Hialeah-Miami Lakes Bats Erupt In First Win Of The Year

Tuesday’s big victory was exactly what the Hialeah-Miami Lakes baseball team needed. Behind contributions from guys up and down the roster, from pitchers to hitters the Trojans picked up their first win of the year with a 11-2 victory over visiting North Miami Beach. Hialeah-Miami Lakes laced 12 hits, made most of the defensive plays and got some great pitching from starter David Green.

“Finally off the schneid,” said Manager Mario Morffy. “It is about time; we needed that. We performed well as a team today. Good defense and timely hitting were the keys to success for us, as well as pitching from David.”

The Trojans are looking to build some momentum to take into the next game against district opponent the Reagan Bison. It was the bats that helped set the tone as the team scored runs in every inning except two keeping pressure on the Chargers (4-5) all game long. First baseman Julio Santana accounted for three hits, two doubles and two RBIs. Santana’s bases-loaded, RBI double that came in the fourth inning was the dagger and breaking point for the North Miami Beach squad. He also gave his squad a surge of confidence with his loose banter and contagious attitude, all around great kid.

“Julio is a great kid and is locked in right now. He is actually hitting over .500 this year,” Morffy said. “He has great hands and a good swing.”

After falling behind early, the Trojans answered back in the bottom of the first inning. David Rodriguez drew a lead-off walk and then swiped second. David Green drew another walk, putting runners on first and second for three-hole hitter Jonathan Tercero, who smoked a double to knock in Rodriguez and Green for the first two of the inning.

A balk advanced Tercero to third and a single off the base ump allowed Santana to get his first hit of the game and put runners on the corners. Santana stole second and Tercero touched the plate after the throw went off the chest of a Chargers fielder. Another balk advanced Santana to third and a walk to Franklin Sanchez placed runners on the corners again for Fabian Borges, who laced a single past the third baseman for an RBI and the fourth run of the Trojans first. After a pitching change that resulted in a strikeout, Miguel Cubas hit a sac fly to knock Sanchez in for the fifth run.

A leadoff single for the Chargers gave hope of a big inning in response to the Trojans half. But the runner was caught stealing, and a strikeout and ground out to second put a halt to that hope.

The Trojans went quietly in the bottom part of the second, but not before the first two batters of the inning reached base with singles. Eliakin Brown was able to pitch out of the trouble with help from catcher Joseph Ciccia, who threw out his counter part on a stolen base attempt for the first out of the inning. Brown induced a pop out to second and a ground out to third for the second and third outs.

With two outs in the top of the third inning Edwin Medina got things started by getting hit by a pitch, and then on the very next pitch stole second base. He then scored on a fielding error off the bat of Eliakin Brown cutting the lead to three after the Chargers half of the third inning.

In the bottom of the fourth inning the Trojans exploded for six runs. The inning started with back-to-back walks, followed by a bunt single from David Green to load the bases. Tercero smoked an RBI single to right field that plated a run and Santana roped a double that scored two. After an intentional walk to Franklin Sanchez, Brian Perez came through with an RBI single that scored Tercero. The sixth run of the inning was driven in on another RBI single off the bat of Miguel Cubas that plated Sanchez.

The Chargers couldn’t seem to get anything started as they only recorded two hits off of Trojan starter David Green. It isn’t that the Chargers weren’t making contact or not putting the bat on the ball. It was just every time they hit the ball it was hit right at someone, and to the credit of the Trojan defense, most of the time the play was made.

“Too many walks, a lot of mental mistakes, the bottom of their line up got on base and the top of their order made us pay for it,” said North Miami Beach Manager Alex Rodriguez.

The next games for Hialeah-Miami Lakes will be on Thursday at the Reagan Bison at 3:30, and for North Miami Beach their next game will be versus the American Patriots at 3:30 on Thursday.

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