Southwest Shakes Up 8A-15 With Big Win Over Braddock

Coming into tonight ballgame against Southwest, Braddock seemed to be safe into the playoffs of District 8A-15. The Bulldogs didn’t fear many things lately, they were coming off a six-game-winning streak, in which they outscored their rivals by 38 runs. The Eagles, meanwhile, had lost the last two games, but did not plan on being number seven of the streak. Southwest came out aggressively, and destroyed the momentum of their opponent in an entertaining ballgame that finished with a score of 8-4 for the Eagles.

Braddock (11-5, 5-4) is a club that is on par with many of the best teams in the county on paper, but baseball is a game that needs to be played on the field. Bulldog Manager Victor Montalvo brought his team into Thursday’s match-up with the mindset of avenging an early season loss against the Eagles. He left the visiting ballpark with a second loss and a bag full of adjustments to made.

“Southwest definitely has our number. Our two worst losses of the year have been against them. They did a good job prepping for us.” Montalvo said.

On the other hand, Southwest (9-9, 4-5) is a young team that is regrouping and becoming a contender as the season wears on. They beat their district rivals for the second time, playing fundamental smart ball and never letting an opportunity go away.

“That is how the game goes sometimes, we were able to get some things out of them,” Eagles Manager Josy Torres said. “We were really patient, we worked the counts, made their pitchers pitch a little bit, that’s when they kind of got themselves into trouble and we just capitalized. We got some big hits when we need it.”

Braddock was the first team to put runs on the scoreboard. After been dominated by Southwest starter Andres Fletes for the first four innings, second baseman Tyler Sola caught a high fastball and drove it over the right field fence for a home run in the fifth.  The Bulldogs added another run in the next inning when a couple of hits combined with an intentional walk loaded the bases. Miguel Cardozo, who was on third base, scored on a wild pitch that hit the mask of the Eagles catcher.

In the bottom of the fifth, Southwest answered, after being silenced most of the day by the smart pitching of Ariel Prieto. The Eagles worked the count and took advantage of three hit by pitches, two walks, and two hits, to score five runs in the inning that proved to be the difference in the ballgame.

Southwest added three more insurance runs in the sixth. Jason Grana started things up with an infield hit, and was followed by an error on a throw. Gabriel Contreras, who was 2-for-3 on the night, drove in a run with a base hit to the center. With two men on base, Alfredo Morejon, who had three RBIs and was 2-for-3, hit a base hit that scored both runners.

Bryan Carreras, who on the night was a perfect 2-for-2 with a walk and a double, lamented the fact that he couldn’t get another at-bat, but acknowledged the happiness that comes with the win.

“I just tried to get a good ball and not do too much, just putting a good swing and see what happens,” Carreras explained of his hits on the night. “I was mad I didn’t get the last at-bat, I tried to keep the same approach as to help get my team get into the playoffs.”

The Bulldogs made one last run in the seventh. Willie Padron, who leads all Miami-Dade in batting and was 2-for-3 with an intentional walk, hit a bullet to the shortstop that he barely beat out for a hit. Miguel Rivera later added a hit that was followed by an RBI single by team captain Anthony Alvarez. A couple of groundouts, however, ended the rally and the game.

“We just came out flat. We only played one inning of baseball tonight, the seventh inning, the rest of the game we really weren’t playing. Our dugout was quiet, it sounded like a funeral,” Montalvo explained. “Southwest played with heart and intensity from the first pitch to the last pitch. Today we failed to execute. I failed as a coach and they failed as a team to perform properly.”

The Bulldogs are in third place in the district, and now face three straight district games. Montalvo hopes they can get back to their winning ways, even if that means beating two power houses in Columbus and Coral Gables.

“We can rebound. This team has shown that it can rebound from losses. We need to get back into our rhythm, play our kind of baseball, and come out hungry from the beginning of the game.” Montalvo said.

For his part, Torres hopes to win two of his last three games, and that should put him into the district playoffs.

“That should do it, but we just got to come out and play hard. The next two games are extremely tough,” Torres said of winning at least two of the next three games. “At this time of the year anything can happen. At the end of the year, there are always some upsets.”

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