LaSalle Beats ‘A’-Game TERRA Squad For 4A-15 Title

When a team is faced with the prospects of being the favorite against an upstart program that just took out the defending district champs, sometimes attention span can be a problem. For LaSalle, they were facing a TERRA team that the Lions had already handled twice this season, but Manager Oscar Benitez knew his team was in for a battle.

“Hats off to TERRA. They came to play baseball. This team (TERRA) just keeps coming,” said Benitez. “I told my guys at practice, ‘Do not take this team lightly.'”

Early on in their district final game, that is exactly what the Lions did. TERRA, fresh off their upset of top-seeded Doral, scored a run in the first, and missed several opportunities to extend the lead. The Lions eventually woke up, and went on to a 7-2 victory, capturing the district title in the process.

Sergio Miyares was given the championship game mound assignment for LaSalle, and he responded with a strong six-inning performance. Although Miyares had to escape several early jams, and did not have his best stuff for much of the night, he still only allowed one earned run to the Wolves.

“Just a great performance,” said Benitez. “He just kept battling, and kept battling. That’s the sign of a great pitcher. A great pitcher, when things are not going well, they’ll still find a way to win, and Sergio did that tonight.”

The toughest inning of the night for Miyares was the first. The Wolves’ Yasser Santana led off the game with a double, and scored on a Rueben Pino base hit. Alex Saavedra was hit by a pitch, and Ozzie Millet walked, loading the bases.

Miyares, however, was able to escape the jam with a strikeout and a pop out to first.

The Lions answered in their half of the first when Yordan Piedra was hit by a pitch leading off the inning. Nick Canino dropped a bunt that went for a single. A double steal and a throwing error scored Piedra, tying the score at one.

In the third, Piedra and Canino were again at the center of a rally. Piedra walked, and Canino drove him in with a double. Canino was thrown out trying to stretch the double into a triple. Elier Rodriguez promptly doubled, and came around to score on an error.

The score stayed 3-1 until the fifth, when Canino, who reached base four times, led off with a walk. A wild pitch moved him into scoring position, and after Mike Avila was intentionally walked, both scored on a fielding error.

With the score 5-1, the Lions tacked on two more in the sixth, and with a 7-1 lead turned the ball over to Anders Gutierrez.

“I know we have an offense that can score runs, so once we got going, it was much easier for me to do my job on the mound,” said Miyares.

As Benitez had warned, however, the Wolves were not going quietly into the night. Pino, Saavedra, and Millet all singled, increasing the stress level for Benitez and the Lions fans. Gutierrez then put an end to the comeback thoughts by striking out the final three batters he faced, and sending the Lions into celebration.

“We’ve lost the past two district titles losing by one run, so it is great to come out on the other side,” said Canino. “To play the way we did tonight, and come out with a victory and a district championship, it feels awesome.”

LaSalle will see a familiar foe in Gulliver Prep in the regional quarterfinals next week. Back on February 16th, the Lions lost to Gulliver 5-2, but that was at a time when LaSalle was struggling to find their identity.

“It took us a while to get players in the right spots this year,” said Benitez. “Having said that, we know our next game will be tough. Gulliver has a long history of winning. Tomorrow, we will think about that game, but tonight is about us, our coaches, players, parents, and our LaSalle family.”

On the other side of the field was TERRA Manager Hernan Adames, and while his team lost, the manager was smiling and excited to see what his young team has done, and where they are headed.

“To come from a 2-19 season last year, and in our second season make the district final, that is something these guys should be proud of,” said Adames. “We are basically a bunch of freshman and sophomores playing against juniors and seniors. We had our opportunities tonight, and you have to learn how to play and come through in this atmosphere and these types of games. We will go back to work at practice, and we’ll be ready to play next week.”

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