Six Run First-Inning Powers Florida Christian To District Title Over Westminster

Julian Abreu went 4-for-4 with a walk leading off and Andrew George held the lead with zero earned runs over the final 2.2 innings as the Florida Christian Patriots rode a six-run first inning to a 9-6 win over the Westminster Warriors Thursday for the 3A District 16 championship.

“Outstanding,” Pats head coach Ernie Padron said when asked about his team’s performance, following the game, barely holding back tears. “We came out ready to play against a class-act team. They don’t have an easy out in that lineup.”

Roger Gonzalez, Jake Molkentin and Edgar Michaelangeli each had two RBI at the heart of the order, taking advantage of Abreu’s numerous hits and speed on the bases.

“Last time we played (Westminster), our lead off guy (Abreu) was out,” Pats head coach Ernie Padron told HSBN following the game. “He came in today and was a real spark plug for us.”

“I was just trying to hit the ball hard,” Abreu said about his approach at the plate. “The important thing was to be aggressive, have confidence – swing, don’t be timid.”

Abreu and the rest of the Pats batters were anything but timid, building a 6-0 lead after their half of the first. The Warriors, however, bounced right back to cut the lead to 6-3 after a 45-minute first inning. The second of Gonzalez’ two RBI made it 7-4 in the fourth inning, but back came a tough 20-win Westminster team to cut the lead to 7-6 after five innings in front of around 200 screaming fans.

“We’re a tough team, kept scratching away and stayed in it to the very end,” Westminster coach Emil Castellanos said after a long team meeting on the field following the loss.

“I told the guys, a lot of time in life, you don’t get a second chance. For us, we get to play next week and are only three games away from trying to get back to our ‘home.'”

Castellanos looks to bounce back against the winner of the 3A-15 title, since both winner and runner-up advance to the regionals. Two more wins and the Warriors return “home” to the state championships at Port St. Lucie, for the fourth-straight year.

No matter their prowess, the Warriors didn’t really have much of an answer for  the Pats’ George. George inherited two runners with a 7-5 lead, and though one more run would score that inning, that would be all.

“Last year I started the regional semis against them before, so I knew some of them, especially their big three bats,” George said when asked why he felt he was successful holding the lead. “The starter (Chris Pelaez) is one of my best friends. He pitched a great game and I wasn’t going to let him lose it.”

Both the Patriots (17-9) and Warriors (20-7) advance to the regionals against either Mater Lakes or Dade Christian. Mater Lakes and Dade Christian play for the 3A-15 district title, withe winner facing Westminster in next week’s regional first-round.

Leave a comment using your facebook account!