Archbishop Carroll Survives Miami Jackson In 4A District 14 Semifinal

Archbishop Carroll eliminated Miami Jackson and advances to the District Championship against Pace

The Archbishop Carroll Bulldogs and Miami Jackson Generals exchanged leads four times in the 4A District 14 semifinal round Tuesday afternoon at Monsignor Pace.

The Bulldogs scored five runs off four hits and capitalized on six Miami Jackson errors en route to a 5-3 win.

“We’ll take that win in the playoffs,” said Bulldogs coach Jorge Gutierrez. “We took aggressive cuts, but you have to give it up to Miami Jackson for staying in the game.”

Freshman pitcher Jose Padron started on the mound for Miami Jackson and he found himself in some trouble in the first inning. Dean Garabedean’s deep shot to center field fell just short of a home run and he made it safely to second base. Later in the inning Brandon Mubarak hit a sacrifice fly to right field and Garabedean tagged up and came home, giving the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead.

The Bulldogs swept Miami Jackson during the regular season, but the Generals came ready for playoff baseball. Bulldogs starting pitcher Michael Orta sat down the first three batters he faced in the first inning, but to start the second, Dayan Patterson took an Orta pitch deep past the left-field fence for a solo home run to tie the game at 1-1.

Miami Jackson’s Chris Espinosa was hit by a pitch in the third inning and lead-off hitter Freddy Rijos-Russell singled up the middle to put Espinosa in scoring position. With one out, Edgar Pabon unselfishly popped a shallow sacrifice fly to center field, and Espinosa tagged from third and beat the throw home, giving Miami Jackson their first lead.

Orta, unwilling to give up another home run, walked Patterson to start the fourth and then Julio Martinez hit a chopper towards the mound that was misplayed, putting him safely at first and Patterson at third. Patterson was able to come home on a wild pitch.

Following the inning, Gutierrez decided to go to the bullpen and Orta was relieved by Brandon Mubarak to start the fifth. Orta faced 17 batters in four innings and gave up just two hits and recorded four strikeouts.

“He gave us what we needed,” Gutierrez said about Orta. “He throws maybe one or two innings when he pitches, he’s more of a set up guy and that was our plan coming in and he’s a senior and he throws strikes, he knows how to pitch.

Mubarak wasted no time at getting started, striking out his first batter before Freddy Rijo-Russell singled up the middle for his second hit of the day. Russell finished 2-for-3 with two stolen bases. Mubarak struck out the following batter and forced a fly ball to end the inning unharmed.

By the bottom of the fifth, things began to shift in the Bulldogs’ favor. Dennis Rivadeneira made his way to first by way of an error. Dean Garabedean singled to left field, making Rivadeneira the tying run on third. With two outs, Danny Acevedo struck a fly ball to right field for what appeared to be the third out of the inning, but the right fielder misplayed the free-falling bullet, Acevedo made it safe to first and Rivadeneira came home on the error.

Padron walked Willy Roger, loading the bases for Oscar Gordillo, but the canny Gordillo didn’t swing at a pitch and was walked by four straight balls, bringing in Garabedean for a Bulldogs 4-3 lead.

The Bulldogs Rivadeneira singled in the sixth inning and then stole second base. Garabedean then struck a strenuous grounder that bounced into the outfield, bringing in Rivadeneira from second base for the Bulldogs final run.

Mubarak and Bulldogs shut down the Generals in the final two innings with six straight outs, forcing three grounders and two fly-outs. Mubarak struck out the final batter to end the game.

Pace will host Archbishop Carroll on Thursday night for the title.

“We’ve played some good games against Pace,” Gutierrez said. “We’ve played them twice, and we had a really good game against them last time, and I expect the same thing Thursday.”

And Miami Jackson coach Denis Pujals summarized his team’s situation this way…

“We just need some time, and more talent,” Pujals said. “We’ve got some great ball players, but I need to get back all the players that have left Miami Jackson to go play elsewhere.”

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