Patriots Rally Past Warriors 4-2 In Thrilling GOTW

As Milton Ramos rounded first base he looked out to center field where he had just crushed the ball, and when he realized it was going to stay in the yard he decided he would try to stretch it out for a triple instead.

Either way, the damage was done.

Thus another exciting chapter in the storied rivalry between Florida Christian and Westminster Christian went down in the books, as the host Patriots came back for a thrilling 4-2 victory over the Warriors in the HSBN Game of the Week played at Patriot Field in Olympia Heights Friday night.

“It’s a great feeling,” Ramos said about his big hit. “My team gets excited and I get excited. It pumps up the other batters and we get the job done. We waited all week to play. It’s Friday, it’s a big night, it’s a great night out here to play baseball and I loved it.”

The Game of the Week concept was created by HSBN with the intention of raising money for the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundation, while also giving fans something to get excited about each week. Taking the field Friday night were two teams with a combined 12 Florida state titles between them, two of Miami-Dade’s most accomplished programs renewing a rivalry that goes back generations.

Meanwhile, the last time these two teams played it had been the Patriots (7-3) celebrating on Westminster Christian’s field with a big win in the 2012 District 3A-16 championship.

“This is a big rivalry. If you can’t get pumped up for this game, then I don’t know what can get you pumped up,” said Patriots winning pitcher Andrew George.

Florida Christian improves to 3-0 in 3A-16, while the Warriors (4-5-1) drop to 3-1 in the district.

But this was one victory that was far from easy.

Trailing 2-1 with one out in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Patriots turned the lineup back over to leadoff hitter Mike Tosar. The second baseman singled to left field, then came around to tie the score when Ruben Someilian stroked a double to the left field corner.

“We tell them to just keep digging,” Florida Christian Manager Chris Brigman said. “Good things are going to happen. The last two times we’ve been in that position we’ve found a way. We get guys on, we find a way to get them over and then get them in.”

When the team went ahead and had Ramos ninety feet from home plate, the Patriots did exactly that as designated hitter Michael Fernandez dropped down a perfect bunt on a suicide-squeeze that secured the hosts with a coveted insurance run.

“When we get into a game with them, it’s always going to be a battle. It’s going to be which team is going to dig it out a little more,” Westminster Christian Manager Emil Castellanos said. “They had a good inning and they put three on the board on us there.”

Friday’s success comes as even greater reward for Tosar as he solidifies his leadoff role on the team.

Recently the Patriots coaching staff had made a switch to put Tosar into the leadoff spot, and according to Brigman they have been very happy with the way it has settled their entire lineup ever since.

“Milton Ramos has a big stick, so basically my job is to work the pitcher and get on for him, then hopefully Ruben can move me over and Milton can bring me in,” Tosar said, after going 2-for-3 on the day. “It’s what we practice all week and it played out good today. The ball looked like a watermelon out there and I was just trying to square up on it.”

Fernandez also had an RBI double that scored Someilian in the third inning on a deep shot that actually sent two runners home as well as Fernandez, before the hit was ruled a ground-rule double that put runners on second and third and left Florida Christian still trailing at 2-1.

Fernandez went 2-for-2 in the contest, and Someilian was 2-for-3.

After taking over for starter Chris Pelaez in the fifth inning, the Patriots lefty reliever George closed out the final three frames to earn the victory and improve to 3-0 on the season.

Yet even as the Warriors began to run out of chances against him, the senior knew what a potent and dangerous lineup he was facing.

“Our motivation every time is to get three outs,” George said. “Last year we lost in the playoffs on the last three outs. That’s when you have to bare down and trust your talent. We’ve got a lot of talent on this club and we believe we can make it.”

George allowed a hit and a walk while striking out three, raising his team-leading total to 23 on the season.

Making his second start of the year, Pelaez worked four solid innings while allowing two runs on a pair of hits and three walks. The senior left-hander’s strongest inning was his last, as he struck out the side swinging in the fourth to finish with eight strikeouts overall.

“The bottom line is they’ve got two guys on the mound who are Division One pitchers,” Castellanos said. “You’ve got to capitalize on those guys. We had them early; we scored some runs on them and had them on the ropes. We just didn’t score that final punch.”

Westminster Christian jumped on the board with the early 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning, as its own leadoff hitter wrecked havoc on the opposition to get things started.

After catcher Elliot Cutillas drew a walk and gave way to courtesy-runner Brandon Valls to open the frame, Warriors leadoff man John Gonzalez helped make things interesting.

Valls advanced to second base on a wild pitch, which prompted Gonzalez to show for a bunt that brought the infield defense in. But after waiting on a few pitches, Gonzalez switched off at the last second and slapped a pitch into “no-mans land” in center field to easily bring Valls around third and home for the game’s first run.

The Warriors offense came into the game hitting over .400 on the season, showcasing power-hitting up and down the lineup with 10 home runs as a unit.

But against the Patriots two lefties Westminster Christian could muster only one more run on this night, as second baseman John Ruiz belted a shot that went off the left field wall for an RBI double that scored Gonzalez.

Gonzalez led the offense by going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases to account for more than half of the team’s total offensive production.

“It’s a tough loss,” Castellanos said. “We’ve been hyping it up all week as the Game of the Week and it was very exciting for us to get out here. Every time we play them it’s going to be a big game with an exciting crowd. It’s a big rivalry or us as programs and as players.”

Both defenses certainly played with the intensity of rivals, as players were constantly making diving plays on hard hits.

John Gonzalez stretched out for a tough diving catch to end the first inning for the Warriors while stranding a runner, and Patriots right fielder Erik Montero made a similar catch on a shot off of the bat of Julian Infante in the sixth inning.

One play after Warriors shortstop had a throwing error in the third inning on a play at first for the team’s only error, the senior immediately redeemed himself by sliding across the infield dirt to snare a liner up the middle before quickly stepping on second base and then throwing to first base for the double play.

But on this night, in the end it was the pitching that made the biggest difference.

With Florida Christian set to host the 3A-16 district playoffs this season, Castellanos was happy that his team now had a chance to get in a game on the field against the team that they have the greatest chance of facing there again.

“It’s always going to be a dogfight against them,” Castellanos said. “When the time comes, we’ll be ready for them again.”

As anyone who is a fan of the Rocky movies or is a fan of these two baseball teams already knows, there is always at least one more round to go.

“The roles were kind of reversed a year ago,” Brigman said. “We had some success in the district tournament, and now we get a chance to defend our home field. It’s a good place to play and any time we play here we like our chances.”

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