8A-13 Playoff Preview: Group A And Group B

8A-13
Host: Hialeah Gardens (Westland Gardens Park)

Tuesday, April 23rd

4PM – Game 1 – (3) Hialeah Gardens vs. (2) Hialeah
7PM – Game 2 – (4) Dr. Krop vs. (1) American

Wednesday, April 24th

Rain Date

Thursday, April 25th

7PM – Championship – Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner

Full stats for 8A-13 can be found on the 8A-13 Stats Page!

Overview – This district featured fives teams, three of whom are clearly separated from the other two.

American and Hialeah are the favorites to make the championship game as they have identical 7-1 district records, while two of their opponents — Dr. Krop and Hialeah Gardens — are a distant third and fourth with 3-5 records. North Miami Beach, which did not make the playoffs, was 0-8 during the season.

A district final matchup of Hialeah and American would be interesting because the teams have split with each other during the regular season and are the only loss for one another in the district.

One can’t totally count out Dr. Krop and Hialeah Gardens, and their fine group of players will strive to win at least one more game. That’s why you play the game.

1. American – The Patriots turned around a sub-.500 season last year to become one of the top teams in the county this year. They started the year with an eight-game winning streak before the other American Patriots — American Heritage-Plantation — cooled their jets with an 8-1 loss.

American beat Hialeah and Monsignor Pace during that opening run but lost to the Thoroughbreds in a second matchup and also fell to other top teams such as Columbus, Ferguson, Killian and Columbus. The loss to Hialeah was the only one in the district this year for the Patriots, who are coming on strong going into the playoffs having beaten Westwood Christian, Coral Gables and Ferguson.

The Patriots are eager to get back to the regional playoffs after missing out last season because they lost in the district semifinal. American had made the regionals for five consecutive seasons before that, reaching the state semifinals in 2010.

With a team batting average around .345, the Patriots haven’t had much trouble with offense this year. Seven players are hitting .340 or better, with four of those above .400. Leading the way is Kendrick Gutierrez, who is hitting around .520 with at least 44 hits. He’s scored at least 22 runs and drive in at least 25, leading the team.

Edison Cabrera is hitting around .470 and Eric Gonzalez around .460 with a team-leading amount of runs of at least 25. Kevin Williams is batting just over .400.

American has five main pitchers, with Andy Figueroa leading the way. He’s won at least four games, thrown at least 34 innings and has an ERA around 1.60. William Penelas has thrown at 28 innings and won a few games. Kevin Peraza, Ronnie Williams and Samuel Candanoza are the other main pitchers.

2. Hialeah – Hialeah is right behind the American and has the same district record as the Patriots at 7-1, but lost out on the top spot because of tiebreaker scenarios.

Hialeah opens the district playoffs against Hialeah Gardens, whom the Thoroughbreds outscored 16-1 this year.

Hialeah has played some of the best teams in the county this season and generally has held its own against them. Big wins include Killian, Coral Gables, Florida Christian and Goleman. Hialeah reached the championship of the Sunshine Classic during Spring Break but fell 2-1 to Charlotte Christian, a powerhouse from North Carolina.

The Thoroughbreds are a regional playoff staple with 18 appearances in the past 20 years. That run includes five state final-four appearances and two state titles (2001 and 2002 under Rich Bielski). Hialeah lost 1-0 to Columbus in last year’s regional final.

Hialeah boasts seven players hitting above .300 — Alian Silva (about .410), Nestor Cortes (about .390), Henry Perez (about .355), Alex Miret (about .346), Kevin Betancourt and Jonathan Diaz (about .340), and Robert Carmona (about .310).

Hialeah features three pitchers who would be number ones anywhere. Nestor Cortes and Adan Gutierrez have won about four games each and thrown about 40 innings and Alexis Herrera is close behind around 35 innings and a team-leading six wins. Cortes has at least 75 strikeouts, and Gutierrez and Herrera are around 50. Their average ERA is around 1.40.

3. Hialeah Gardens – The Gladiators have won just three of their eight district games and eight overall. The district wins came against North Miami Beach (twice) and Dr. Krop (once).

Hialeah Gardens has faced some of the best in the county this season and played some of those games close. The Gladiators lost by a run to Mater Academy (13-12) and Miami Brito (8-7).

Wednesday’s 13-0 win over Norland snapped an eight-game losing streak and gives the Gladiators momentum heading into Tuesday’s semifinal against Hialeah, to whom the Gladiators have lost twice.

Hialeah Gardens made the regional playoffs for the first time last season and will have to be at the top of their game to get back there this year.

The Gladiators are strong in hitting with nine batters having averages above .300. Ryan Perez is hitting around .463 and Pedro Ravelo is just above .400 to lead the group. Richard Abreu is right around .375 and Alejandro Piedra around .350.

Gary Garcia has at least 17 run to lead the team in that category. He and David Lara also have drive in a team-leading 13 runs.

Chris Suarez and Eddy Nodarse are top pitchers.

4. Dr. Krop – It’s been a tough season for the Lightning, who have struggled with consistency all season. They haven’t been able to win more than two games at a time, and have no signature wins.

Still, Dr. Krop has put forth a strong effort against some tough district opponents, finishing with a 3-5 record. They beat North Miami Beach twice and Hialeah Gardens once. Krop fought hard against Hialeah in a 6-5 loss March 12.

The Lightning are hoping to pull an upset Tuesday against top-seeded American. Should Dr. Krop win, it will be the first time the Lightning are in a regional game since 2007.

Jake Norman, who is hitting around .350, leads the offense, and is followed closely by Moises Flores, who’s batting around .320.

Norman is leading the team in RBIs with at least 18, and Ian Santana has scored at least 15 runs, also leading the team.

Leave a comment using your facebook account!