Talented LaSalle Pushes For Excellence

Coming off of last season’s heartbreaking regional loss to St. Brendan, the LaSalle Royal Lions could have easily sat back and felt sorry for themselves the whole summer. Instead they went right back to work and used it as motivation when they began their offseason workout regiments.

With a strong core of key players returning, LaSalle Manager Oscar Benitez knew he would have a solid team coming back for the 2014 season. However, one thing he couldn’t control after that loss was how dedicated the players were to perfecting their craft in the offseason. To his pleasure the squad has proven more than eager to do whatever they must to prepare themselves.

“This team likes to practice, which is unusual for LaSalle teams,” said Bnitez. “A lot of teams of teams love to play games but they don’t like to practice as much. This team loves to practice.”

That love for the game and the hunger to perform better than last season has fostered a winning atmosphere where the players challenge each other to up their game.

“Their weight room is competitive, their batting cages are competitive, they’re always going after each other and I love that part about them,” Benitez said.

That competition in practice may come in handy for the Lions this season. In the wave of district realignment, LaSalle was assigned to District 4A-15 with Florida Christian, Mater Lakes, Monsignor Pace, St. Brendan, and Booker T. Washington. Five out of the six teams in the district were district champions last season, which makes this division one of the most competitive in Miami-Dade County.

For LaSalle, they know each district game is crucial and they welcome the challenge.

“That’s a great district. I mean great coaches, great players and we’re honored to be in the same district as them and we know every game is going to be a playoff game,” said Benitez.

The Royal Lions lost a number of talented players from last season but the next player stepping up is just as able to excel on the diamond this season.

The pitching staff will be led by right-handed ace Sergio Miyares. He will take over as the unquestioned leader on the mound since All-District pitcher Mike Matheis (43 IP, 1.79 ERA, 40 K) graduated last summer. Miyares went the extra mile in the offseason to become a better all-around pitcher.

Benitez believes Miyares may be the team’s best game day pitcher they’ve ever had at LaSalle. Miyares (5-3, 50.2 IP, 1.93 ERA, 44 K) excelled on the mound as a junior and there is a buzz around the team that he will turn it up a notch for his senior season.

“I worked on a new pitch, I got a slider over the break and worked on improving my velocity and the other pitchers have been doing the same,” Miyares said.

Behind Miyares, LaSalle will count on junior lefty Brandon Blanco, senior righty Anders Gutierrez, and senior Brent Thomas, among others, to eat up innings on the mound. Solid pitching will be the key a district where nearly each team has a reputation for hitting the ball well. LaSalle has to look no further than its last game against St. Brendan, a slugfest which they lost 13-10.

“If your bullpen is not strong you’re probably going to run into some problems,” said Benitez.

The Royal Lions will pack a serious punch in the batting order even after losing three quality seniors. The team graduated two All-District players in Mike Avila (.360, 22 RBI), and Yordan Piedra. However, the most noticeable loss will be that of Elier Rodriguez. The HSBN All-County 1st team catcher was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 14th round of the 2013 MLB Draft.

Taking his place will be senior Michael Cabezas, who moves back behind the plate after playing third base last season. Cabezas admits it was a challenge to change positions early on.

“I learned a couple things about catching from Elier Rodriguez and I worked really hard this summer trying get my mechanics in, blocking, throwing and I’m going to keep working on it to see if I can get better,” said Cabezas.

LaSalle’s leader in the field will be HSBN All-County shortstop Nick Canino (.451 BA, 25 RBI, 28 R, 13 2b). The senior is signed to Virginia Tech, where former LaSalle player Alex Perez is a junior infielder.

“He’s a great kid and I’m honored to have him on my ball club,” Benitez said of Canino.

The shortstop believes that while last year’s team may have been a little more talented, this year’s squad has made up for it with hard work.

“Talent does matter in some way, but its really about the hard work,” Canino explained. “We have a tremendous group of kids that just want to work hard and be better than they are now.”

A group of seniors including Francis Mijares, Jordan Vazquez, Julio Diaz, and Christian Cabezas will round out the core of the lineup. The team is also excited about freshman infielder Santi Grande. The lefty has wowed his teammates with his fluid swing and impressive display of power.

Even with heightened expectations this season, the Lions do not put added pressure on themselves to play the game. In a district loaded with talented teams, LaSalle is simply focused on getting better each game.

“There is not a lot of rah rah with them, they just like to play baseball everyday and they like to compete,” Benitez said. “Every game we get into, we know we have a fighting chance. It pretty much comes down to who is the hottest team later in the year.”

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