Fernandez’s Go-Ahead Double, Bullpen Carry Florida Christian Past Coral Gables

Sevian Fernandez knocked in the go-ahead double and Mike Campos dealt a scoreless three and a third innings to highlight a solid bullpen performance as the Florida Christian Patriots took down the Coral Gables Cavaliers 7-3 on Thursday.

The Pats were down 2-1 when their bullpen took over with two outs in the bottom of the second and two men on. Campos struck out Gerson Sotlongo to end the threat and retired the side in order in the next inning.

“Usually, I enter in spots where we are in a bad situation,” Campos said. “I just try to be aggressive, hit my spots and let the defense work behind me. But, to me, in this game the difference was our hitting.”

Florida Christian coach Ernie Padron said he believed the difference in the game was “a couple of clutch hits from the bottom of the lineup. You get production like that from the bottom of the lineup, and you’ll be tough to beat.”

Back-to-back base hits of the bats of No. 3 batter Edgar Michaelangeli and clean-up hitter Roger Gonzalez in the top of the fourth started the rally and an error on a dribbler from Curtis Salcines tied the game. When it looked like Gables starter David Plotkin would avoid further scathing after back-to-back strike outs, Fernandez and No. 9 batter Aramis Herrera delivered soaring consecutive doubles that made it 5-2.

“(The Patriots) got clutch hits in key situations,” Gables coach Philip Wisser said following the game. “They’re well-coached and executed well.”

Gables got runners on to start off both the fourth and sixth innings, but double plays sucked the life out of a supportive crowd. Yari Cabrera dealt a scoreless sixth and Ricky Jimenez a scoreless seventh for Florida Christian to end the threat.

Wisser said he saw progress on the field despite the loss.

“Our freshmen shortstop played one heck of a game,” Wisser said. “(Robert Montes) works very hard and really bounced back from a tough game the other day.”

The Cavs (5-5-1, 3-1-1 8A-14) look to bounce back against Citrus High on Tuesday in the first match of their Spring Break Tournament.

The Pats (7-2, 3-0 3A-16) host Miami Christian on Monday before heading to Westminster Christian after a nine-day break.

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