Game Of The Week: Westland Hialeah At Mourning

With each having a pair of losses already in this young season, Westland Hialeah and Alonzo Mourning are both searching for wins and consistence as go into this Friday’s High School Baseball Network Miami-Dade Game of the Week, set for 6 p.m. at Pepper Park.

Mourning (1-2) opened the season with a 5-2 to loss to legendary coach Rich Hofman’s new team SLAM. Despite the loss, the Sharks saw some reason for optimism with their pitching as Matthew Castorao took a no-hitter into the fourth, and Kevin Moreno threw two and one-third innings of one-hit ball in relief.

Castrorao is taking on the role of ace this season as he has improved his command to be more effective on the mound. He will be joined on the mound by lefty Kevin Moreno, Jose Reyes and Nicolas Zambrano.

Mourning got into the swing of things — literally — in a 22-0, 19-hit win over Carol City on Wednesday. Aaron Petrash went 4-for-4 with a triple and three RBIs. A single shy of the cycle, Castrorao went 3-for-4 with four RBIs. In four shutout innings, Zambrano did not allow a hit and struck out 10. Andrew Feldman was 1-for-1 with a pair of walks and RBIs.

The Sharks lost 8-3 to Southridge two days later, and they will have to square off against Southwest Miami on Tuesday before they can get ready for Friday’s spotlight game with Westland Hialeah.

The Wildcats (2-2) find themselves in a similar position as the Sharks in that they’re searching for stability after opening the season with a pair of losses and then rebounding to win their next two games.

Westland Hialeah began the year with a 6-0 loss to Miami Senior on Feb. 10. The next day, it lost 12-5 to Miami Sunset.

Undaunted, the Wildcats showed their resiliency as they rebounded to beat Hialeah-Miami Lakes 9-2 on Tuesday and North Miami Beach 13-1 on Thursday.

Westland’s five through nine hitters accounted for eight of the team’s 14 hits in the win over Hialeah-Miami Lakes.

George Gonzalez’s lead bunt ignited a four-run outburst in the third. Eight of the nine starters notched at least one hit in the game, including Carlos Ruiz (3-for-4) out of the No. 5 spot, starting pitcher Giovanni Arriera (2-for-3, double, 3 RBIs) from the No. 6 spot, and Luis Jose (2-for-3, 2 RBIs) from the No. 7 spot.

The Wildcats also got good production as well from the top half of the lineup, including lead-off man Yandy Blanco (single, walk, sacrifice bunt), Frankie Morejon (2-for-3, RBI double, one walk) and Carmona, whose production included an opposite-field sacrifice fly and two singles. Clean-up batter Kevin Novoa had two walks and two RBIs with a single and sacrifice fly.

The Wildcats will have to play at Miami Springs on Thursday before it takes on Mourning in Friday’s spotlight game.

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