Doral Academy’s Suarez Wins 600th Game

There are not many managers in Miami-Dade County that have done it as long, or as good, as Doral Manager Ralph Suarez. After overseeing a dynasty at Brito, Suarez has built a powerhouse program at Doral over the past 10 years.

On Monday afternoon, Suarez reached another milestone when he won his 600th game in a 12-1 Firebirds win over Gulliver Prep.

“I just want to thank my wife for all her support through the years, it has been a magical ride with the support of her and my family,” said Suarez. “I couldn’t do it without them. It’s been a tremendous ride for me.”

With all the teams he has managed, this year’s Doral squad has the chance to be one of the best. The Firebirds offense made sure early on that there would be no drama in Suarez’ quest for 600.

Doral’s offense put up three runs in the first, and then added five more in the second, to take an early 8-0 lead over the Raiders.

In the first, Michael Torres led off the inning with a double. After a flyout and an error, Jadyn Nunez had the first of his three hits on the day, when he singled home Torres. George Pardo Jr. also had an RBI single in the inning.

Sebastian Berrios had an RBI single in the second, followed by a Nunez double, upping the score to 5-0. Nunez would later add a home run, finishing the day 3-for-4, with three runs and five RBIs.

“Jadyn had a huge day today,” said Suarez. “He came up big every time we had runners on base, and he hit his seventh home run. He is having a great season so far, and has been a sparkplug for our offense.”

While the offense was taking care of business, it was Marcelo Rodriguez and Aaron Elissalt that handled the mound work for the Firebirds. Rodriguez went 2.2 innings, allowing only one earned run. Elissalt followed that up with 2.1 innings of no-hit ball, striking out five Raiders in the process.

Doral put the game away with a run in the fourth, and then three in the fifth. Overall, it moved the Firebirds, who are ranked #2 in the HSBN Miami-Dade Power Rankings, to 11-1 on the season.

Suarez will now get some time off to reflect on his accomplishment of 600 wins, as the Firebirds do not return to action until they begin a tournament next week against HSBN Space Coast #8 Melbourne.

Even with all the wins and success, Suarez remains humble and appreciative of the people around him.

“I have had great assistant coaches along the way, that have helped me get to this number,” said Suarez. “And, of course, anyone that reaches 600 wins has to be surrounded by great players, and I have had the honor of coaching many great players along the way.”

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