Combined Pitching Effort Leads Braddock Past South Miami

Baseball, like life itself, is not a fair game. The uncertainty is what makes it interesting. Sometimes, players get into a mindset of madness. They mask themselves into this approach, to find the competitiveness to face their opponent. This is what makes the difference for the elite.

South Miami pitcher Ernesto Pino is part of that elite.

Pino’s pitching stats didn’t tell the whole story in Braddock’s 2-0 shutout win over Pino and his South Miami club. Even after being dominant against Braddock (5-3), cruising for a complete game, striking out eight and allowing only two runs, his attitude was the difference. The Cobras may have lost the game, but Pino never gave up.

“I kind of feel bad because, just like everyone else, I love to win,” Pino said. “I have to keep moving forward and wait for the hitting to back me up.”

The Bulldogs now a 3-2 in 8A-15, while the home team Cobras (3-9) are still winless in five tries in district games.

Neither team was able to take a lead up through the first few innings. But with two outs in the top of the third, leadoff hitter Willie Padron fired a double to the gap and was driven in for the decisive run by shortstop Anthony Alvarez. Alvarez was 2-for-4 on the night.

Braddock got great pitching to keep the Cobras lineup in check through the seven innings.

From Bulldogs starter and winning pitcher Ariel Prieto to closer J.J. Marcos, who got the save, the hurlers were dominant. Braddock Manager Victor Montalvo used an unconventional strategy, not allowing his pitching to get tired by substituting them before they could get to a certain amount of pitches.

“We have a lot of depth in our rotation. We are going with the mindset of try to keep arms fresh through the year,” said Montalvo. “We don’t have a strong number one pitcher, but we do have a lot of number twos that can get the job done. Overall the boys are playing all right. It’s been the little things that are making the difference.”

Cobras Manager Denis Pujals blamed the state of his hitting for wasting Pino’s outing.

The imposing South Miami righty was coming off no-hitting Coral Park and still losing 1-0, and Pino was dominant at moments. He used a curveball that was nasty, complimented by his blazing fastball.

“I try to keep hitters off balance,” Pino said. “I never keep a pattern. Against a good hitting team like Braddock, you have to make them guess.”

Although the offense has struggled, there were enough positives for the team to keep in mind as well. The Cobras are staring up at the rest of their district now, but still have seven district games remaining to change that reality.

“We are not playing a bad game, our only problem is our hitting,” Pujals said. “Their pitchers threw well, we kept leaving guys on base and we couldn’t get that timely hit. If we keep playing the way I know we can play, and we get some guys back, we will be in the middle of it. We are in the bottom now, but we can come back.”

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