Miami Brito Sweeps Miami Christian To Win Regional Title

Box Score

It would have come as no surprise had a game three been needed between longtime rivals Miami Christian and Miami Brito. With a trip to the state Final Four on the line, each victory did not come easy. But thanks to a massive fourth inning, the Brito Panthers rallied for a 14-12 win on Tuesday to sweep the best-of-three series and win the regional championship.

Brito (15-14) earns a berth into the state Final Four as the 1A-4 winners, marking the team’s first trip back to the state tournament since the Panthers won it all in 2015.

“I’m really proud of my guys. They deserve it!” Panthers Coach Jose Orta said. “It was great games this week. We came back by losing six runs down, and the team fought back together and scored 13 runs in that inning so they could get the championship.”

Eighteen batters went to the plate during the monster fourth inning, as Brito erased a 6-0 deficit and turned it into a 13-6 advantage. An error with bases loaded got the Panthers on the scoreboard, and they kept the chain moving station-to-station to keep tacking on and increasing the pressure. Luis Diaz and Raivon Pinder had back-to-back RBI singles, and then Cristopher Guzman delivered the back-breaking blow with a grand slam that put his team ahead with a 9-7 lead.

Brito was not finished. Samuel Castro singled to immediately put another runner on base, and Hector Santos sent him straight home with an RBI triple. After Hector stole home, Claudio De Los Santos was hit by a pitch, Danny Estrada singled, and Aldo Berrios followed with a double to drive in De Los Santos. Berrios capped the frame by stealing home.

De Los Santos then drove in Guzman with an RBI single in the fifth to provide Brito with a valuable insurance run.

The Victors had reached the state tournament twice in the past three seasons, which included their fourth state championship in 2022 and also reaching the state final last season. Not wanting that run to end, Miami Christian fought to the very end. The Victors (13-18) answered back with two runs in the bottom of the fourth and three more in the fifth, before mounting one final rally push in the bottom of the seventh.

“I respect Coach Cuadra a lot. It is my third year at the school and I always see that he has really competitive guys,” Orta said, during his HSBN LIVE preview video. “They do the plays, they throw strikes, they hit and they catch the ball. I respect that. Like I tell my guys, in baseball you don’t win until you make the last out, so anything could happen, and he has a really good team.”

Marcos Carriere singled to lead off the seventh, and the bases quickly filled up as Santiago Bremo reached on an error and Aaron Brache walked. Johnathan Vila then came through with an RBI single that briefly kept hope alive, driving in courtesy-runner Winder Garcia to inch the Victors within two runs.

But Brito stamped its ticket by getting an infield ground out to end the game and start the celebration. Now the team awaits final results to see the road to the title, as Brito chases after its eighth state championship.

“The next step in the state is to keep as family and never give up until the last out,” Orta said.

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