Marin, Collera lead Westminster baseball back to state in win over Calvary Christian
Westminster Christian’s baseball team has a sign on its outfield wall that reads “11 State Titles.”
That’s a lot.
It’s tied for the most in state history.
But the Warriors have been looking for a reason to change it for almost a decade.
On Tuesday afternoon, Westminster earned the chance to take one of its most talented teams in recent memory to compete for that elusive 12th state crown following a 9-4 victory over visiting Fort Lauderdale Calvary Christian in the Region 4-3A championship.
The Warriors (24-4) will face Jacksonville Trinity Christian in a Class 3A state semifinal next Tuesday at 1 p.m. at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers.
“You never know when you can make it back to the promised land and every year is a unique year,” Westminster coach Emil Castellanos said. “You have to click at the right time and you have to have the right group of guys. We had a guy on the mound today that is one of the best pitchers in the country and all these boys came out to play today.”
Senior shortstop Manny Marin and senior pitcher Lazaro Collera were not with the Warriors the last two seasons when their hopes of competing for another title evaporated in tough home losses in the regional playoffs.
Marin and Collera, the two potential Major League Baseball draft picks, made it their mission to change Westminster’s fate this season.
Each played a huge role in the Warriors’ victory over the Eagles (21-7), who were aiming to make their first state final four appearance since advancing four consecutive seasons from 2016-2019.
“Everything was for this, all the practices, all the hard work, it was a great team win,” Collera said. “It’s a testament to the whole team. My team was picking me up and I just wanted to give it back to them.”
Collera, a University of Miami signee, gutted through some tough spots to give Westminster 6 ⅔ innings before being removed with two outs in the seventh after he reached the 105-pitch count limit. Collera gave up four runs on five hits, including a second-inning home run to Calvary Christian’s Cole Cleveland, and walked five, but struck out six. Junior Milan Porras only needed one pitch to record the final out and set off a celebratory dogpile by Warriors players on the diamond.
“We never needed (Collera) to throw 105 pitches all season, but we told him we probably will just need that at the end and we rode him to the win,” Castellanos said. “There’s only one Manny that could be better than (Marin) and his name is Machado. But he’s got the best hands I’ve seen out here. He goes after it and works hard and wants to be a great competitor.”
Westminster Christian backed their starter at the plate, however, as Marin belted two of the Warriors’ four home runs in the game, which came at crucial times.
Marin’s solo blast in the third pushed Westminster’s lead to 3-1 right after Cleveland tied the game following Talan Beckford’s first-inning home run for the Warriors.
Both homers came off Calvary Christian ace Braden Rosenthal, who lasted only 2 ⅔ innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits and two walks while striking out three.
Calvary Christian cut Westminster’s lead to 4-3 in the top of the fifth on an RBI single by Thomas Baxter and a sacrifice fly by Johnathan Gomez. But Collera induced an inning ending fly out from Carlos Lugo to minimize the damage.
Westminster then used the long ball again to pull away from the Eagles when junior Eric Eikenberg Jr. hit a solo homer with one out and Marin followed three batters later with a two-run home run, bringing his total to 11 for the season.
“I just went up to the plate knowing that the next day is not promised,” Marin said. “I did what I wanted to do and that was to help this team win. That’s the goal, always.”
This story was originally published May 15, 2024 at 12:55 PM.
