St. Brendan Reaches Regionals After Win Over Mater Lakes
The Sabres celebrate during a rally Wednesday afternoon.
The first two times that St. Brendan and Mater Lakes Academy squared off in 4A-15, the Sabres were on the losing end of 4-2 and 4-1 games. Those losses caused St. Brendan to fall into the third spot for the district playoffs.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Sabres came out like they had something to prove, scoring six runs in the first two innings. They then held on for a 7-4 win that earned them a spot in the district championship Friday and regional playoffs next week.
“I told these guys only one thing today,” said St. Brendan Manager Luis Padron. “I do not want to pick up the senior uniforms today. You guys go out and play hard and play your game, and I have your back. They came out with fire, and they did what they had to do to win.”
An error in the first led to the first scoring opportunity of the day for St. Brendan. Danny Sirven capitalized on the opportunity by singling home Nico Lares with the game’s first run.
In the second, two more Bears errors opened the door for a six-run inning. St. Brendan also executed their small-ball approach in the frame. After an error opened the inning, Dennis Rivadineira and Tito Torres had consecutive bunt singles, loading the bases. One-out, back-to-back RBI singles by Renny Tolentino and Johny Cordobes upped the lead to 3-0. An error plated Pinto and Tolentino, and a fielder’s choice scored Cordobes. Suddenly the Bears found themselves in a 6-0 hole.
Luis Padron takes a throw from home.
“For whatever reason, we came out flat today,” said Mater Lakes Manager Cesar Temes. “This is a good team, and even though we beat them twice during the year, they are well coached, and you can’t give them extra outs by making errors.”
Despite the errors, Bears starter Jesus Hernandez was able to keep his team in the game during the middle innings. Hernandez did not allow another run, and finished the game with six innings pitched.
Hernandez’ mound work kept Mater in the game long enough to finally get to Sabres starter Kevin Diaz in the fifth. Jordan Cox started the rally with a one-out single. Pinch-hitter Brandon Garcia walked, and after a strikeout, Isaac Blanco walked to load the bases and set the stage for Daniel Delgado.
The senior made one of his last high school at-bats one he will remember forever, launching a grand slam to left field, and pulling the Bears within two, at 6-4.
“That was a huge at-bat by Daniel,” said Temes. “That swing put us back in the game, and gave us some energy, but it just wasn’t enough to get us over the top.”
In the sixth, the Bears had their best chance to tie the game. A leadoff walk by Mike Rodriguez and a single by Cox put Mater in business with one out. When Cox went to second on the throw, the tying run was suddenly in scoring position. Sensing that momentum was swinging, Padron went to his bullpen with two outs, summoning Hugo Casillas. The junior came up big, striking out the final Bears batter of the inning and preserving the 6-4 lead.
“That kid is one of the smartest kids I know,” said Padron of Casillas. “He comes in, new to the country, has a 3.8 GPA, learns English, and all of that smarts comes through when he is on the mound. That was a huge strikeout for us to end the sixth.”
The Sabres tacked on an insurance run in the seventh. That would be all Casillas needed to preserve the win for starter Kevin Diaz, as the Bears went in order in the seventh, sending the Sabres to the district final on Thursday and into regionals next week.
Senior team leader Danny Sirven, who finished the game 2-for-3, with a walk, a double, and an RBI, summed up the feeling of moving on after the game.
“We knew even though we lost to them twice this year that if we played well, we could beat them,” said Sirven. “It feels great to get into the regionals again, but our goal is to win a district championship. We know whoever we play, either Florida Christian or Pace, that they are both good teams, but we will be ready.”
On the other side of field, Temes was already looking forward to next season.
“We’ll give them a week off, like we do every year after our final game, and then we will get right back into the weight room and start preparing for next year,” Temes said.
St. Brendan will face Florida Christian in the district final on Friday night at Florida Christian.
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