South Miami Uses Nice Balance To Beat Southridge, 6-2

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The South Miami Cobras have always been about pitching and defense. When describing this year’s ball club, Manager Dennis Pujals finds himself using words he is not used to.

“This year we actually have been swinging the bat much better,” Pujals said. “The last few years we haven’t had much hitting, but this year we have been swinging the bats some. We have some pitching and some defense, and now we have a lot more hitting. So it’s a beautiful thing.”

That beautiful thing was on display Thursday afternoon in Homestead, as the Cobras clubbed their way to a 6-2 victory over Southridge in a match up of the Battle Down South Tournament at Ray Boyd Field. South Miami (1-1) bounced back for the victory a day after taking a tough, lopsided loss to open the season.

“I’m very happy that we bounced back from yesterday’s game,” said third baseman Emilio Borges. “We bounced back mentally and everybody stayed head-strong. They built back from yesterday and stayed head-strong today and it was a great outcome offensively today.”

Borges was a force to be reckoned with, going 2-for-3 and also reaching base on an intentional walk. After clubbing a two-out double to deep center field in the first, Borges delivered a two-RBI single as part of a four-run fourth inning that put the Cobras ahead for good.

“All I am looking for is just creating rhythm out there at the plate, not trying too hard and just trying to do my job,” Borges said. “Offensively I am trying to stay steady-minded and not over-think things. I am talking a good mental approach to the game.”

Already ahead by a run heading into the bottom of the fourth, Joseph Fernandez singled on a high chopper past third and Ernesto Ruiz followed with a bloop hit to shallow left field on a hit-and-run play that put runners on the corners. Daniel Irissari blasted a left-center field gap shot for an RBI double to drive in Fernandez with the deciding run, while bringing Borges to the plate to then drive both Ruiz and Irassari home. Borges also crossed the plate following an error.

While the errors may have been costly, Southridge Manager Ed Doskow was more concerned about how flat he felt his team came out to play. When things did not go well, the Spartans did not respond how Doskow expects them to.

“You are going to have these games, and it is good to get them out of the way early,” Doskow said. “But they need to look themselves in the mirror tonight and ask themselves what they could have done to have had a better performance. We needed a little more aggressiveness on defense; I thought there were a couple balls we should have caught that cost us a couple runs, and we just didn’t bounce back from it.”

For the first few frames things belonged primarily to the pitchers. South Miami starter Ernesto Pino was perfect the first time through the order, while Spartans starter Austin Dreher matched that into the third inning. Leading off the third, Ruiz legged out an infield single and Irassari walked to put some ducks on the pond for Julian Gonzalez. A 3-2 fielder’s choice caught the lead runner, and Southridge elected to issue Borges a free pass that loaded the bases. Perry Wilson put the Cobras on the scoreboard with a two-RBI single to center field.

The Spartans answered back right away when Arlain Sesin clubbed a solo home run to left field, cutting the deficit in half. Southridge added a run in the fifth when Javier Castaneda drove in Josten Heron with an RBI groundout. Heron had come in to run for Nick Deegan, after the right fielder led off the inning with an infield single.

Most of the offense on Thursday came from the Cobras side of the plate. South Miami had runners on in nearly every inning and finished with seven hits on the day. Meanwhile the Spartans struggled to get runners on base. This equation typically leads to victory, and it was a nice the team savored.

“It’s always nice to get that first win, especially after the way we played last night,” said Pujals. “We actually started that game OK, but we let one inning get away from us, and there were a lot of errors. Tonight we played a solid game against a really good team. We had some timely hitting and Ernesto Pino pitched his heart out. He is our ace, just like he was last year, and he pitched his heart out. He’s the real deal.”

Pino was every bit as dominant as advertised. He picked up the complete-game victory while allowing two earned runs on two hits and a walk, and he notched six strikeouts. The right-hander pounded the strike zone on 55 of his 77 total pitches, mixing things up and keeping hitters off balance.

“I was just trying to keep a good combination of the pitches, not to throw too many curveballs or too many fastballs, but keep a good balance of the two,” Pino explained. “I kept the ball low and that was how I was able to maintain a low pitch-count. Having a very good lead like that when your offense is hitting takes a lot of pressure from the pitcher. Mentally, it keeps you stable and it is very easy to throw. It is not only me that is controlling the game; it is the offense too. Doing that was great for us.”

Coach Doskow tipped his cap to Pino, while still admitting disappointment that his guys were not able to figure the hurler out. He hopes that by the end of the season his hitters will be better and be able to beat a guy like that.

One comfort was that Southridge got solid pitching of its own. Dreher struck out five over three-and-a-third innings, taking the loss after surrendering four earned runs on five hits and two walks. Reliever Erick Lopez struck out seven in two-and-a-third innings, which kept his team alive right down to its final swings.

Part of the allure of playing in the Battle Down South is the quality of competition. Friday Southridge faces another true test against Keys Gate Charter, and Doskow knows that how his guys respond will tell them a lot about their ball club.

“You guys and everybody says we are talented and as good as anybody, but today we weren’t,” Doskow said. “If we see what we are going to do tomorrow we’ll know where we are going to sit for the rest of the season. I told my ball club after the game that it is early in the season, but I think this is a defining moment.”

It is such fierce competition within the Spartans’ district, as well as across Class 8A in Miami-Dade County. The Battle Down South brings together a nice collection of those clubs to serve reminder of just how large the challenge really is.

“All these 8A teams bring a really tough game, and every game is like having a heart attack. I try to joke around just to keep myself calm sometimes,” Pujals joked.

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