Columbus Coming On Strong In 2014

As the face of one of the most successful baseball programs in South Florida, manager Joe Weber knows what it takes to build a winner on the diamond. The Explorers are one of the winningest programs in Miami-Dade County over the last five seasons with a 110-38-1 record during that span. Since Weber took over in 1997 Columbus has sent dozens of its players off to play Division I baseball at schools across the country.

Despite the success of the program over the years, the Explorers haven’t captured that elusive state title since 2003, a fact Weber is well aware of.

“Last year I thought we had a team that certainly could have competed at the state level,” said Weber. “We had beaten everybody in the county, we mercy-ruled American twice in the GMAC tournament. But you have an unfortunate event and something happens and that’s it, it’s such as crap shoot.”

Even though the dice didn’t roll in their favor after a loss to Southwest in the District 8A-15 semifinals last season, the Explorers did some heavy lifting in a state-of-the-art facility this offseason to help get over the hump in 2014. The team will literally return stronger this season.

Players have spent the offseason pumping iron in the $9 million dollar, two-story fitness complex overlooking the football field on the Explorers campus in Westchester. The cutting-edge facility gives the team a major advantage in strength and conditioning since they can workout together right after school instead of signing up for a gym membership elsewhere. The team also works with a personal trainer that creates workouts geared specifically for baseball players.

“It’s an incredible difference; last year we didn’t really have a weight room like this or anywhere to workout, we had to pretty much do it on our own,” said senior catcher and FIU signee Nelson Mompierre. “We really get a chance to get in here, workout, get bigger and stronger to get ready for the season.”

The Explorers will need to be at the top of their game if they hope to win their district this season. Due to FHSAA realignment, last season’s champion Miami Sunset moved up to district 8A-16 but they’re being replaced by a potential state title contender in Coral Gables High. There are no pushovers in a group that includes Braddock, South Miami, Southwest, Ferguson, and Coral Park.

“Every year our district is a dogfight and I always say it wouldn’t shock me if anybody in our district came out and made a run,” Weber said.

The players are no strangers to playing top level teams and they look forward to playing in big games.

“I know our big district rival is Coral Gables and we had rivalry going with Southwest from last season,” said senior infielder Pablo De Armas.

This season, Columbus features one of the most potent offenses in the county heading into opening day. The team returns senior outfielder Ryan Alvarez, a University of Miami signee who hit .347 with 20 RBI, 21 runs, and four home runs in 2013. In addition, junior infielder Danny Casals, who hit .390 with 18 runs, and eight doubles for district rival Southwest, will join the Explorers lineup this season. Weber’s squad hit .335 and scored 162 runs collectively and he is cautiously optimistic that this unit can produce runs at a similar rate.

“On paper it should rank up there with one of the best lineups I’ve ever had,” he said. “But what’s on paper and what gets played between the lines are two different things.”

Mompierre, De Armas (.438, 18 R, 10 RBI), and University of Maine signee Chris Garabedian are expected to be key cogs in an explosive lineup.

“We’ll hit a lot of home runs and we’ll drive in a lot of runs, but when we get in that tight game and we need to manufacture a run, hopefully we’ll be able to do so,” Weber said.

While the coach is confident in his team’s ability to hit the ball, he still has some major questions to answer with his pitching staff. The team graduated their top two starting pitchers from 2013 in Bryan Garcia (56 IP, 79 K, 1.63 ERA) and Christian Lesteiro (47.2 IP, 56 K, 2.06 ERA). The two studs had a combined record of 15-2 for Columbus in 2013. Injuries to key pitchers forced the team to make some position changes in the fall. Weber’s staff features a number of talented arms with limited varsity pitching experience.

“Going into the year we thought our ace was going to be Anthony Martinez and he had tendinitis and only threw one inning in the fall,” Weber said. “We took the center fielder and turned him into a pitcher. He’s signed a scholarship as a pitcher throwing 91, 92 miles per hour, but he’s never pitched in a season before.”

That converted pitcher is senior Gil Torres, a Nova Southeastern signee who will get plenty of opportunities to pitch this spring. Senior right handed pitcher Armando Gonzalez (16.2 IP, 2.94 ERA) knows the staff will have plenty of run support no matter who is on the hill.

“Our team can hit, so we just have to keep the game close for them,” Gonzalez said.

Other pitchers include junior right handers, Matt Marini and Chris Copiel. The team also converted outfielder Alex Santana into a left handed pitcher to establish depth. Now Weber is looking for one of his pitchers to step up and become the ace of the staff.

“I don’t have the guy yet that I call a showstopper, that when I send him out there he’s going to shut things down,” said Weber. “I do have eight number twos so I’m very deep, but I don’t have that one guy yet.”

After last season fell short of expectations, Columbus is taking a new approach as the season draws near. They’ve learned that records don’t matter when the playoffs start and they can’t overlook any opponent on the schedule.

“Last year we lost early in districts but we’ve humbled ourselves and now we’re coming in and just trying to win one game at a time,” said Alvarez.

Weber can tell you from all his years as a manager that the most talented teams don’t always win state titles.

“The year I won it in 2003, I had better teams that lost in districts, so I think you just try to be good and from there it’s a lot of luck involved,” he said. “Our pitching staff is a little young, but they stepped it up during the fall and I hope they can step it up during the season and I think we’ll be real good.”

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