Mater Lakes Academy Starts Anew in 2014

It might take a lot longer than usual when Mater Lakes assigns jersey numbers this season.

In his third season as manager of the Bears, Cesar Temes faces the daunting challenge of replacing 15 seniors who were key in helping the team win back-to-back district championships. The good news is that in the halls of Mater Lakes Academy, baseball is king and there waits another group of players chomping at the bit, eager to make a name for themselves this season.

“It looks like the strength of our team is the pitching staff, which is the total opposite of what we had last year,” said Temes, who is 50-32-1 as the Bears head coach.

Mater Lakes was an offensive juggernaut last season hitting .395 as a team with 23 home runs in 27 games. They also had 13 games in which they scored 10 or more runs. Since many of those big bats are gone, the Bears will count on their pitching staff to win games this season.

“It looks like we are nine, ten deep this year and most of the pitching staff is juniors,” Temes said.

The team now they will count on senior Christian Calleja and junior Ricky Rodriguez to set the tone on the mound for the new arms. Calleja recorded 32 strikeouts and a 2.50 ERA while going 3-0 for Mater Lakes last season, and Rodriguez finished with a 1.58 ERA out of the bullpen in 2013. He now begins his first season as a starting pitcher.

“We have a lot of young pitchers but I actually think the pitching staff is stronger this year,” Calleja said. “I’ve seen all of these guys pitch before and I know what they can do.”

At the plate, many of the big bats are gone from a squad that had a total of seven players make the HSBN All-County List last season including the District 3A-15 player of the year, catcher Alfreddi Ramos (.439 B.A., 29 R, 38 RBI, 11 2B). Look for the Bears to play more small-ball this season. The squad returns three position players to the lineup, with the leader being HSBN All-Miami-Dade County second baseman, senior Jonathan Lorenzo. Lorenzo hit .429 with 26 RBIs and two home runs, and he has also gotten work behind the plate this off-season to work with the stable of young pitchers.

“I’m trying to catch bullpens with them, work with them, talk to them, find out what they’re thinking, what they want to throw more of the time, all of that,” Lorenzo said.

The lineup also returns junior infielder Alejandro Castillo (.338 B.A., 16 RBI, 2 HR) and senior outfielder Jordan Cox (.410 B.A., 15 RBI, 3 triples) who returns after arm surgery cut his 2013 season short. Temes also brings in a couple transfers in catcher Anthony Martel from Dade Christian and outfielder Peter Baldrich from Hialeah Educational Academy. Both transfers are expected to play key roles in the young Bears lineup this season.

“We have to get them used to what we do at Mater Lakes,” Temes said of the new varsity players. “With the speed we have, the small ball game is going to come in handy.”

Mater Lakes biggest challenge may lie in its schedule. The Bears have moved up to District 4A-15 in a group with Monsignor Pace, St. Brendan, Lasalle, Florida Christian, and Booker T. Washington. Five out of the six teams won their respective districts last season, with Florida Christian making it to the 3A state semifinals and Pace finishing as the 4A state runner-up. The team dominated its old district in going a perfect 12-0 the past two seasons, but they know that will be a much tougher feat to accomplish against some of the best teams in the area competing for the district title.

The Bears pitching staff will have to grow up fast if it wants to have any chance in this gauntlet of a district. Each team is eager to show it belongs with the big boys and every game counts when it comes to playoff seeding.

“I think its gonna be great because even though I think its one of the toughest districts out there its gonna prepare us for when the playoffs come around,” Temes said. “It seems like every game in districts is a playoff game.”

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