Mater Lakes Scratches Out Comeback Win Against Sagemont

The Mater Lakes Bears showed composure beyond their years on their way to a victory on Thursday afternoon against the Sagemont Lions. Despite falling behind early and staying there for most of the game, the Bears kept their focus and, behind great defense and pitching, battled out a hard-fought 2-1 win on a sun-filled day at Tequesta Trace Park.

The winning run came courtesy of the Bears making the most of what the Lions gave them with some good small ball. With one out in the seventh, designated hitter Daniel Delgado was hit by a pitch and moved to third by a base hit off the bat of David Seijo. Rene Arauz wound up being credited with the game-winning RBI which he got on a fielder’s choice. While it wasn’t a glamorous run, it gave the Bears the lead and put the game in the hands of their defense. According to Mater Lakes Manager Cesar Temes, the offense did it’s job.

“Pitching and defense is going to be our strength,” Temes said. “At the plate, we just have to keep fighting and putting the ball in play. From there, we will see what we can get.”

Although it was an all-around effort by the Bears, pitcher Cristian Santana’s contributions stole the show. After coming on in relief in the fifth inning, Santana proved to be nearly untouchable. Using heat in the high 80’s and a nasty breaking out-pitch slider, the sophomore mowed through the Sagemont batting order, striking out seven of the ten batters he faced. The only blemish on his record was a walk to the first hitter he saw.

“He’s been doing great for us,” Temes said of Santana. “We’ve been working hard with him. He just came in today throwing strikes and you saw the results.”

Before Santana entered, the mound belonged to starter Jesus Hernandez. Despite putting runners on base in each of his four innings of work, some solid comeback pitching helped along by some great defense allowed the Bears to limit the damage to just a single run. In the second frame, the first two hitters reached on a single and a walk, but Hernandez used a bulldog-like mentality against the next two hitters, striking out the first and getting the next to ground the ball right back to him, which he turned into a perfectly executed 1-4-3 double play.

The start of the fourth inning mirrored the third, as both of the first two hitters reached base, putting a runner in scoring position with no outs. Again the ferocious Hernandez went right after the next three hitters, striking out two of them. Sandwiched in between the Ks was a great diving catch by center fielder Robert Montesinos, a play which saved a run and eventually the game for the Bears.

Overall, Temes approves of his team’s performance in this game and so far as a whole this season.

“It was a a well-played defensive game and a tight game all the way through; we just had to squeak it through,” Temes said. “This is a young team but they are playing ball the right way.”

Sagemont played a similar game to their counterpart, scratching across an early run and holding the lead for most of the game thanks to some good defense. Yordani Carmona started for the Lions and despite putting men in scoring position in each of his three frames, was able to limit the Bears to just one run. A fly ball pitcher, Carmona did not overpower the opposition but he did his part, recording five pop outs and hanging three Ks. He was backed by some good defense, in particular by his battery mate Edinson Rodriguez, who threw out three potential base stealers.

Lions Manager Wesley Morejon equated his team coming up just a bit short to the calendar showing February. Morejon hopes that with more hard work, his team will be more adapted to hitting the likes of hurlers like Santana later this year.

“Their guys did their job, especially that reliever. He came in and really shut the door,” Morejon said. “It’s early in the season so our hitters probably aren’t ready for that yet, but we will work on that as we move move forward.”

Despite the loss, Morejon was proud of the intensity his young team, which houses only three seniors, showed against a formidable foe.

“We came out and competed in a 2-1 ballgame against a good team,” Morejon said. “Nobody likes to lose, but that was a great effort. They’re a young group and they’re feisty. They like to play up to the competition. If they keep doing that, I think we will be alright this season.”

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