Miami State Tournament Preview: Columbus, Pace, Westwood Vying for Title

A year ago, the Westwood Christian Warriors posted an 8-13 record. The team went 8-3 the year before.

This year, the Warriors have more than doubled that single-season win total at 17-5 and are two steps away from winning the school’s first state title in the sport.

The Warriors, playing in their first state series since 2004, will take on St. Petersburg Canterbury School of Florida at 10 a.m. Monday in a Class 2A state semifinal at Digital Domain Park in Port St. Lucie.

Westwood is one of three Miami-Dade teams trying for state titles this week. The other teams are Monsignor Pace (4A) and Columbus (8A). Pace opens with last year’s 3A champion, Bishop Verot, at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Columbus plays Palm Beach Gardens at 7 tonight.

Westwood Christian coach Luis Padron, whose day job is East Coast Sales Director for Mojave Foods, a spices manufacturer, said the team’s turnaround is credited to giving kids who weren’t playing at other schools an opportunity to play. Many are kids who hadn’t even played before. But at Westwood, they have learned the basics of the game and have come together as one of the county’s top small-school programs this year.

“They’re all people looking for a chance to play,” Padron said. “We’ve worked extremely hard on fundamentals. They know the game well and come ready to play every day.”

Padron calls his team “a smart ballclub” that doesn’t get phased and takes a one-game-at-a-time approach.

The team has wins against programs of higher classes, including Westminster Christian (3A), Mater Lakes (3A) and St. Brendan (4A).

On the mound, the Warriors are led by Danny Garcia, who is 7-2 with a 2.64 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 58.1 innings. Behind him is Nestor Lorenzo, who is 5-2 with a 3.37 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 45.2 innings.

Westwood features five players batting above .400: Luis Padron (.480), Alex Hernandez (.473, 29 RBI, 21 runs), J.C. Cardenas (.467, 31 RBI, 28 runs), Anthony Penas (.459, 20 runs, 19 RBI) and Jose Suarez (.419, 28 runs, 28 RBI).

“We’re just good up the middle and very well balanced,” coach Padron said. “We hit the ball where its thrown. We got some guys who can hit the ball far.”

Beyond the numbers is another story, the story of getting players to the next level. That’s the main goal of coach Padron.

Six seniors have committed to colleges. They include including shortstop Cardenas (Barry), left fielder Hernandez (Coker) and right fielder Ariel Bello (Deans). Three have committed to NAIA Northwestern Ohio: Lorenzo and catchers Josh Cedeno and Lazaro Martinez.

“That’s how we measure success for us,” Padron said. “It’s just a bonus that we won districts and regionals. Now, we’re looking to win state one game at a time.”

Another team that has been somewhat of a surprise this season is Monsignor Pace because of how young the team is. With only six seniors, only one of whom is a starter (Tony Davila), the Spartans are living up to the program’s tradition of strong baseball and are trying for their first state title since the Spartans won it in 2006.

Coach Tom Duffin calls the team’s 22-7 year “a pleasant surprise.”

“The kids have worked extremely hard to get here,” he said. “It’s been a tough road, a tough schedule. For them to start off the season 0-3 and a little shaky and turn it around, it showed a lot of maturity even though we’re a pretty young team. They took their lumps early on and they kept plugging away and positive things happened for them.”

On the mound, Alex Perez is the team’s ace with an 8-1 record and a 1.29 ERA with 77 strikeouts in 59.1 innings. Raphael Vasquez is the number two, going 6-1 with a 1.31 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 42.2 innings. Aaron Soto and Jonathan Hernandez each are 4-1.

“Pitching depth has kept us in most ball games, and a desire to get better every day, not settling for mediocracy,” Duffin said.

At the plate, Davila leads the team with a .560 average, 23 RBI and 19 runs.

“He broke his wrist last year and missed his whole summer rehabbing,” Duffin said. “For him to go out there and earn himself a scholarship and all the accolades that are coming, all that is wonderful. He’s the one guy who carries us offensively even when he’s struggling.”

David Palenzuela is batting .488 with 31 runs and 17 RBI. He also has a team-high 11 doubles.

“Palenzuela one of the most pure hitters you’ll see,” Duffin said. “He’s got tremendous power. He hit almost .500 as a sophomore.”

Brandon Gomez also is among the offensive leaders, hitting .380 with 21 runs and 18 RBI.

In Class 8A, Columbus is back at state for the first time since 2009 when it lost in the final to Tampa Alonso. The Explorers (26-4) are trying to win their first state title since 2003.

Columbus reached the state tournament by no-hitting Hialeah in the regional finals May 11. Explorers ace Mike Vinson and Yency Almonte combined on the no-no.

Pitching depth is a big plus for Columbus. Vinson is undefeated at 8-0 with 80 strikeouts and a 0.98 ERA in 64 innings. Almonte is 7-3 with 54 strikeouts and a 1.57 ERA in 44 innings, and Louis Collazo is 6-1 with 55 strikeouts and a 1.03 ERA in 47 innings.

At the plate, the big sticks are Danny Lynch (.365, 23 runs, 19 RBI) and Frank Navarrete (.363, 22 runs, 15 RBI). Lazaro Rivera has scored 28 runs and driven in 21. Vinson has helped his cause with 19 RBI and 16 runs.

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