Westminster Holds Off Benjamin, On To State Seminfinal

A 152-mile road-trip to jetBlue Park awaits the Westminster Warriors after winning the 3A regional final against the Benjamin Buccaneers. The Warriors were back where they were last year, playing in a regional final and looking to make it to the state championship. Last year they came up short, but this year was a different story.

“Last year, we lost the regional final to Coral Springs Christian. Today, we had to go up against three great arms,” Warriors Manager Emil Castellanos said. “We had to believe. These guys have worked all year since the beginning of the year, and for a lot of guys, they’ve been on this team together and never have experienced it, and that what I wanted. I wanted them to experience what is feel to get to states.”

The Warriors hosted the Buccaneers in their first-ever matchup holding on to a 4-3, one-run lead into the sixth inning when Julian Infante hit a two-run single to add insurance for a 6-3 final. Both pitchers dominated the first couple of innings, mostly the case with many teams against a good pitcher they haven’t seen before. The long drive and the packed bleachers seemed not to deter from their regional final game.

“We’d heard stories about the home-field environment and things like that,” Bucs Manager Brian Kaplan said. “We were pretty well prepared. We went on the road a lot, and we went into pretty harsh environments and had some big wins.”

The Bucs were the first to break the scoreless tie in the third on a big blow by Zack Zientarski with a three-run home run, scoring Baylen Sparks and Matt Ellmyer. It would be the Bucs’ only runs of the game, but on of many situations they saw themselves in position to capitalize.

The homerun gave the Bucs the first runs the Warriors had allowed all post-season long. The Warriors could’ve been shocked the Bucs had a lead on their home field but they decided to get those bats to work and turn things around.

“That’s way you play this game,” Castellanos said. ”This game is not over until the twenty-first out, and you have to keep fighting. And if you can breathe, you have life.”

The Warriors responded quickly and in similar fashion as the Bucs did a half-inning earlier with a home run by Junior Jakob Zarello that saw the deficit wiped away and help awaken the dormant bats.

“I knew he didn’t want to walk the bases loaded,” Zarello said. “I knew he was coming right at me. I was just looking for a pitch over the middle, and he gave it to me and I tagged it.”

Clinton Gulley broke the tie in the next inning with an RBI double, scoring Anthony Villar. The Warriors added two more insurance runs in the sixth on a two-RBI single by Julian Infante, giving Jagr Enriquez a little more breathing room.

Enriquez relieved Ryan Terry, who threw four and one-third innings, striking out three. Immediately, Enriquez was in a tough situation, but he maintained his composure and repeatedly ended inning unscathed, preserving the lead for the rest of the game.

“I’ve been preparing myself since my senior season started,” Enriquez said on being put into tight situations. “I told myself I wasn’t going to let my team down, and today I didn’t.”

Upon striking out the last batter Enriquez threw his glove in the air ready to celebrate the victory.

“Right when I struck that guy out, it took a second for me to believe what happened,” Enriquez said. “Right there, I just threw my glove as high as I could full of happiness.”

The Bucs found themselves in uncharted territories after reaching the regional final after only reaching the semifinal last year. It has gone to show the development of this program into a formidable team capable of giving anyone a run for their money. This Bucs team counted with only two seniors and had four freshmen in the starting lineup and the exposure to this brand of baseball for those young guys is really vital for the building blocks of this team downing the road.

“We have a freshmen class of 10 with us at the end of the year and four where in the line-up,” Kaplan said. “You give underclassmen experience like that it pays off huge in the long run. Obviously, we lose two quality seniors that you can’t replace, but I’m pretty confident we’re going to be that much stronger next year.”

Seniors Parker Quinn and Baylen Sparks leave a developing team on the right track to be a household name in high school baseball.

“It’s a tough loss,” Sparks said. “I couldn’t be more proud of a team. We where doubted all year, and we certainly showed a lot of people what we’re made of and what we can do and this team is only getting better.”

The Warriors are finally over that regional final hurdle and off to the 3A state semifinal. They look to savor the opportunity and look to continue their successful postseason run.

“Tomorrow is back to the drawing board,” Castellanos said. “Now we focus on who’s next.”

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