Mater Lakes Academy Wins Big To Repeat As District Champs

The Mater Lakes Academy Bears have dominated District 3A-15 all season and their play in the district championship game was no different.

Sparked by a big second inning, the Bears defeated the Dade Christian Crusaders 22-0 and secured their second straight district title Thursday afternoon in Miami Lakes.

“We played a complete game today, our pitching was solid, our defense was great, and our hitting was just on fire,” Bears Manager Cesar Temes said. “When we put it together like that it’s tough to beat us.”

Seniors Alex Lorenzo and Jonathan Flores hit home runs as a part of a 15-run second inning for the Bears (18-7-1). Third baseman Alex Lorenzo went 2-for-3 with three RBI, including a two-run homer to left field. Flores finished 2-for-3 with four RBIs, including a three-run homer in the same inning.

Junior Christian Calleja started on the mound for the Bears and he had little trouble with the Crusaders’ (10-17) offense, striking out four batters in three innings of work.

“We came out with a lot of intensity,” said catcher Alfreddi Ramos, who finished 2-for-2 with two RBIs and a double. “As soon as we got here our focus was on winning and with the guys we have, it was going to happen.”

For a young Dade Christian team, errors and a lack of pitching depth hurt their chances of pulling off the upset.

“Reggie [Rodriguez] has done a good job, it’s his first year here and the team’s a lot more competitive, they just ran out of pitching,” Temes said.

Dade Christian walked 12 batters and first-year manager Reggie Rodriguez was forced to use five different pitchers on the mound against Mater Lakes.

“If we put 11 guys on base in one and a third innings bad things are going to happen,” Rodriguez said afterwards. “Hopefully by next Thursday we’ll fix the pitching and throw some more strikes to keep it close.”

Both teams will advance to regional semifinals to face a pair of tough opponents.

Dade Christian will face the perennial power Florida Christian Patriots, who won their second straight District 3A-16 championship Thursday.

The Bears will move on to face the Westminster Christian Warriors, who finished ranked number eight in the final Miami-Dade High School Baseball Power Rankings.

Regardless of the opponent the Bears only have one goal on their minds.

“We’re a senior-based team and we don’t want to go home early,” Ramos said. “We want to go home holding that state title.”

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