Key West Edges Gulliver In Epic 4A-16 Title Game

Somehow after nearly four hours of baseball, Hugo Valdes still had enough energy left for a sprint.

After delivering the game-winning hit that gave Key West an epic 4-3 win in 11 innings against Gulliver Prep in the 4A-16 championship game on Thursday night, Valdes rounded first and managed to dart through the sea of oncoming teammates who had rushed the field to pounce on him. Valdes first wanted to celebrate in front of the team’s fans who made the three-hour drive to Coral Gables.

“They’ve been supporting us all year; got to bring it home to them,” said Valdes, who proudly hoisted the district plaque after it was presented to the Conchs.

When Valdes pulled a hard-hit single through the right side of the infield to bring home Steven Wells from third with the unearned winning run in the bottom of the 11th, another chapter was completed in the Key West-Gulliver rivalry.

“It’s a shame that two teams that played the way Gulliver did and the way we did that somebody has to lose a game like that,” said Key West Manager Ralph Henriquez, whose team was eliminated from districts by Gulliver the previous two years. “Hats off to Gulliver Manager Javi Rodriguez and his staff and his kids. Just an incredible game.”

How incredible?

How about a jaw-dropping 22 strikeouts that Wells and starter Gregory Veliz racked up against a red-hot Gulliver squad that entered the game on an 11-1 tear in its last dozen games. Or how about Gulliver starter Mike Gonzalez and reliever Rob Touron combining to hold Key West (22-3-1) scoreless from the second through the tenth. After a shaky start that included giving up two unearned runs in the first, Gonzalez quickly got back on track with a sizzling six-pitch second inning.

Plus how about a remarkable outing from Touron, a freshman who passed several nerve-rattling challenges with the calmness of an experienced senior. The 6-foot-2 rookie scattered four hits — all singles — and fanned four in five-plus innings, before he was relieved two batters into the 11th. Key West had two runners on base in the sixth, seventh, eighth and tenth innings, yet Touron escaped unscathed. He notched inning-ending strikeouts twice, and in the tenth, he worked out of a two-on, one-out jam with a strikeout and fly ball.

“In a situation like this and in an environment like this with so many people, the way he threw was unbeliavable,” Rodriguez said. “We’re really happy we’re going to have him for the next four years. When you have a freshman throwing 90 miles per hour, that’s pretty good.”

A costly infield error on a grounder off the bat of Wells in the 11th set the stage for Key West’s dramatic victory.

Wells and Veliz limited Gulliver (19-8) to five hits. Wells fanned 12 and allowed three hits in six strong scoreless innings of relief to notch the victory.

Veliz, who shut out Gulliver during the regular season, started his night in dominating fashion. He struck out the first four batters in a row, and six of the first eight.

Gulliver, which fell behind 3-0 after the first inning thanks in part to a two-run single from Chris Varela, didn’t put the ball in play until Alex Erro opened the third with a clean single that helped ignite a Raiders’ three-run rally. Erro, the team’s No. 9 batter and the only Gulliver player who didn’t strikeout, went 2-for-3 with a walk.

German Marcos also had a solid game at the plate for Gulliver, going 2-for-3 with two walks.

Gulliver’s first run came home when Justin Fernandez collided with Veliz on the first base line following a chopper. Fernandez earned the RBI the hard way as he was knocked to the ground and tagged out.

One batter later, senior catcher Brent Diaz crushed a fastball over the 340-foot sign in left center for a two-run home run that knotted the game at 3-3.

That’s the way it stayed all the way until the 11th.

Gulliver, which lost the district final by one run for the second straight year, had its best chance to score in the extra innings. The Raiders loaded the bases in the ninth with two outs, but Wells notched a strikeout.

If both teams win their regional quarterfinals next week, they will meet again. If a rematch happens, no doubt it will be tough to duplicate the district final classic.

“It was just a great ball game,” Henriquez said. “It kind of reminds me of some of the old games with Gulliver and some of the old games against Westminster Christian with Rich Hoffman back in the old days.”

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