Miami Prevails 2-1 In 10-Inning Battle With Everglades

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Abraham Rivas waited his entire high school career for a moment as sweet and rewarding as what he felt late Thursday night. The senior four-year starter delivered an RBI single to score Xabier Gomez in the bottom of the tenth inning, as Miami High walked-off with a big 2-1 victory over Everglades in a Class 8A regional quarterfinal played at historic Flamingo Park in Miami Beach.

It is the first regional victory for the Stingarees (16-9) since 1998, and also the first such win for longtime Manager Frank Suarez, after three previous appearances in regional play during his tenure.

Miami will now travel to face Flanagan in an 8A regional semifinal Tuesday night.

“It’s a funny game, anybody can come one day and can win a game,” said Suarez. “These guys did a heck of a job. They just fought to the end.”

The contest was a tight pitcher’s duel between Stingarees starter Edgar Aparicio and Everglades ace Raul Quesada. Both hurlers allowed just one run through seven innings, and both remained on the hill into extra innings to keep things just as tight.

With the ballgame still tied into the bottom of the tenth inning, the Stingarees struck. Dayron Mallea lined a single up the middle to put the lead runner on base, and John Venegas dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move the speedy centerfield into scoring position. Aparicio followed with a single, but Mallea was caught up in a rundown and was tagged out trying to score. Gomez then came in to run for Aparicio, and, after sophomore second baseman Gustavo Miranda worked a walk in a great eight-pitch at bat, Rivas came up for his big moment.

The right fielder jumped on the first pitch and lined it into the outfield, scoring Gomez to end the contest and spark the Miami celebration.

“Before I got to the plate I just prayed to my lord and I prepared and that was it. I got that hit and I did my best,” Rivas said. “This is something that I always wanted to do since forever. This is great and our pitcher threw a lot of innings and we just wanted to get that win for him. We wanted to give that to him. It’s the best feeling getting that hit and finishing the game like that. It’s just great.”

While the Stingarees offense struggled against Quesada, Rivas had a great day at the plate. Hitting out of the nine-hole, he was a perfect 3-for-3 on the evening.

“It didn’t affect me that the pitcher was throwing from over the top, and my teammates were a little struggling there, but I just tried to get my hits in and we won,” Rivas said. “It’s great that we came from last year when we didn’t do anything and I have been here since freshman year, so it has been a great season this year. We’re hoping to go further.”

Coming off a season in which Miami won only two games, it has been an exciting and rewarding experience for Rivas and the other veterans on the club. The Stingarees came into the season flying well below the radar, but with a hope and belief that they could erase the painful memories of last year and play the type of baseball that this storied program has long been known by. As one of the oldest schools in the county, Miami has competed in many regional and state playoff games. Now this current group has added their names to that legacy.

“It means the most right now,” said Aparicio. “To get past that game that was tough as heck. And to get all those seniors the last chance up, and for Abraham to hit that last one after he has been here for four years and hasn’t ever been to regionals means a lot to us, a lot to me.”

Coach Suarez was equally proud, happy and excited for his players, especially guys like Rivas who have been through so much with the team. The end result was even more special after Suarez made the decision to pinch-hit for Rivas in the bottom of the sixth. It was a move that paid off to tie the game, before re-entering Rivas back into the contest following the at bat.

Miranda led off the sixth with a bloop single to center, and Suarez opted to bring Larry Bravo in to replace Rivas in order to drop down a sacrifice bunt and move the runner up. A throwing error allowed Miranda to move all the way from first to third, which let Bravo change his approach and instead swing big to drive a shot deep to the outfield to bring Miranda in on the sac-fly RBI that tied the game.

Rivas was then brought back into the game on the team’s re-insertion option. It was another move that proved to make all the difference when Rivas delivered in the tenth.

“It was great and he is a great kid,” said Suarez. “Abraham is one of the hardest working kids and he’s been struggling from the beginning of the year. Even today I had a pinch-hitter for him because I had a guy on first and I needed to move the runner and he hasn’t been doing a good job as far as bunting. We got a break when the ball was thrown away, but I told him ‘you are coming back in this game’, and that was great when I saw him hitting that ball.”

Thursday night seemed to bring the culmination of all the right moves for Suarez and the Stingarees. After senior Paul Gomez broke his arm early in the year, the club put sophomore Khalil Harris in to man third base. Harris has played so well at the spot that the team made the difficult decision to stick with him even when Gomez recently returned from the injury, and Thursday night the sophomore made several impressive plays at the hot spot to reward that decision. Miranda also has come up big in the lineup, and Thursday the sophomore was 2-for-3 with a walk to reach base in three of his four trips to the plate.

The biggest move of all, however, came with the man on the mound.

Aparicio began the year as the team’s closer, and was a big part of many of the squad’s early-season victories. As the year wore on the coaches realized they needed more out of him, and so they made the decision to transition Aparicio into a starting role. By season’s end the hurler had emerged to earn the ball for their biggest contests.

“The guy that we threw today, he was my closer to begin the year,” Suarez said. “He was probably the one who put us in that position to win those games when he was closing. I decided I was going to need him to start the games, and he likes to start, so I couldn’t put anybody else out there tonight unless he was tired.”

Aparicio went the distance to earn the win, putting in a gutsy and solid effort to reward his coach for the faith in first starting him, and then letting him stay out there the entire way. Although the right-hander tossed 126 total pitches, he never threw more than 20 pitches in any one frame and the coaching staff was very mindful to communicate with him to make sure he was not feeling any pain.

“The game doesn’t mean anything when it comes to a guy’s arm or his career,” said Suarez. “It was tough and he was fighting all the time. The team was fighting all the time, but we are just not hitting the ball. We’ve been winning some games but at least we stay in the game and we fight.”

Aparicio’s performance dictated his right to remain on the hill. He scattered three hits and three walks throughout, and picked up five strikeouts by pounding the strike zone to throw 80 strikes in all.

“Just putting me on the bump shows he has faith in me and it gives me confidence,” said Aparicio. “Coach knows that he can leave me out there, he can give me the ball and make me throw strikes and I can throw strikes. I want to lead the team to a win. I felt good, and then bad for giving up some hits. It was up-and-down, but I trust my defense and I trust my offense. The chemistry is just too strong. I can just trust my defense. I know Khalil at third is dirty, Chris at short has too much range, Victor behind the plate throws out anybody, Gus at second and Argenis at first; they all talk to me and calm me down. It is good out there; the chemistry is perfect. I love this team.”

Chemistry has been a big part of what has led to the success Miami has enjoyed this season. It is the farthest the club has gone under Suarez, who took over the coaching reigns in 2003. The team also mirrors some of the skipper’s previously successful squads, as his 2004 group also rebounded from a tough season the previous year to win their district that year, and again in 2005. The Stingarees also made the regional playoffs in 2008, but for the third time under his watch Suarez saw his guys fall in the quarterfinal round.

Now finally the Stings have brought back some of the playoff glory that has roots as long and deep as the city itself. Miami was the first school in the county to ever win a state championship, way back in 1926 in Florida’s fifth year of holding a state tournament. The program has won by playing fundamental baseball, with a focus on the great pitching and defense that most coaches agree are the keys to playoff success. Adding to that has been a little bit of luck and a whole lot of teamwork. Now the club is preparing to face its greatest challenge of the season against a perennial state powerhouse in the Falcons, and the players couldn’t be happier for this opportunity that they have achieved for themselves, for their fans and for Miami High.

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