6A-16 Playoff Preview: Doral Academy The Team To Beat

Whenever a team wins a state championship, it puts a target on their backs. Such is the case with Doral Academy in District 6A-16, but it’s going to be tough for anyone in the state to slow down the Firebirds.

Varela is having a season to remember and is likely to make the regional tournament along with Southwest from this district, while Miami Beach, Southridge and Coral Park might have to wait another year to advance.

Let’s take a look at each team’s prospects.

6A-16 District Playoff Schedule

Location: Higher seed hosts quarterfinals; Southwest Miami hosts semifinals and championship.

Quarterfinals – Monday (5/1)

No. 3 Southwest vs. No. 6 Coral Park @ 3:30 p.m.

No. 4  Miami Beach vs. No. 5 Southridge @ 3:30 p.m.

Semifinals – Tuesday (5/2)

No. 1 Doral Academy vs. Winner (Miami Beach-Southridge) @ 6:00 p.m.

No. 2 Varela vs. Winner (Southwest-Coral Park) @ 3:00 p.m.

Finals – Thursday (5/4)

Winner (Semifinal 1) vs. Winner (Semifinal 2) @ 6:00 p.m.

Coral Park – Team Page

The Rams are major underdogs coming into the 2023 6A-16 playoffs. A 6-6 record doesn’t give us much information on the club.

A regular season win over Southridge is encouraging, but Southwest is a tougher draw in the quarterfinals. David Fresco and Enrique Noriega are hitting over .500, and Jacob Lopez has hurled a team-high 29.2 innings.

It’s going to be tough for a No. 6 seed to make a run in such a stacked division, but stranger things have happened in high school baseball.

Doral Academy – Team Page

The Firebirds are in pursuit of a second-straight state title and are the team to beat in 6A-16. A regional appearance is all but given for this club, but Varela should make the district run a little more competitive in 2023.

Manager Ralph Suarez has put together one of the best prep teams in the country, and it features future MLB talent both at the plate and on the mound. Adrian Santana leads the Firebirds with 11 home runs and is a top draft prospect. Left-hander Frank Menendez is the team’s ace and has big-league stuff. There are simply too many names to touch on individually, but the expectation is another deep run for the Firebirds this year.

The only thing that can stop Doral is complacency. At their best, the Firebirds are the best team in Class 6A. Let’s see what they can do.

Felix Varela – Team Page

The Vipers have put together their best record in over a decade in Year 3 under manager Lazer Collazo and the goal is to avenge an 8-0 loss in the district championship game to Doral a year ago.

An 11-1 loss to Southwest during the regular season means that Varela can’t afford to take the semifinal round for granted, but the Vipers have passed major tests against Gulliver Prep and St. Thomas. Sebastian Gonzalez’s .421 batting average paces the team, and Nicholas Machado has provided some pop at the plate with four home runs. Junior Edgar Colon is the team ace with 61 strikeouts over 37.2 innings pitched.

Upsetting Doral won’t be easy. The Firebirds haven’t lost a district game in years, but this would be the Varela team to do it. Either way the tournament goes, Varela has done more than enough to earn a regional bid.

Miami Beach – Team Page

The Hi-Tides have a solid record but it’s come against a favorable schedule, which means a district championship is necessary to make the regional tournament.

Alexander Allocco and Luis Nieves have combined for a 2.09 ERA over 69 innings pitches, and most of the lineup is batting .354 or better. Maintaining those numbers against increasingly tougher competition is the key.

It will take everything the Hi-Tides to make it to a district championship as both Doral and Southridge stand in the way.

Southridge – Team Page

The Spartans have a surprisingly good resume coming into the playoff when you look beyond the 8-11 record. To start, Southridge played a strength of schedule similar to Varela and picked up a few signature wins along the way. A 9-5 win at Palm Beach No. 3 Dwyer stands out the most.

Limiting runs has been a challenge this year for the Spartans, so advancing to the semifinals will come down to the Spartans’ top bats beating Miami Beach’s solid pitching staff.

Southwest Miami – Team Page

The Eagles have dropped four of the last seven games of the season, but a seven-game win streak that lasted through the beginning of April proved that Southwest is deserving of the No. 9 spot on the county power rankings.

The trio of Jesus Morena, Nestor Quintana and Pedro Martinez has carried the Eagles on the mound. One of them may need to come out of the bullpen to make it to a district championship, but having three solid starters isn’t something every high school club can boast. At the plate, Joel Cabrera is nearing 30 hits on the year but it’s Albert Bell who leads the team with a .423 batting average.

Shaking off a few one-run losses at the close of the regular season will be key for the Eagles, but a home-field advantage should help the team throughout this tournament. A few wins should lock in an at-large bid to the regional tournament.

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