Dunand, Soto Help Gulliver Cool Off Belen Jesuit

Game of the Week Photo Gallery

Something had to give when two of the hotter teams in Miami-Dade County met for a non-district matinee in the High School Baseball Network Game of the Week on Saturday.

Fresh off of a successful trip to Arizona, Gulliver Prep showed that it can hit in any time zone. The Raiders notched their fifth straight win, 7-4, against host Belen Jesuit, which saw its seven-game winning streak snapped.

“That Arizona trip changed our season around,” said Gulliver Manager Javier Rodriguez, whose team went 4-1 out west and also defeated LaSalle 16-1 earlier in the week. “We’ve been swinging the bats better than ever. Twenty-three runs on the board in two games against two good teams. That’s pretty good.”

A smart at-bat in the top of the sixth from Gulliver’s Brian Nido produced a ground out to the right side that brought home Chris Lorenzo. It knotted the game at 4-4, and Nido went 2-for-4on the night. Two batters later, the stage was set for Gio Soto, who drilled a three-run double that put Gulliver (13-6) in front for good.

“It was a hanging curve ball,” Soto said. “I just wanted to put it in play. I got a good piece of it. Throughout the tournament in Arizona, we always put the ball in play. We were always hitting. The defense was there. I guess it carried over from Arizona.”

For Rodriguez, it was nothing he had not seen before from Soto.

“Gio has been doing that all year,” Rodriguez said. “Every time we get bases loaded with two outs, he comes up with a big hit.”

What also continued was senior shortstop Joseph Dunand’s torrid hitting pace. After belting out a bevy of home runs in the Grand Canyon state, Dunand blasted a two-run shot over the center field fence in the first inning.

Dunand hit another laser when he led off the third with a stand-up triple, which turned out to be the final decent pitch he saw on the day. He came home on a sacrifice fly off the bat of clean-up hitter Brent Diaz that gave Gulliver a 3-0 lead. Dunand drew a quick walk and was given a free pass in his other two trips.

Gulliver’s three-run cushion evaporated with one swing in the fifth when Christian Del Castillo smacked a grand slam over the 365-foot sign in center.

“We think he can be a pro. The sky is the limit for him,” Belen Jesuit Manager Jerry Albert said about his sophomore center fielder. “His body has still not filled out yet. He’s got that thin, lean body. He runs well. He gets great at-bats. He’s on base all the time. He’s super. He connected nicely on that pitch.”

With his team trailing by a run, Gulliver’s Davis Brown entered the game in relief and got a double play to end the fifth and then retired six of the final seven batters to earn the victory.

Belen Jesuit (15-5), which received two hits each from Christian Ayala and Marcos Perez, suffered only its second loss in the past 14 games.

“We’re playing great,” Albert said. “Today we didn’t pitch as well as we have been pitching. They hit the ball well. (Dunand) is really locked in. He had a couple of really nice hits. We’re not going to worry about (the loss) too much. We’re very happy with the way the team is playing. We’re very happy with the momentum we have and the energy we have.”

Before the game, as part of the Game of the Week festivities, Carlos Barquin, who is in his 36th season as Belen Jesuit’s athletic director, threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

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