Hialeah Beats Miami Springs to Kick Off Preseason Tournament

Hialeah’s starting pitcher Nestor Cortes takes a lead off first base after a single in the sixth inning.

No stormy weather was going to stop this game from being played Tuesday night at Alex Fernandez Field in Hialeah.

When Hialeah High and Miami Springs took the field for their pregame warm-ups, you could feel the energy and see the excitement for the upcoming season coming from both squads.

After a 10-minute rain shower just before the first pitch, it was the Hialeah Thoroughbreds and their ace, Nestor Cortes, who came out rolling and wound up with a 6-1 victory over the Miami Springs Hawks. Cortes came out throwing strikes early and often.

“We have worked hard all fall and preseason,” Cortes said. “The pitchers have all been practicing together, getting better, and it definitely helped us out tonight.”

In his four innings of work, he managed to only face 13 batters and recorded eight strikeouts.

Following a quick top half of the first inning, it was time for the Hawks to take the field behind starting pitcher Nick Bello. Although it looked like he was going to get two quick outs, some common, preseason defensive mishaps occurred. These errors allowed Hialeah’s first two batters to get on base and eventually come around to score.

The Thoroughbred’s shortstop, Alain Silva, connected with a nice pitch in the first and sent a hard-hit ball down the line for a single to keep the rally going. Springs pitcher Bello was able to shake off the early mistakes and get out of the inning with minimal damage.

It wasn’t until the third inning that either team was able to get another person on base. Again, it was Silva sending a pitch into the right-center field gap and coming up with a big triple to lead off in the bottom half of the third for Hialeah. Designated hitter Henry Perez then got his first RBI of the year with a deep sacrifice fly to center field that allowed for Silva to score and extend the Thoroughbreds’ lead to 3-0.

In the fourth inning, Hialeah’s Marcos Lozada reached first base on a walk and then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Then, Cody Fulton came up with a RBI double, making it 4-0.

Hialeah coach Shane Fulton decided to get some good experience for his young ninth-grade pitcher, Michael Rodriguez, in the fifth inning.

“Michael is a kid we are very happy with his progress so far,” Fulton said. “He just has some things he still needs to learn.”

Miami Springs’ Gerald Reyes showed his patience at the plate and drew a walk. Springs’ Carlos Posada took advantage and singled to left field, driving in Reyes. After some defensive miscues of its own, Hialeah was able to get itself out of jam by turning a double play to end the inning.

Miami Springs was able to get some nice relief work from Ivan Fesser in the fifth inning, but he wasn’t able to stop pinch-runner Cajuso and Gilbert Maldonado from coming around and adding to Hialeah’s lead making it 6-1. Springs’ pitcher Christian Miranda did a nice job coming in and closing out the inning, keeping three more runs from scoring.

The Hawks made it interesting in the top of the seventh by using their discipline and patience to draw three walks from closer Kevin Betancourt. Betancourt was able to gain some control and end the game.

“We just need to stay discipline at the plate and be aggressive,” Miami Springs head coach Jason Moris said. “We are a young team with only four returning players, so we are going to keep working hard and continue to go out and try to make plays.”

Miami Springs will face Killian next on Thursday at Alex Fernandez Field.

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