Columbus Rallies In Extra Innings To Beat Killian

Columbus second baseman Pablo De Armas felt a lot of pressure to come through for his team.

He blamed himself for putting them in their situation, after he failed to make a play on a ground ball that allowed Killian to rally and force extra innings.

But with the bases loaded in the top of the eighth, De Armas redeemed himself with a big two-RBI single that led his team to victory.

Columbus caught fire from there to pull away for an 11-3 victory over Killian, in the third day of exciting action in the Selective Recruiting- Sir Pizza Invitational played Wednesday night at Paul Demie Mainieri Field at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens.

“I just tried to stay through the ball and go to the opposite field like I have been,” said De Armas. “I tried to stay back because his curveball was good. I sat on a fastball and went the other way with it. It feels great; the team came up big for us.”

After Christian Garabedian singled and both Nelson Mompierre and Kevin Suarez walked to load the bases, De Armas lined a single down the first base line to plate two runners.

The Explorers (12-3) got hot after that, sending 12 batters to the plate in the inning while pounding out seven hits that resulted in eight runs in all.

Garabedian and Mompierre had consecutive doubles their second time up in the inning, and both finished the game 2-for-3.

“It was a shame the wheels fell off in the eighth, because it was another great game with them,” Killian Manager Angel Herrera said.

Coming into the contest, both teams had gone 2-0 in the tournament thus far and were playing knowing they had the chance to play in Saturday’s championship at the University of Miami.

“It was a great game, just a great game to watch,” said De Armas. “This could have been the championship.”

When Columbus Manager Joe Weber agreed to participate in the tournament, he did so simply looking for great competition that would help get his team ready for the big games in April and May.

“When I got into this I asked them to find me the three toughest teams you can give me,” Weber admitted. “That’s how we’re going to get better. Whenever we play Killian it is a battle, so we’re very pleased with how we’re playing right now.”

Wednesday’s victory comes a night after knocking off previously-unbeaten and nationally-ranked Jupiter in another eight inning marathon.

“Anytime you go into extra innings and you come out ahead two nights in a row, you’re feeling pretty confident right now,” Weber said. “Confidence in this game is everything. If you feel confident at the plate or feel confident on the mound, you’re going to get that hit and you’re going to make that pitch. I love that we’re feeling confident and we’re playing pretty well right now.”

The Explorers improved to 3-0 in the tournament, but fell short for a bid to play in the championship only due to criteria from overall runs allowed. They will play Dwyer (8-7) Saturday afternoon, after the Panthers also went 3-0 thus far.

Killian (12-5-1) will play Friday night against Mater Academy (14-1).

“This is an amazing tournament, with some amazing teams,” Herrera said. “It’s a great opportunity to match up against some of the better teams in South Florida, to see where we need to improve at. Our guys have grown accustomed to playing in these types of games, and I felt our boys stepped up to the plate.”

Trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh, Killian rallied behind their leaders to tie it up and keep playing.

Senior Mike Perez led off the inning with a single up the middle, and two batters later Ryan Sabbag lined a shot that hit at the feet of Pablo De Armas and then bounced high over his shoulder to put runners on the corners and move Perez within ninety feet of home.

Joey Gonzalez then completed the come back by driving a pitch deep enough to right field for Perez to tag up and score on the sacrifice flyout.

Perez finished 3-for-5, including an RBI double in the first inning that put Killian up early on. He also started the game on the mound, allowing two earned runs on three hits and seven walks over five innings, while picking up five strikeouts.

Earning the win on the mound Wednesday was right-hander Christian Lesteiro. The senior threw 122 pitches over seven full innings, and although he allowed nine hits and issued three walks he was able to limit the damage to just three earned runs.

He also struck out 12 to increase his season total to 31 strikeouts, while improving to 3-0.

Senior righty Alex Gonzalez closed out the final frame by striking out the side amidst a pair of singles he allowed to Perez and catcher Nick Mira.

Mira went 2-for-5 with a triple.

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