Columbus baseball routs South Dade, braces for another challenging road to state
Long time Columbus baseball coach Joe Weber was wary long before the game even started.
“Forget the seed numbers next to your name, we’d better be ready to go today or there will be no tomorrow,” he said.
With the state having tweaked its format from a year ago in which all three regional rounds were a best two-out-of-three series, the regional quarterfinal round is now single elimination.
A few hours after his team had taken the field, Weber was much more relaxed.
His Explorers, the No. 2 seed in Region 4-7A, easily dismantled No. 7 seed South Dade, 12-2, in a six-inning mercy rule contest at Columbus.
Alec Cruz delivered a bases-loaded, two-out single in the bottom of the sixth to end the contest, capping a big day in which he went 3-for-4 for three RBI and three runs scored.
“I’ve been down this avenue enough over the last 30-plus years to know that nothing is ever a given no matter who you’re playing when it comes to a single-elimination playoff format,” Weber said. “I kind of liked that two out of three format much better because it gives you a little wiggle room if things don’t go well in the first game but that wasn’t the case today so we needed to come out focused and ready to go and our guys did a nice job of that.”
The good news for Weber is that the upcoming regional semifinals and final is a best-of-three format. The bad news is that if they are going to make their way back to the state final four in Fort Myers for the first time since 2021, the “real” gauntlet awaits them.
Columbus will now host either No. 3 West Broward or No. 6 Western next Friday and Saturday in a Region 4-7A semifinal. If they advance, the Explorers’ old nemesis, five-time reigning state champion and top-seed Douglas likely could be awaiting should it get past the Explorers’ longtime neighborhood rival No. 5 Southwest in the opposite semifinal.
Despite putting together a 24-3 regular season record that included wins over both
West Broward and Douglas, somehow the Explorers, were leapfrogged by a five-loss Eagles team for the top seed in the region.
“I don’t get into the numbers-crunching stuff and I guess it is what it is,” Weber said. “We felt like we did everything we could including playing a challenging schedule to be the top seed but I guess it didn’t happen so we’ll deal with what’s in front of us and go from there.”
Besides Cruz’s heroics, University of Miami commit R.J. Diaz also enjoyed a big afternoon going 2-for-2 with two walks which included a double and a three-run opposite field homer in the last of the third that capped off a 5-run inning that put the Explorers up 10-2 and blew the game wide open. The Bucs finished 14-13.
Remarkably, the Explorers plated all five of those third inning runs after South Dade starter Johel Lluveras had recorded the first two outs of the inning. Following a walk, No. 9 hitter A.J. Rivero stepped up and drove a towering drive over the fence in left center for a two run homer and 7-2 lead. After Cruz laid down a bunt single and Juan Jacome drew a walk, Diaz stepped up and hit his opposite field drive to left that barely cleared the fence and was just inside the left field foul pole for his three-run blast.
“I actually really wasn’t sure it was going out but maybe the wind helped it a little bit,” said Diaz. “We’ve been preparing pretty much all year long for where we’re at now because this is the time of the season you need to be playing your best ball. A good job today of just coming out here, getting in the right mindset and taking care of our business.
Columbus plated a single run in the fourth to make it 11-2, setting things up for Cruz’s game-clinching RBI single in the sixth to end it.
Weber was pleased with the effort from his starting pitcher as well.
Senior Jon Perez, a St. Joseph’s commit, brought a perfect 10-0 record this season into the contest and ended the day 11-0. Despite a shaky second inning in which he gave up four hits and two runs, Perez was fine from there as he retired 11 of the next 12 South Dade batters before giving way to reliever Matt Vigil in the sixth who cleaned things up.
MORE RESULTS
Region 4-7A quarterfinal - Stoneman Douglas 17, Coral Gables 0 (4): Gio Rojas had two hits and three RBI and struck out seven over three innings as part of a combined four-inning no-hitter with Drew Boivin. Randy Ruiz and Reid Dadic also had two hits, a home run and three RBIs each. Ander Elorriaga had three RBI and Lorenzo Laurel had two hits and two RBI. Cade Raley had a solo home run.
The Eagles (22-5), the reigning five-time state champions, will next host Southwest Miami in a best-of-3 series next weekend beginning Friday at 6 at Douglas.
Region 4-7A quarterfinal - Southwest 10, Cypress Bay 1: Dylan Duarte and Max Rico each had two RBI to lead the Eagles (17-7). Eduan Negrin had three hits, including a double. Marcos Veliz gave up one run on three hits over six innings and struck out three.
Region 4-6A quarterfinal - St. Thomas Aquinas 7, Cape Coral Ida Baker 1: Jake Carruthers and Mauricio Clement each had two RBI to lead the Raiders (22-4). Nico Sabatino had three hits, including a double, and an RBI while Jaden Doverspike had two hits, including a double, and scored two runs. Julian Diaz struck out five and allowed one run on four hits and a walk over five innings. Aquinas next hosts West Boca Raton in a best-of-3 series starting Friday at 7.
Region 4-6A quarterfinal - Doral 10, Flanagan 0 (6): Christopher Vasallo threw a no-hitter, allowing only two walks. Kobe Carrion had a three-run home run. Anthony Velasquez and Louie Prieto each had three hits and two RBI. Velasquez had three doubles. The Firebirds (24-4) will host Miami Southridge Friday at 4 in the first game in a best-of-3 regional semifinal series.
Region 4-6A quarterfinal - Southridge 4, Coral Springs 0: Isaac Vidal struck out 14 and allowed only one hit and two walks over 6 1/3 innings for the Spartans (19-5). Amari Davis recorded the final two outs on strikeouts. Chris Gonzalez had a hit and an RBI.
Region 4-6A quarterfinal - West Boca Raton 13, Braddock 12: Marcos Rodriguez and Michael Sanchez each had two hits, including a home run, and three RBI for Braddock (16-11). Dayron Santos also had two hits and three RBI and Nick Baluja had three hits. Jorge Gonzalez also had two hits.
Region 4-5A quarterfinal - Mater Academy 10, Delray Atlantic 0: Adrian Pena, Steven Gonzalez and Gerald Barcelo combined for 13 strikeouts and allowed one walk and two hits over five innings to lead the Lions (22-5), who will next host Okeechobee in the regional semifinals. Bryan Fernandez had two hits, including a home run and three RBI. Jonathan Esponda had two doubles and an RBI, and Mitchell Fernandez had two hits, including a double, and an RBI.
Region 4-5A quarterfinal - Archbishop McCarthy 2, Sebastian River 0: Felipe Benitez and Garrett Duffy combined on a one-hitter to lead the Mavericks (14-12). Benitez struck out seven, walked two and allowed one hit over five innings while Duffy pitched two scoreless frames, struck out three and walked one. McCarthy will next host Pembroke Pines Charter in the regional semis.
Region 4-5A quarterfinal - Pembroke Pines Charter 8, Stuart South Fork 1: Dean Jaworski allowed one run on four hits, walked one and struck out five for the Jaguars (13-14), who scored seven runs in the first inning. Jack Anthony Hernandez had a home run, a double and three RBI. Andrew Probst hit a two-run double and Gustavo Morillo had two hits, including a double and an RBI.
Region 4-5A quarterfinal - Okeechobee 5, Hialeah 1
Region 4-4A quarterfinal - American Heritage 1, Melbourne Eau Gallie 0: Snow Brady struck out 15, walked one and allowed five hits over seven shutout innings. Angelo Geraldo drove in the lone run in the bottom of the first as the Patriots (17-8) advanced to the regional semifinals where they will travel to Merritt Island starting Friday.