8A-14 Preview: Up For Grabs

8A-14
Host: Miami Beach (Flamingo Park)

Tuesday, April 23rd

4PM – Game 1 – (3) Goleman vs. (2) Reagan
7PM – Game 2 – (4) Miami Springs vs. (1) Coral Gables

Wednesday, April 24th

Rain Date

Thursday, April 25th

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

Full stats for 8A-14 can be found on the 8A-14 Stats Page!

Overview – Some of the most competitive teams in the county are housed in this district. These teams are not afraid to take on the best in the county as it only helps them be better prepared to do battle with each other. Last year’s champion, Goleman, is the third seed this year, as Coral Gables emerged as the top seed followed by Reagan. Miami Springs could be a sleeper. Fans should be treated to some spirited games when the action begins Tuesday.

1. Coral Gables – With a 9-1 mark in their district, the Cavaliers have dominated their district foes this season. The only loss was to Goleman, 4-1 on Feb. 21. The 9-1 record is slightly better than last year’s 8-2 mark, and the Cavs also will be looking to do better than last year in the regional playoffs. They finished as the district runner-up and lost to Hialeah in a semifinal. So this year’s chief goal is to first win the district and then go on further than the regional semifinal.

To help prepare for the postseason, Coral Gables has played a slew of top teams down the stretch. Gables lost to Hialeah — the same team that ended its season last year — 5-2 on April 6, before turning around and beating Florida Christian 12-7 on April 9 and then losing to South Dade 7-4 on April 10 and American 5-4 on Monday. So the Cavs are battle-tested if nothing else.

Coral Gables has kept things close in several games this year, playing teams to within two runs 11 times. They Cavs won six of those matchups, so Gables knows how to win the close game.

As a team, Gables is hitting .297 and there are four hitters who are batting .300 or above – Yoan Gonzalez, Elih Marrero, Kelvin Nunez and Coco Montes. Montes has scored at least 17 runs to lead the team. Marrero leads in RBIs with at least 17.

The Cavs, who boast the district leader in stolen bases (Raymond Gonzalez, 16), have spread their pitching around to five players mainly — Christopher Viera, JeanCarlo Rodriguez, Orlando Rodriguez, Jose Padron and Tyler Santana. Viera leads the staff, logging around 40 innings with at least four wins. JeanCarlo Rodriguez and Orlando Rodriguez have won at least three games. Padron’s ERA around 1.30 leads the district.

No one is a strikeout king on this staff as three of the pitchers have strikeout totals below 30. The team total is around 110, and the team ERA is around 3.30.

2. Reagan – The Second-seeded Bison produced a 7-3 district mark. Two of those losses were to Coral Gables — 3-1 on March 5 and 9-7 on April 2. The Bison also lost to Miami Springs 11-6 on February 21.

The Bison are hoping for a better finish than last year when they fell in the district semifinals 8-2 to Coral Gables. Reagan opens the district playoffs against Goleman, a team it has beaten 6-0 and 2-1 in the regular season.

Reagan hasn’t shied away from tough competition this season, as its non-district slate has included TERRA, American, Doral, Mater Lakes Academy, Ferguson, Westwood Christian and South Dade. Reagan won just one of those matchups, beating Ferguson 8-5 on March 8.

Hitting is a team strength of Reagan as players are hitting .350 or better. Sergio Santana and Joe Diaz lead with a batting average around .375. Paul Menendez is hitting around .365 and Yoandry Perez about .360. Santana has scored at least 23 runs and Rincon about 21. Diaz has driven in at least 21, and Santana and Menendez have brought in at least 17.

On the mound, Reagan has relied on five players mostly — Arturo Rincon, Luis Rincon, Carlos Mancilla, Raul Cortes and Steven Feierbend. Arturo Rincon has pitched the most innings, around 46, and also is tops in the district in strikeouts with about 38. Luis Rincon, who has won at least five games, boasts and ERA around 1.50.

If Reagan reaches the regionals this year, it will be a first for the school. All the tools are in place to make that happen as the Bison has made it through a tough schedule with a winning record and is ready to do battle in the playoffs.

3. Goleman – The Gators are the defending district champions, but this year, they find themselves as the third seed for the district tournament. Goleman posted a district record of 6-4, losing twice to Reagan and once each to Coral Gables and Miami Springs.

The Gators have been successful this season with non-district opponent and have beaten some of the top teams in the county. Goleman beat Miami Sunset 4-2, Hialeah 2-1, Mater Lakes Academy 7-6 and American 3-2. Knowing they can beat top teams and survive close games against good competition should have the Gators believing going into their first-round match against Reagan, a team that has allowed them just one run in two games this season.

If the Gators reach the district final, they’ll be keeping up with history as the team has been in a regional every year but on since 1999. Goleman will be seeking to return to state for the first time since 2008 when they lost in the state semifinal 11-0 to Lake Brantley.

Hitting is an area the Gators have generally done well in this season, with a team batting average around .320. The Gators boast seven players hitting above .300. Leading the pack is Erik Delgado, whose average is just under .400. Jose Santos, Joshua Guia, Cory Garrastazu, Jonathan Jhones, Kevin Gomez and Javier Perdomo round out the list of .300-plus hitters.

The Gators have used six pitchers mainly this year, but have relied heavily on Sean Carrasco, who has throw more than 50 innings and won five games. His ERA is around a 1.85 and he has struck out more than 30. Jonathan Aguiar has won at least four games and thrown more than 30 innings with more than 30 strikeouts and an ERA around 1.60.

4. Miami Springs – Miami Springs rounds out the district tournament competition as the fourth seed, finishing with a 6-4 record as well as a winning mark overall against some solid competition. Springs has played some of the most formidable teams in the county. Springs started the season competing in the Florida Christian Tournament where it faced traditional powers Gulliver Prep and Florida Christian. Through the Golden Hawks lost, they gained good experience.

Springs competed in the Sunshine Classic tournament over Spring Break and won a few games there. The Golden Hawks beat Hialeah 6-4 and lost to Brito 9-7.

Springs is hoping to get back to the regionals for the first time since 2009 when it went 1-1.

To help accomplish that goal, the Golden Hawks will be counting on the hitting that has helped them go above .500 this year. Top hitters include Juan Kirk (around .555), Madison Kreitner (around .385), Emmanuel Alfaro (around .325) and Julio Mendez (around .320). Kirk leads in RBIs with 19 and Domingo Cedano leads in runs with 17.

Nick Bello leads the pitching staff, winning at least six games with more than 40 innings and around 30 strikeouts. Nayit Napoles and Alex Iruela also have pitched more than 20 innings this season.

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