Chris Rodriguez Schools Dr. Krop In Hialeah Gardens Win

Chris Rodriguez dealt six innings of two-run ball and Gary Garcia went 2-for-4 with an RBI and run scored as the Hialeah Gardens Gladiators vanquished the Dr. Krop Lightning 5-2 Wednesday in an 8A District 13 game.

“(Rodriguez) has been our guy on the mound all season,” Gardens head coach Tino Burgos said. “We can count on him to give us a solid performance out there.”

Rodriguez did more than that, striking out six and working into the seventh inning, allowing just one run. Back-to-back hits scored a run and forced Burgos to put in Chris Suarez, who promptly retired the side without allowing another run across the plate.

“We just want to win, win, win,” Garcia said. “Today it was a total team effort, and we want to keep it going into the playoffs.”

David Martinez, Brandon Morales and Peter Rodriguez each knocked in runs for the Gladiators, who finally took the lead in the top of the fifth on an error with Alex Piedra at the plate. Piedra tapped a streaker to the second baseman, who fumbled it in shallow right field to allow David Rodriguez to score the go-ahead run. With a slim 2-1 lead, Chris Rodriguez kept his poise and quickly retired the side through the fifth and sixth innings as the lead grew to 4-1.

“Everything was working off the fastball,” Rodriguez said about his approach on the mound. “Try to get that first strike with the fastball and then work location. I trusted my teammates, and they did a great job behind me.”

The Lightning stayed close throughout the game and even loaded the bases in the final inning before succumbing. Ronnie Williams gave up four runs, but just one into the sixth inning for Dr. Krop, which got RBI from Williams and Ryan Hersler.

“We battled hard for what seemed like the whole game,” Krop coach Jason Sullivan said. “But when we fell behind there in the sixth, we just didn’t seem to continue. One thing we try to do is to come out here and compete no matter what, and we’ll continue to do that as the season winds down.”

The Lightning (4-12, 1-6 8A-13)  do not have an opponent with a record over .500 for the remainder of the season, starting with 3-16 Miami Sr. in a quick turnaround Thursday.

Gardens (4-10, 3-4) faces a bit more of a challenge, at Southridge (9-8) on Tuesday and then a game against Miami Springs (11-3) as one of five total remaining.

Leave a comment using your facebook account!