Miami Christian Closes In On 2A State Title

When manager Chris Cuadra took over the Miami Christian program back in 2014, the Victors had not won a regional title since 1979, and their last state title was in 1975. It was a program that had won a few district titles, but has not made any state noise since the late seventies.

On Monday, the Victors continued their historic run under Cuadra, defeating The First Academy 9-2 in a state 2A semifinal, and moving Miami Christian within one game of their fourth state title in the past seven years.

“We try to schedule the toughest schedule during the season, to prepare us for games like this when we get up here to Fort Myers,” said Cuadra. “We fell behind early, but these guys have been in these types of games all season long, so there was no panic, and we just continued to play our game.”

The Royals, who have their own history of success at the state tournament, having won a state title back in 2021 under former Manager Scott Grove, came out firing on Monday, scoring two runs in the top of the first inning. It provided a gut-check moment for the Victors.

In their half of the first, MC answered with a run of their own, a run that Cuadra felt was important.

“They came out fast on us early, and that run in the bottom of the first kind of settled us down. It gave Jeffred (Fermin) a chance to settle down on the mound, and we saw he didn’t end up giving up another run the rest of his outing. He did a great job of rebounding after that first inning.”

Fermin agreed.

“We have been in these type of games all season, so we didn’t feel any stress when they scored in the first. We know our offense is going to come through, so for me, I just had to get back to basics, hit my spots, and let the offense do what they have done all season.”

What the offense did was explode for five runs in the second inning. A Willy Mendez single gave the Victors a 3-2 lead, and a fielder’s choice ground ball made it 4-2. RBI base hits by Fabio Peralta and Alejandro Abreut closed out the five run inning.

The score would remain 6-2 into the fifth, when the Victors put the game away with a three-run inning. Kevin Bruno had a two-RBI double, and Willy Mendez drove in the third run of the inning with a base hit to right.

On the day, the Victors had hits from six different spots in the lineup, something that has become common with the 2024 version of Miami Christian.

“We always know our offense is going to get going and hit, so when we fell behind early, it was just a matter of us settling down and doing what we have done all year,” said Peralta. “We played a tough schedule, so we know our offense can get the job done.”

At 22-4, Miami Christian is one game away from continuing the dominance over 2A that they have created under Cuadra. The 10-year run has included six district titles, four regional titles, and they are searching for their fourth state title. Cuadra’s teams’ have won state titles in every previous year they have reached the state final four, and on Wednesday, they will get a chance to continue that tradition.

Standing in their way is one of the top teams from the northern part of the state, St. John Country Day. The Spartans will come into the game with a 24-6 record, and are hoping to finally break through as state champions. This is their third regional championship in the past four years, but they have yet to win it all.

“We know they are a good team and they are hungry, just like we are,” said Cuadra. “The title game will come down to which team executes, and we think we are prepared with the schedule we played this season, to win one more game. We will be ready, and I am sure they will be as well. It should be a good game.”

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