8A-15 Preview: Ready For A Pitched Battle

8A-15

Host: Columbus High School

Tuesday, April 23rd

3:30 – Game 1 – (5) South Miami vs. (4) Southwest
6:30 – Game 2 – (6) Braddock vs. (3) Sunset

Wednesday, April 24th

3:30 – Game 3 – Game 2 winner vs. (2) Ferguson
6:30 – Game 4 – Game 1 winner vs. (1) Columbus

Friday, April 26th

6:30 – Championship – Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner

Full stats for 8A-15 can be found on the 8A-15 Stats Page!

Overview – There is little question that Columbus enters the district 8A-15 playoffs as the team to beat, which is a distinction the team has earned after securing the top seed for the second season in a row. Columbus also is coming off a season in which it finished as the Class 8A runner up.

But that’s not to say this one is in the books by any means, a fact that has been highlighted all season by the tough way the other teams in the district have battled with the Explorers this year, as well as with one another.

Columbus Manager Joe Weber always looks to play the toughest competition he can find each season to prepare for the playoffs, and this season he has not had to look farther then his own district.

Ferguson earned the other first-round bye, putting the Falcons one win away from a chance to unseat the Explorers in their chase to defend the district crown.

As is often the case when teams play two games so close together, ultimately it will be decided by which squads can muster enough pitching for the two, or in some cases three, games it takes to win the district. But in this case that only presents a level playing field, as pitching has been the strength for most of these clubs.

As has already been the case this year without seemingly every 8A-15 contest, the district playoffs figure to provide some low-scoring games with outcomes coming right down to the end.

1. Columbus – The layout is perfectly set for the Explorers to repeat as 8A-15 champions, as the hosts of the district tournament this season.

Columbus has again earned the top seed and subsequent first-round bye that accompanies that, meaning it needs only win one game just to reach the title game. Coupled with that is the fact the team is 9-1 at home this season, including 4-1 in its district match ups.

That lone 8A-15 loss came to Sunset, one of two teams to defeat Columbus in district play this season. The other is Ferguson, and neither team would face the Explorers again until the district championship, should both sides advance that far.

The only surety is that the Explorers will not face Southwest again in the 8A-15 finals, as the Eagles would face them in the semifinals should they advance past Braddock in their quarterfinal contest.

But when you are the top seed, you do not look back and instead let them look up at the beast they must slay to win that coveted district trophy. This distinction has been earned after the Explorers have gone 21-3 in the district over the past two seasons.

Last season Columbus fell just short of its second state title in school history, and it returns a deep team more than capable of making such a playoff run again in 2013.

Leading the way is a pair of right-handed aces in Bryan Garcia and Christian Lesteiro. The University of Miami-bound Garcia has five complete games this season, with a 4-1 strikeout to walk ratio. Both pitchers have seen the bulk of the innings this year, and have combined to record well over 100 strikeouts.

Offensively the team is right in par with its pitching; with a team batting average that has hovered right around .350 all season and an on-base percentage that is right near an eye-popping .500 percent. Fellow UM signee Laz Rivera and Lehigh-bound Eddy Rodriguez are just a few of the sluggers in a lineup nine deep.

Future Duke Blue Devil Cris Perez and Ryan Alvarez share the team lead in home runs with four apiece, and Alvarez picked up half of those in one game this season.

2. Ferguson – Following a dramatic six-run rally for an extra-inning victory over Columbus earlier this month Falcons Manager Jose Novas said that they play in a district where anybody can beat anybody.

This is the important fact for Ferguson to remember on both sides of the coin heading into the district playoffs.

The team has earned a very coveted positioning with the second seed, putting it one game away from the district championship. Should the Falcons win one district playoff game, they are also back in the regional tournament for the first time since 2010, when they made it to the Class 6A regional semifinals.

But just as they have stated themselves, winning against these teams is easier said than done. Just as much as Ferguson knows it can play and beat any team in the district, it knows these teams feel the same way about them.

The Falcons await the winner of the quarterfinal contest between South Miami and Southwest, and regardless of which team survives they have beaten both twice already this year.

But it is also a difficult task to beat a team three times in a season. Fortunately, Ferguson has been up to the task all season.

Senior pitcher Victor Morrell has led the Falcons on the mound this season, pitching the bulk of the innings to carry the team on his back. Anthony Carra has also put in solid innings as the team’s number two, and his success will be crucial for the team in the postseason.

Offensively, the team has excelled at getting on base and scoring runs. Anthony Tucker has gotten aboard more than half the time he has gone to the plate, which has also helped him be among the team leaders in runs scored.

Christopher Bec and Chris Medina have also carried the big bats for the Falcons, and an excellent sign of how well the team has executed at putting the ball in play is exemplified by the fact that Bec has only struck out four times in 70 at bats this year.

Ferguson has never won a state title since it began play in 2003, but if it can survive this tough district it certainly has the potential to change that this year.

3. Sunset – It has been a strong showing for the Knights in 2013, and the team figures to be a heavy favorite in its opening game in the 8A-15 playoffs against South Miami after beating them twice during the regular season.

Should the team advance as expected, it would face a Ferguson team at the two-seed that it just beat 6-4 les then two weeks ago, and that it also shutout 7-0 earlier in the year.

If ever there were a team capable not only of upsetting either of the top two seeds for the district crown, but also of making a deep playoff run, the Knights are that team.

Sunset has executed well on both sides of the field this year, hitting for lots of power to the tune of more than a dozen home runs as a team, while showcasing three pitchers with an ERA under 2.00.

Sophomore Danny Diaz has emerged as the ace on the club, throwing some big innings against the team’s toughest opposition and picking up several important victories along the way. The soft-throwing lefty has gone the distance in more than half of his starts this year, and frustrates batters with a barrage of off-speed pitches.

Right-hander Austin Comesanas has also been a solid contributor, and Jeremy Sinski has been incredibly consistent coming out of the pen.

Eight different players have gone deep for the Knights already this season, highlighting the power and skill that the lineup provides. As a unit the team has also batted around .350 for the season, led by sluggers Michael Paez, Michael Centeno and Danilo De Armas.

District 8A-15 is a tough bracket to survive out of, and each game figures to be very close accordingly. Should this ring true, the Knghts enter the district tournament with the comfort of knowing they have gone 6-3 in games decided by two runs or less this year.

4. Southwest – The Eagles know just what type of a dogfight they are in for if they want to repeat as one of the two teams to advance from this district again this season.

The Eagles finished as the 8A-15 runner ups last year to advance to the first-ever Class 8A regional playoffs, and to return there again this season they must first defeat a team for the third time.

Southwest defeated South Miami 6-4 and 4-0 this year, two close contests that leave no question that the third meeting between these two teams this year should also provide a spectacular and close finish.

Should Southwest take care of business in the opening round, they will then have the tables reversed on them as the team will try to beat Columbus for the first time in five tries since the two joined 8A-15 at the start of last season.

Pitching has been the strength of this ballclub, with Perera leading the way with an ERA just over 1.00. Chris Mourelle is a nice counterpart as the team leader in innings pitched and strikeouts, and having two reliable pitchers give Southwest a great opportunity to find its way back into the regional playoffs.

The bats have been less trustworthy throughout the year, as the team has hit well under .300 for the year. Danny Casals and Carlos Pena have been the leaders offensively, and both are tied for the team lead in doubles.

The Eagles have hit for decent power on the year, with 10 home runs as a club. If the pitching holds up and one of their sluggers gets ahold of a pitch well enough, it could just be enough to lead the Eagles back down the path that it forged last season.

5. South Miami – It is a tough road to the playoffs for the Cobras, needing two victories to earn a regional playoff berth and three victories to win the coveted district trophy.

But first and foremost, the team must end a three-game losing streak to the Eagles. South Miami has been outscored 13-6 over the past three match ups since a 6-2 victory over Southwest more than a year ago.

It’s a difficult task, but not impossible.

Under first-year Manager Dennis Pujals, South Miami has quietly shown nice improvement this year, particularly in its district games. The Cobras have played nearly every district tilt close, meaning their playoff contests should likely be more of the same. The team has done best when it has gotten good pitching and manufactured a few runs, as nearly every one of its victories came in a low-scoring affair.

Ernesto Romero has emerged as the go-to guy on the mound for the Cobras, pitching well down the stretch in big district games with a pair of complete-game performances.

Ricky De Armas and Armani Medina have been the offensive leaders for the club, and Christian Crespo has also provided plenty of pop in his bat.

Should the Cobras manage the upset victory over Southwest, they would next face a Ferguson team that they have lost two close games to this season.

6. Braddock – This season has not gone according to expectations for Bulldogs first-year Manager Victor Montalvo.

Braddock struggled against district opponents this season, which included a tough loss to Sunset early in the year, the team who it will play in the opening round of the 8A-15 playoffs.

The encouraging part for the Bulldogs comes in knowing they bounced back for a 7-6 victory over the Knights the second time around to split the season series.

For its season to continue, Braddock must make it two in a row.

The Bulldogs have hit well as a unit this year, batting well over .300 as a team while also slugging around .450 all season. Anthony Alvarez and Albert Rafael have led a deep lineup this season, a lineup that also features sluggers such as Ivan Nunez, Brian Hernandez, Gaby Mundo and Willie Padron.

The rotation has been more of an area of concern for the Bulldogs, with a team ERA over 4.00 for the year. Junior right-hander Anthony Baldrich has emerged as the most reliable arm, leading the team in wins and strikeouts.

All year long Montalvo has wondered when the team would click and play to the full potential of their vast talents. The Bulldogs exhibited flashes of such with a strong showing in the Selective Recruiting/Sir Pizza Spring Break Invitational, going 3-1 against some of the top competition in South Florida.

But if ever there were a time for it to happen, that time has arrived.

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