Miami Christian baseball aiming for repeat, plus Sunset, St. Brendan pull road upsets
Jendy Gonzalez didn’t slow down for a second on Tuesday afternoon.
Miami Christian’s leadoff hitter and junior second baseman ran even faster once he saw Brito center fielder Jason Moss lose the ball in the bright sunlight.
Gonzalez raced around the bags and slid safely into home plate for an inside-the-park home run that led off the first inning and set the tone for a 3-1 Miami Christian home victory in a Region 4-2A quarterfinal.
“From the second I made contact I just took off,” Gonzalez said.
The play also kickstarted a tremendous game for Gonzalez, who went 4 for 4 with a pair of RBI.
Gonzalez helped lift the Victors (16-8) to the regional semifinals where they will now host True North Classical Academy, winners over Lake Worth Trinity Christian, on Friday.
Over the past five seasons, Miami Christian doesn’t often get mentioned as much as some of the other South Florida baseball powerhouses.
And yet the Victors remain one of the most consistent as they chase a potential state championship repeat for the second time in school history and within that time frame.
Most of that is thanks to clutch performances like Gonzalez and steady pitching efforts like the combined outing Matthew Someillan and Jeffred Fermin delivered against Brito (12-9).
Someillan tossed five innings, struck out seven with no walks, and allowed one run on three hits. Fermin threw a pair of scoreless innings in relief, allowing one hit, one walk and striking out two.
“We always pride ourselves on pitching and defense and it will always give you a chance to win the ball game,” Miami Christian coach Chris Cuadra said. “Matthew had a cleat issue (in the second inning) and we had to get him new ones. But other than that he shut the door, and (Fermin) is another one of our shutdown guys.”
Miami Christian’s pitching staff has been resilient after losing starter David Bosque to a shoulder injury.
Jeter Polledo drove in the go-ahead run in the fourth after Brito tied the game in the third on an RBI single by Samuel Castro. Gonzalez then iced the game with a ground rule double to left that scored Polledo.
“That kid (Gonzalez) is a workhorse,” Cuadra said. “He started off slow and I benched him for four or five games and that lit a fire for him and he’s taken off since.”
▪ Region 4-4A quarterfinal - Sunset 5, Jensen Beach 4: Johan Hidalgo struck out eight and gave up only four hits as the Knights (15-8) won their first regional playoff game in a decade, knocking off last year’s state runner-up in Class 4A. Andres Gonzalez went 1 for 2 with a home run and two walks and Nick Rodriguez went 1 for 2. AJ Garcia picked up a save.
Sunset, the No. 6 seed in the region will next host No. 7 seed St. Brendan, which pulled off its own road shocker when it knocked out Delray American Heritage 4-3. The Knights will host the region semifinal on Friday tentatively at 3:30 p.m.
▪ Region 4-3A quarterfinal - Gulliver 4, NSU University School 3: Luca Mendez went 2 for 3 and struck out six over six innings on the mound for the Raiders. Luca Tosca went 1 for 3 with a home run and two RBI. George Lombard went 1 for 2 with two runs.
MORE SCORES
▪ Region 4-5A: Archbishop McCarthy 1, Mater Academy 0; Riviera Beach Suncoast 9, Belen Jesuit 3; Pembroke Pines Charter 4, Melbourne Eau Gallie 0; American Heritage 8, Rockledge 0.
▪ Region 4-4A: Key West 8, Somerset Academy 5; St. Brendan 4, Delray American Heritage 3.
▪ Region 4-3A: Westminster Christian 16, Keys Gate 1; Calvary Christian 9, Pine Crest 2.
▪ Region 3-3A: North Broward Prep 5, Cocoa Beach 0; Boca St. John Paul II 6, Coral Springs Charter 2.
▪ Region 4-2A: True North 5, Lake Worth Trinity Christian 2; Westminster Academy 6, Sagemont 4.
