South Miami Surges Past Hialeah Gardens

South Miami received a much-needed spark as the Cobras rallied past visiting Hialeah Gardens, 10-6, in a non-district slugfest on Monday afternoon.

South Miami used a six-run third inning to wipe out a four-run deficit, and then received a clutch double from sophomore Armando Prieto to snap a 6-6 tie in the fifth.

The Cobras (3-4) nudged closer to the .500 mark as they try to string together wins, something that has eluded them so far this season.

“We can use this as momentum. That’s a good thing,” said South Miami Manager Dennis Pujals.

Another good sign for South Miami is the recent surge at the plate by Prieto, who hit the ball hard each time in his stellar 3-for-3 performance with a double and two RBIs. Pujals said his second-year starting first baseman has battled his way out of an early-season slump.

“It’s good to see,” Pujals said. “The last two games he has like five hits in eight at-bats. He’s doing very well.”

Following a two-out double by senior catcher Scott Coscuella (1-for-1 with two walks) in the fifth, Prieto knocked in courtesy-runner Dayan Suarez with the go-ahead run by slamming a double into the left-center gap.

“I just saw fastball and I jumped on it,” said Prieto, who explained that a slight closing of his stance has helped with his recent surge. “Right now I’m seeing (the ball) pretty good. In the beginning of the year I struggled, but now I’ve got it back.”

Frank Resto drove in an insurance run before the end of the inning, and went 2-for-3 on the night. South Miami tacked on two more runs in the sixth on infield singles from Kendrick Garcia and Javier Castaneda.

The four-run cushion proved to be more than enough for sophomore southpaw Kevin Capote, who earned a save in relief of starter Jason Garcia. He gave the Cobras two solid scoreless innings that included four strikeouts, one of which ended the top of the sixth with runners in scoring position.

Thanks to a three-run home run by catcher Lazaro Morales in the second inning, Hialeah Gardens (1-4) received the strong start it was looking for on the road. But the young Gladiators, who have three losses by four or fewer runs, saw a 4-0 lead vanish as double steals and infield singles appeared to rattle their nerves.

“I had six sophomores on the field at one point,” said Hialeah Gardens manager Tino Burgos. “We’re just very young. We’re not used to winning some of these close games. They need to stay focused. During the game, I think they got a little excited that they had the lead and they lost focus playing against a good ball club. The result speaks for itself.”

Ricky Jimenez and Angel Rivera both doubled for the Gladiators.

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