Coral Gables Survives 3-2 In District Clash With Miami Beach

A pair of runs in the top of the fifth inning lifted Coral Gables to a 3-2 win over Miami Beach in a 9A-14 game played at Flamingo Park in Miami Beach on Wednesday night.

Cavaliers senior Juan Osorio changed the score with a home run to start off the sixth inning, and shortly after that senior Nico Montes doubled and sophomore Luis Espinal followed with another double that brought Montes home for the winning run.

“I felt great today. I was aggressive in the head of the count and looking to drive the ball away and together as a team we played great,” Osorio said.

The Cavaliers (8-5-1) move into a tie with Coral Park for first place in the district, as each holds a 4-0-1 mark heading into a showdown next week.

“We knew going into the game that it was a tough game seeing that Miami Beach is a strong competitor,” Cavaliers manager Ernie Padron said. “We knew that we were going to have a close game. Our pitching came alive for us today and we made great contact with the ball. Overall I am very proud of my team and how we worked together to achieve this win.”

The 9A-14 clash started off as a strong pitcher’s battle between the Cavaliers pitcher Ernest Denis and the Hi-Tides pitcher Ricardo Garcia. That kept the first two innings scoreless and very competitive.

“Coming on to the mound today I felt amazing. I was thankful to have my teammates there to back me up and keep my energy up throughout the game,” Denis said.

The third inning is where things start to heat up for the Cavaliers. Senior Bryan Vargas started off the inning with a line drive down the foul line that put him on first. Shortly after senior Juan Osorio came up and hit a fly ball that was a foot shy of the fence, which put him on second with a double that brought Vargas home to gave the Cavaliers their first run of the game.

The Hi-Tides responded an inning later. Senior Brandon Perez came up to bat and ended up with a double, and junior Jonathan Vasallo hit a single that brought Perez home and tied the game at 1-1 in the fourth inning.

‘We have a great group of guys that work nice and I couldn’t ask for anything more as a coach.” Hi-Tides Manager Juan Cordero said.

The Hi-Tides (9-8) got one last run in the bottom of the sixth. After a series of singles that loaded up the bases, junior Marcus Garcia had an RBI single that brought the final run scored for the Hi-Tides.

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