Westminster Builds Early Lead, Falls Late To Heritage

Great teams are always finding different ways to win games. Whether it be a big first inning, a couple of runs in the middle innings, good pitching, or timely hitting, there is always something that makes good teams great.

On Tuesday night, American Heritage did something they have not done yet in the Bruce Aven era as manager. The Patriots spotted Miami powerhouse Westminster Christian five runs in the first inning, then did what champions do. They battled and battled until a two-run double by Danny Zardon in the bottom of the sixth gave Heritage a 7-5 win in the Selective Recruiting Invitational.

“If you would have told me that they would have scored five runs in the first off of our ace, and that we would score five runs off that team, on a night like tonight, with the wind the way it was, I’d have told you you were crazy,” said Aven.

Ah yes, the elements, something South Florida teams rarely have to deal with, unless it is rain. On this night, however, with the temperature dropping and the wind gusting at times, the teams were tested.

Westminster answered the bell in the first when they put up five on Patriots starter Shaun Anderson. The first three batters reached base for the Warriors. John Gonzalez singled, Dakota Robbins walked, and John Ruiz hit an RBI single. After a strikeout, Cole Kreuter walked, and Yuri Sucart was hit by a pitch.

With the bases loaded, Tito Torres got a ball up into the wind that fell in for a single. With two outs, all three Warriors’ runners scored on the hit, completing the five-run inning.

“When you score five runs in the first, you expect to win the game,” said Warriors Manager Emil Castellanos. “But when you are playing against a great team, you never know.”

The Patriots started their comeback in the third. Lead-off hitter Brandon Diaz, who was in the middle of all three Heritage rallies on the night, reached on an error, and then stole second base. Diaz eventually scored the Patriots first run on a wild pitch.

In the fourth, Magglio Ordonez hit a one-out single, which was followed by back-to-back walks to David Villar and Chase Reyes. Diaz’ single drove in the second run of the game for Heritage. Zach Collins cut the lead to 5-3 with an RBI groundout. The Patriots then got their share of help from the wind when Zardon hit a fly ball to short center that could not be handled. It went as a two-run double, and suddenly the score was tied at five.

In the meantime, Anderson had settled down on the mound. After the five-run first, Anderson yielded only one more hit over the next five frames.

The score remained tied into the bottom of the sixth. A lead-off walk by Villar brought up Reyes in a bunting situation. Reyes popped the bunt up, and although it fell in between four Warriors, Westminster was still able to pick up the bunt and get the force out at second. After a second force out, Diaz stole second, which led to the Warriors intentionally walking Collins.

“I was just thinking walking to the plate that I was going to hit a shot somewhere,” said Zardon, who was on-deck when Collins was walked. “If they’re going to disrespect me by walking Zach, then I was going to show them why not to do that.”

And that Zardon did, driving a two-run double to left that drove in the eventual game-winners.

“Just a huge, huge at-bat from Danny,” said Aven. “I don’t think we’ve been down like that since I’ve been here. So for them to come back, especially with the conditions tonight, that was a great win.”

Heritage moves to 2-0 in the tournament, and will face county foe North Broward Prep today. A 3-0 record would give the Patriots a shot at reaching the championship game.

Westminster drops to 1-1 in the tournament, and will face Pompano this afternoon. Although the Warriors record dropped to 7-6-1, Castellanos knows that better days are ahead.

“The season is a marathon, not a sprint,” said the Warriors skipper. “Our record is not indicative right now of what kind of team we have. We still have a lot of good baseball to play this season, and we’ll be ready when the playoffs roll around.”

Leave a comment using your facebook account!