Southwest baseball continues to ‘find ways to win’
Southwest’s baseball’s tendency to defy the odds this season no matter how daunting they may seem kicked up a notch on Tuesday night.
The Eagles were facing Varela ace Edgar Colon, a University of Miami commit and potential draft prospect.
They had mustered only one hit for the first 4 2⁄3 innings against the senior lefty.
And they were behind 4-0 at that point. No problem.
With two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Southwest batters worked four consecutive walks from Colon to start a rally that culminated with five runs to give the Eagles the lead for good in a 5-4 comeback win over the Vipers in a Region 4-6A quarterfinal at Andre Dawson Field.
Joel Cabrera’s two-run single put Southwest (21-6) ahead after Colon lost command and issued those walks.
The Eagles will next host Palm Beach Gardens Dwyer (19-7) in the Region 4-6A semifinals on Friday at 4 p.m.
“It doesn’t matter how much we’re down. Edgar is a special pitcher, but we told the kids to stick to their game plan and Joel came through again,” Southwest coach Mandy Pelaez said. “These guys have been doing that all season, getting big hits when it counts.”
After forcing Southwest’s first run home on his fourth walk, Colon then hit Eagles junior outfielder Albert Bell to force in another run, a passed ball allowed another run to score, cutting the lead to 4-3.
Cabrera then stepped in and worked a full count before delivering with a sharp liner into the outfield that scored the go-ahead runs.
Region 4-7A quarterfinal — Columbus 3, Western 2: Longtime Columbus baseball coach Joe Weber entered Tuesday afternoon’s Region 4-7A quarterfinal contest with 611 wins, two state titles, seven final four appearances and 20 district championships.
But it was win No. 612 that he will put right at the top and never forget.
With his Explorers dealing with a much harsherthan-expected penalty of 18 suspended players including six starters following a dugout-clearing confrontation with Braddock in last week’s district title game (one in which there were no physical altercations), it was a rare day for Columbus baseball.
The Explorers, who hardly ever lose at home, were forced to start four players from their JV team and one from the freshman team, and faced Davie Western as an underdog on their own field.
But there they were, two-and-half hours after the first pitch, celebrating after Matthew “Chubs”
Fernandez, one of those four JV players, drew a bases-loaded, two-out walk to bring in the winning run as Columbus edged Western 3-2.
The No. 3 seed Explorers (20-6) advance to a Region 4-7A semifinal contest on Friday at 4 p.m. when they travel to West Broward to take on the No. 2 seeded Bobcats and will be back at full strength with all suspended players eligible again.
“This is unbelievable and a win that I will always cherish,” said Weber, his voice cracking with emotion. “I told the kids after the game that we’ve won two state titles here and gone to the state final four a bunch of times but I don’t know when I’ve ever been more proud of a group of kids than I am of them today and the guts they showed out there to get this done.”
In addition to Hernandez, who also came through with an RBI single in the first inning to stake his team and starting pitcher Matt Rios to an early 1-0 lead, all of the other “youngsters” contributed as well.
Third baseman Brady Kehan came through with a solid game, handling all the ground balls that came his way and producing a perfect sacrifice bunt in the second inning that allowed Columbus to score its second run. He then had a leadoff base hit in the last of the seventh which sparked the game-winning rally.
Designated hitter Evan Paul drilled a double off the wall in left center and eventually came around to score that run in the second inning.
Right fielder A.J. Rivero (from the freshman team) made a spectacular diving catch of a sinking line drive in the second inning.
Second baseman Juan Jacome successfully sacrificed Kehan down to second after his leadoff hit in the seventh.
Region 4-7A quarterfinal — Boca Raton 7, Braddock 4: Braddock’s baseball team faced a major challenge on Tuesday after 16 of its players were suspended just a day before its regional quarterfinal matchup against Boca Raton.
Five of the Bulldogs’ regulars in their starting lineup were out as were two of their starting pitchers.
And yet with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Braddock had the potential tying and winning runs on base.
With the bases loaded, junior left fielder Alex Gomez, one of the reserves called to action on this day, belted a sharp fly ball into center that appeared to have a chance to drop for a hit that would have drawn the Bulldogs closer to defying the odds in miraculous fashion.
But Boca Raton center fielder Dante Ambrose came diving in and made the catch to seal the game and end Braddock’s season.
“To have only three or four varsity guys in the lineup and to still have the winning run on base is … all I can say is I’m really proud of these guys,” Braddock coach and alum Harold Martinez said. “They gave it all they had against a good, 20-win team. A lot of these guys’ JV seasons had ended about a month ago.
It’s just tough.”
Martinez spoke to his team in the outfield moments after the game was over. With his blue-colored hoodie covering his head, Martinez let his emotions out along with a few of his players.
It had been an exhausting 24 hours for Braddock after it learned it would be severely shorthanded against the Bobcats after the FHSAA handed down the suspensions stemming from an incident that occurred this past Thursday when Braddock played Columbus for the District 15-7A championship at Columbus.
A violent home plate collision during the bottom of the sixth inning of the game during which a Columbus baserunner ran into Braddock’s catcher prompted several players to leave both dugouts. Per FHSAA rules, if any player not actively playing in the game leaves the dugout or their position on the field during an inning, it results in an automatic one-game suspension.
However, video of the incident showed that no punches were thrown during the confrontation and both groups of players and coaches were cleared from the field allowing the game to be completed.
“I feel that this [penalty] was not right and it hurt us,” Martinez said. “It was a disservice to this team and this program for sure.”