South Dade Evens Their Record At 2-2 With Win Over Ferguson

South Dade started the season strong, with a win over Varela, then fell on hard times with back-to-back losses to Braddock and Doral.

That left the Buccaneers on Thursday night against Ferguson, at a rare pivotal point in a season that is this young. The Bucs responded with a 5-3 win, led by Brandon Roman’s brilliant mound performance.

The senior went six stellar innings, allowing only five hits, while striking out 11 and walking only one batter.

“We got a a really strong performance tonight from Brandon,” said Bucs Manager Rick Benavides. “It was out first test against a district opponent with a new coach. I give credit to him, they were a very scrappy team, and it was a big win for us.”

Offensively, South Dade capitalized on five Falcons mistakes in the field to build a 5-0 lead, The Bucs scored two runs in the first, and then single runs in the third, fourth, and fifth innings. South Dade only had four hits on the night, but it was enough with the way Roman was throwing.

In the seventh, Ferguson made it a game and things got tense for the Bucs.

After Roman left the game, a one-out error was followed by a Miguel Fuentes single. After a strikeout, and down to their last out, Zachary Alfonso loaded the bases with a base hit.

Ryan Alfonso then singled, bringing in the first run of the game for the Falcons. When Alejandro Rosales followed that with a two-RBI hit of his own, Ferguson suddenly had the tying runs on base.

John De Jesus, however, was able to wiggle out of the jam by striking out Matthew Zamora to end the game.

“Things got a little dicey there at the end,” said Benavides. “We just got a guy back from injury, and he came into to work that last inning. He had a few rough spots, but he got the job done in the end. It was a big win for us to right the ship and get us back going in the right direction.”

The Bucs will now move on to one of their biggest games of the year, as they face Miami Sunset, a team that went to the 4A state semifinals last year, at LoanDepot Park, the home of the Miami Marlins.

“The game today was a good steeping stone for our team. With the way the rankings determine seed these days, and with two big match-ups today within our district, this was a good opportunity for us to get a win and keep us on track for our goal of being the top seed in the district when the playoffs begin.”

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