Westminster Christian Defeats Southwest Miami for Selective Recruiting Title

To win the championship title in the 2012 Selective Recruiting Invitational among the impressive field of competition is reward enough.

But there is a lot to be said for winning a trophy so big it cannot fit in a car to be brought home after its been won.

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Such were the spoils for Westminster Christian on Saturday evening after the Warriors blanked Southwest Miami 11-0 to win the tournament title, in a game played at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field on the University of Miami campus.

“It is a blessing to be here among 32 high-quality teams,” senior starting pitcher Marc Sanchez said. “We came out and played tough baseball, and to be holding this trophy is a blessing.”

Sanchez was named Tournament MVP after going 2-0 in leading the Warriors (10-3) to four victories in the esteemed field of competition.

The right-hander improved to 4-1 with the victory, tossing four shutout innings while allowing only one hit and one walk, and striking out eight. Forty of his 58 pitches went for strikes as he stymied the Eagles (8-6) and set the tone for his team.

Sanchez, who has signed with Bethune-Cookman, admitted to be very confident coming onto the mound Saturday night coming off of big victories over Columbus and two-time defending Class 4A state champion Archbishop McCarthy in his previous two starts.

“I was coming off great games, especially after Columbus because I went over 100 pitches. After that, I have felt confident, and I know I can do it,” Sanchez said.

With Sanchez cruising in limiting Southwest to only a double to Carlos Pena, the Warriors’ offense pounded away for 16 hits as nearly every starter reached base. The team’s middle of the lineup was particularly effective, as first baseman Dakotah Robbins was 4-for-4 with two RBI batting in the fifth spot in the lineup and cleanup hitter Anthony Gonzalez was 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run.

“We know we are a great hitting team and we can put up runs,” Robbins said. “Coach told us this is the top tournament in the nation and this was our chance to send a message for our school. This puts us back on the map.”

Eagles starter Fernando Rabel was able to contain the Warriors’ vaunted offense early on, even after allowing consecutive singles by Gonzalez and Robbins to lead off the top of the second inning. The junior settled down and induced three straight putouts to escape the threat.

But the Warriors finally got through in the third, and once they did they never looked back.

Ozzie Van Der Dijs reached on an error and shortstop John Ruiz laced a shot to left field for a standup double to put both runners in scoring position. Daniel Sanchez pushed Van Der Dijs in on a sacrifice flyout and Gonzalez sent a hot shot up the middle to put runners on the corners. Robbins followed with a deep delivery to left that sent both runners in and sent him to second base.

“Too many runs were unearned, and it was simple catch and throw,” Eagles coach Josy Torres said. “We are a young group of guys and this was a good learning experience for them. It was their first time playing in a big-time setting, and it’s a positive to take into the rest of the season.”

Westminster Christian got nice production out of the bottom of the order, as Van Der Dijs was 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI while batting out of the nine-hole, and freshman Julian Infante was also 2-for-4 with a pair of runs and an RBI hitting in the eighth spot in the lineup.

After scoring all the runs they would ultimately need, the Warriors added on three runs in the fourth, a pair in the fifth and three more in the seventh to run away with it.

“This was a big confidence-booster, and it was our fourth in a row in this tournament. We are hoping this will carry into the season now,” said Ruiz, who was 2-for-5 with two runs.

The junior has already committed to play for the Hurricanes and he got a unique chance to see what that could be like.

“It was awesome; this is a great field. I am looking forward to playing here,” he said.

The loss snapped Southwest’s six-game winning streak. But the experience was one that Coach Torres believes will help the team carry into the second half of the season, which begins on Thursday against district foe Sunset.

“We got good pitching and timely hitting, and we expect to do a better job of competing,” Torres said. “We’ll put this behind us and start the second half now.”

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