Sanchez’s Homer Lifts LaSalle To 2-1 Win Over Belen

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Mario Sanchez was thanking God that he was healthy enough to play. The LaSalle senior was injured on Wednesday and it wasn’t certain if he was going to be healthy to play Saturday in the first HSBN Miami-Dade Game of the Week at Belen Jesuit. Lions Manager Hernan Adames made the decision to keep Sanchez on the bench, with the understanding he may be called upon if they needed a big hit.

In the sixth inning, that time arrived. With Eric Hazday on first after reaching on a fielder’s choice, Sanchez came to the plate with his team trailing by a run and running out of time. With one swing of the bat Sanchez changed the fate of the game, slugging a two-run home run over the left field fence.

LaSalle held onto the lead to prevail with the 2-1 comeback victory. The Lions picked up their first win of the season to improve to 1-2, and Sanchez was rewarded for his preparation towards his role in the contest.

“Mentally, I was preparing for that,” Sanchez said. “I was thanking God that I was healthy to be here, because it didn’t look that way on Wednesday. I got my opportunity and I was sitting on the pitch; I had seen his sequence to all the hitters throughout the game and I was just waiting on that fastball. I got it first pitch and I was able to do something with it. Thank God I was able to help our pitcher, who threw six innings and only allowed one run. I was able to help him out and get him the lead.”

LaSalle starter Jacob Perea had a strong game, as both sides got excellent performances from the starting pitchers. Perea picked up the victory, while Wolverines starter Albert Gutierrez took the tough loss. Gutierriez was making his first varsity start, and the right-hander was poised and in control through five innings while allowing five hits and a walk. He recorded three strikeouts, kept his pitch count down and was in control on the hill.

“Our pitcher did a terrific job, and at least we know we can rely on Albert to pitch in varsity games,” Belen Manager Jerry Albert said. “That was his first varsity game and he was super. He only missed once all game and made one bad pitch and missed with his location. It ended up costing him because we didn’t do anything offensively today.”

The Wolverines (1-1) got on the board in the bottom of the first inning, and had runners on in most frames. But that lone run was all the club could muster, coming when Christian Del Castillo sent a shot deep to the left-center field gap for a double and scored when Jose Chegwin reached on an error.

Belen had several base runners thrown out during the contest. The Lions also turned a double play on them, and ended the contest on a catch at the warning track on a deep and well-hit ball off the bat of Tonito Galvez. It was those missed chances that stung most.

“We are well aware that we have to play games correctly in order to win them,” Albert said. “We don’t have a team of world-beaters; we have a team that can win if they do things correctly. If we make mistakes, it’s going to make it harder. We had some uncharacteristic mistakes today on the bases, which can’t happen.”

Despite their own missteps, the Wolverines still held the lead heading into the sixth. Gutierrez was staying ahead of the hitters, while Perea was keeping his club in it with a solid effort of his own. Warming up before the contest Perea had trouble locating his curveball, but once he got on the mound it clicked and he was throwing it for strikes. He was getting the ball down in the dirt on 0-2 counts and he was getting outs.

LaSalle struggled to back their starter against Gutierrez. Even when guys got on base, the Wolverines’ defense responded. In the third, Hazday smacked a deep shot that split the outfielders, but was then gunned down trying to stretch the hit into a triple to record the second out of the inning. Joseph Fortuny singled with one out in the fifth, but Belen turned a 6-4-3 double play to quell that threat.

Finally in the sixth Frank Ortega led off with a blooper to right field, but was erased on the fielder’s choice that left Hazday at first and brought Sanchez into action. As that ball sailed over the fence no one was happier than Perea.

“When I saw that I was ready to give that guy the biggest hug at home plate,” Perea said. “I am so thankful for him and God for helping me throughout this game. Today I woke up at like seven and I was already mentally preparing myself for this big game, because I knew it was the big Game of the Week.”

Perea earned the victory, going six full innings and allowing six hits and two walks. He struck out three on 90 total pitches, before turning things over to Joshua Leon to close out the seventh. Leon needed just seven pitches to finish it off and earn the save.

Lions Manager Hernan Adames reminisced that every team his teams have planned Belen, it seems to always come down to a one-run result. The new Lions skipper appreciates that he is blessed and fortunate to have come to LaSalle and installed that culture of never giving up.

“In the games like this we have to be able to execute coming off the bench,” Adames said. “My pitcher went out there for six innings and all of a sudden we got a pinch hit to put us over the top. We continue to stride so they now that at any given moment the talent that we have and how hard we work, games will have to go our way. That’s what happened today.”

Adames believes very strongly in working on details and approaches. He encourages his guys to become students of the game, and to get into the frame of mind to look at the game.

“Now when we come to the plate we have a good approach in order to execute,” Adames said. “The pitching from Belen was outstanding; he had us off-balance in the game and we were not able to put a lot of barrel on the ball. But once again, all my life as a coach it is all about fundamentals, toughness and hustle at all times.”

On Saturday that hustle was rewarded with a victory. It was a showing befitting the spotlight, and a large captive audience was on hand in support.

For Belen, it represents the type of environment the club expects all season. With a tough schedule befitting all the top programs in Miami, the Wolverines play extremely competitive teams day in and day out.

“Our schedule is really, really tough,” Albert said. “We are in two tough tournaments, we are in a tough district and our games outside our district are tough. That’s what we enjoy are close, competitive and hard-fought games. It makes the team better and it makes their whole high school experience better.”

Part of the goal of the HSBN Game of the Week is to add excitement and exposure to selected games during the season, which also adds to the high school playing experience. The primary goal is to raise funds for the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundation, and Saturday’s show of support set an excellent start for another exciting group of featured contests.

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