Miami Springs' baseball rides pitching and ‘small ball' approach to regional semifinals

Miami Herald

23-04-2025

Miami Springs' baseball team has had seasons where powerful hitters have paved the way to success.
Big bats like Yasmani Grandal and current University of Alabama standout Jason Torres lifted the Golden Hawks to big wins in recent years.
This year, the formula for Springs is pitching and 'small ball.'
And it continues to work as the Golden Hawks did both very effectively this week to defeat iMater Prep by the score of 6-0 on consecutive days to secure a 2-0 series sweep of their Region 4-3A quarterfinal series at Shelly Dunkel Field.
Senior Kevin Roque tossed his latest gem on Tuesday in the second game, striking out a season-high 10 and allowing one hit over six innings to lead the Golden Hawks (22-3), who will host Miami Monsignor Pace starting Monday in a best-of-3 regional semifinal series at Miami Springs.
The first two games will be played Monday and Tuesday, each at 3:30 p.m. Should the series go to a third game, it will be played next Thursday at 7 at Monsignor Pace. It will be the first time the two teams meet since 2005.
The Spartans clinched their quarterfinal series on Tuesday night as well, routing Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons 14-2 in five innings following a 3-0 win on Monday.
The Golden Hawks are aiming to reach the state final four for the first time since 2019 and win their first state title in the sport.
Roque improved to 10-1 for the season with a 1.45 ERA, 66 strikeouts and 20 walks in 58 innings this season. He and Magdiel Estevez (6-1, 1.35 ERA), who tossed a two-hitter and struck out 10 on Monday, have formed a potent 1-2 punch at the top of Springs' rotation.
'It's been the story of our year with the pitching,' Miami Springs coach David Fanshawe said. 'We have two guys that can throw well and others that can contribute.'
The small ball came into play in the bottom of the fourth on Tuesday when Springs' Yordan Torres and Austin Argote each executed stellar bunts to load the bases after Darian Soto drew a walk to start the inning. iMater Prep starter Luis Hernandez, the son of former World Series MVP and Marlins pitcher Livan Hernandez who coaches the Knights, recovered with a strikeout and tagged out Soto at the plate when he tried to score on a wild pitch.
But then Justin Mercado snuck a ground ball past the second baseman and into right field scoring two runs. In the fifth inning, Oscar Hernandez executed another perfect sacrifice bunt, setting up an RBI single by Soto.
'When I saw those four runs scored, I was so relaxed and didn't worry about anything. It felt amazing,' Roque said. 'They're just playing baseball the way it's supposed to be played. I love their aggressiveness. I love this team with all my heart. We're confident and I know we're going for states this year.'
MORE RESULTS
Region 4-3A quarterfinal - Game 2 - Monsignor Pace 14, Cardinal Gibbons 2 (5): The Spartans (17-11) fell behind 2-0 in the first inning to the defending Class 4A state champions on their home field on Tuesday.
Pace followed with one of its highest-scoring innings ever in the postseason, plating 11 runs in the bottom half of the first to help it sweep the series.
Robert Kramer led the barrage, going 3-for-3 with a home run, a double and two RBI to help the Spartans prompt the 10-run mercy rule.
Yuniel Paredes went 3-for-4 with three RBI and Jordan Young went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBI. Rudy Marichal also went 1-for-3 with a two-run double and Ricky Hernandez went 1-for-3 with an RBI.
Brenden Trujillo went 2-for-3 and Cam Rizzi went 1-for-1 with an RBI to lead Gibbons, which finished its season 11-16; Game 1 - Monsignor Pace 3, Cardinal Gibbons 0: Ricky Hernandez threw 6 1/3 shutout innings, allowing one hit, struck out seven and walked four. He also went 2-for-3 at the plate with a solo home run. Yuniel Paredes also went 2-for-2.
Region 4-4A quarterfinal - Game 2 - American Heritage 4, Rockledge 3: Dylan Dubovik struck out 11 over 4 1/3 innings, walked five and allowed one earned run to lead the Patriots (23-6) to the series-clinching win at home on Tuesday. Dubovik also went 2-for-3 with an RBI while Joseph Castro, RJ Machado and Blayden Caballero each also had an RBI. Heritage will next host either Key West or Satellite on Monday and Tuesday in the first two games of a regional semifinals series; Game 1 - American Heritage 17, Rockledge 6: Dylan Dubovik went 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBI to lead Heritage. Sebastian Garavito and Machado each went 2-for-4 with three RBI. Castro also went 3-for-5 with two RBI and Caballero went 3-for-4 with an RBI.
Region 4-4A quarterfinals - Game 1: Melbourne Eau Gallie 8, Belen 3; Game 2: Belen 7, Eau Gallie 6 (8); Game 3: at Belen, 7, Thursday.
Region 4-3A quarterfinals - Game 2 - Killian 8, Pine Crest 7: The Cougars (13-13) jumped out to an early 5-1 lead and hung on to even the series with the host Panthers (15-7-2) after losing the first game 8-5. Jonathan Acosta went 2-for-3 with four RBI while Jahdon Heron went 2-for-4 with a solo home run. Killian will host the decisive third game on Thursday at 3:30.
Region 4-3A quarterfinal - Game 2 - Calvary Christian 5, St. Brendan 1: Carlos Lugo tossed five shutout innings, allowing two hits and five walks, and struck out four to help the Eagles (15-10-3) even the series with the Sabres (16-12), who will host the decisive game on Thursday at 7 at St. Brendan. Chase Hamlett went 2-for-4 with two RBI and Preston Pielec went 2-for-2 with a solo home run to lead Calvary; Game 1 - St. Brendan 3, Calvary Christian 2: Luciano Nava and Giannicarlo Guzman-Garcia combined to allow two runs on four hits and strike out five batters each to lead the Sabres. Guzman-Garcia also went 2-for-4 and Rafael Rizzo went 3-for-4.
Region 3-3A quarterfinals - Game 2 - North Broward Prep 4, Delray Heritage 3: Julian Rodriguez went 2-for-3 with two RBI to lead the reigning state champion Eagles (23-6) to the series-clinching win at home on Tuesday. North Broward Prep will next host Clearwater Central Catholic on Monday to begin a best-of-3 regional semifinal series. The Eagles have won state titles three of the past four seasons with the one exception being 2023 when they lost in the state final to Clearwater Calvary Christian; Game 1 - North Broward Prep 4, Delray American Heritage 3: Rodriguez went 2-for-3 with two RBI while Josiah Haslem went 3-for-3 with an RBI to help the Eagles rally for the win.
Region 4-2A quarterfinals - Game 2 - Westminster Christian 13, Chaminade 1: A day after being shut out, the Warriors (17-11-1) broke through for six runs in the fifth and six more in the seventh to even the series with the host Lions (23-4). Max Boyer went 2-for-3 with a home run and four RBI to lead the outburst while Austin Weigandt went 2-for-5 with two RBI and Erik Eikenberg went 2-for-4 with two RBI; Game 1 - Chaminade 1, Westminster Christian 0: Spencer Krasner struck out nine over seven shutout innings and allowed only three hits and one walk to secure the win. Josh Andel drove in the lone run. The Lions will travel to Westminster Christian on Thursday at 4 for the decisive game.
Region 4-2A quarterfinals - Game 2: Boca Raton St. John Paul II 5, True North 1; Game 1: True North 3, St. John Paul II 2; The Titans (18-8) will travel to Boca Raton to face St. John Paul II on Thursday 4 in the decisive game of the series.
Region 4-2A quarterfinals - Game 1: Boca Raton St. Andrews 9, University School 8; Game 2: St. Andrews 9, University School 2.
Region 4-1A quarterfinals - Game 2: Schoolhouse Prep 19, West Palm Beach Berean Christian 0: Rene Dun went 2-for-3 with four RBI. Jose Uzcategui went 1-for-2 with three RBI; Game 1: Schoolhouse 17, Berean 1: Schoolhouse advanced to the regional semifinals where it will host Brito beginning Monday afternoon.
Region 4-1A quarterfinals - Game 2: Brito 9, Vero Beach Masters Academy 7: Hector Santos went 3-for-4 with four RBI to lead the Panthers (13-15) to the series-clinching win on Tuesday. Claudio De Los Santos went 1-for-3 with two RBI and pitched 4 ⅓ innings, allowing three runs and struck out two; Game 1 - Brito 10, Masters Academy 0: Raivon Pinder, Luis Diaz and Luis Amariz each had two RBI.
Region 4-1A quarterfinals - Game 1: Miami Christian 10, Atlantic Christian 0; Game 2: Miami Christian 15, Atlantic Christian 0: The Victors (11-15) will host Jupiter Christian on Monday afternoon in Game 1 and Tuesday afternoon in Game 2. Should the series go to a third game, Jupiter Christian would host on May 1.
Region 4-1A quarterfinals - Game 1: Jupiter Christian 10, Highlands Christian 0; Game 2: Jupiter Christian 11, Highlands Christian 0