-4) will next host Miami Springs, which outlasted
Varela 3-0 in nine innings in another quarterfinal, on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the GMAC semifinals. Braddock defeated Palmetto 9-0 and Southwest edged South Dade 3-2 in the other quarterfinals. Southwest will now host Braddock on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the other semifinal.
Another positive development for Columbus, which won its seventh in a row and improved to 12-0 at home this season, was avoiding a letdown following one of its biggest wins of the season.
On Thursday, the Explorers defeated longtime playoff obstacle and three-time reigning state champion Stomenan Douglas, 9-6, on the road. The Eagles have eliminated the Explorers from the playoffs each of the past three seasons.
Despite the short turnaround, Columbus added to its recent momentum with another strong performance against the Knights (12-8), who last season were state semifinalists in Class 4A.
“We were worried about a hangover today, but the kids showed up,” Columbus coach Joe Weber said. “We were finding ways to lose games at the beginning of the year and I was hoping as the year went on they’d start finding ways to win games. There’s a lot of confidence now and they’re doing all the right things.”
Castillo struck out eight and gave up five hits, all of which were singles including three infield singles, and one walk.
The Explorers’ lineup responded with timely hitting and, more importantly, patience.
Columbus drew 10 walks from Sunset pitchers, who also hit one batter, and pounced on those opportunities with four runs in the second and fourth innings.
Junior catcher Aquiles Arzeno did most of the damage in the second with a two-run single off Knights’ starter Brandon Espinosa.
In the fourth, senior right fielder Frank Francisco drove home a fifth run on a single and then the Explorers loaded the bases when junior outfielder Jose Correa walked.
Junior first baseman
Rene Ramirez continued his recent torrid hitting with an RBI single to right and then came around to score along with Correa on a two-run double by sophomore left fielder RJ Diaz to give Columbus an 8-0 lead.
Ramirez was the catalyst in the win over Douglas, hitting two home runs and driving in three runs just three nights after going 3 for 3 in a 5-4 win over Boca Raton Spanish River.
“On this win streak, everyone has done their job,” Weber said. “Earlier in the season guys were falling behind hitters, walking guys, making errors and striking out too much, and now we’re starting to get the clutch hits and making the big pitch. It’s been a fun ride.”
GMAC quarterfinal — Southwest 3, South Dade 2: Albert Bell led the Eagles (16-3) going 2 for 3 while Joel Cabrera went 1 for 3 with two RBI and Anthony Reyes went 1 for 2 with an RBI.
Pedro Martinez struck out four and Christian Vasquez picked up the save after the Bucs (11-10) scored their two runs in the top of the seventh.
GMAC quarterfinal — Braddock 9, Palmetto 0: Daniel Bravo, Eddy Echevarria, Ryan Labarca, Devin Lopez combined on a three-hitter, striking out 10 to lead the Bulldogs (12-7), who have won 11 of their past 12 games following a 1-6 start. Adam Hernandez had a 3-run home run and Alex RodriguezGallo had a two-run home run. Andrew Sarmiento went 3 for 3 with two RBI and Manny Sanchez went 3 for 4 with an RBI.
GMAC quarterfinal — Miami Springs 3, Varela 0 (9): The Golden Hawks (13-7) won their seventh game in their past eight after breaking a scoreless stalemate with three runs in the ninth.