Somerset Academy baseball stuns Belen in extras to advance to regional semis

It took more than five hours to play and was complete with more twists, turns and drama than a daytime soap opera.

When it was finally over, in what turned out to be an epic high school baseball playoff game, it was players from Pembroke Pines Somerset Academy storming the field in a wild celebration.

Seeded No. 6 and taking on No. 3 Belen Jesuit on the Wolverines’ home field, Somerset pulled off the biggest win in program history on Friday night when the Panthers stunned Belen 11-10 in a 12-inning, Region 4-4A quarterfinal marathon that didn’t end until just before midnight.

The win was only the second-ever regional playoff victory for the program, advancing Somerset into the regional semifinals for only the second time ever, matching the feat from 2016. The task ahead will be a tall one though as the Panthers (15-11) will have to travel to Key West next Friday and Saturday (May 1-2) to take on the No. 2-seeded Conchs in a Region 4-4A best-of-three semifinal.

The game-winning hit came in the top of the 12th when Alan Sanchez, with two outs and a runner (Jon Mora) on second, hit a soft single to right field. A great throw from right field created a close play at the plate as Belen catcher Jose Batista reached out to put the tag on Mora, coming in from the outside with a hook slide. That call was safe despite the protestations of Belen head coach Jesse Fernandez, giving Somerset the lead.

The Wolverines didn’t go quietly as they managed to put two runners on with only one out in the bottom of the inning. But reliever Dario Laurinitus, who combined with fellow reliever Chris Angel Filpo to hold Belen scoreless from the seventh inning on, recorded a strike out and then a fly ball to left off the bat of Batista to end the game.

The result of the contest was stunning due to the fact that more than once, Belen had this game won and no more so than in the top of the seventh .

Thanks to a two-out bases-clearing, three-run double by Peter Lopez in the last of the sixth, the Wolverines took a 10-7 lead. The Panthers had two outs and nobody on in the seventh, and were literally down to their last strike as Belen players were standing at the edge of the dugout ready to storm the field. They never got the chance.

Belen pitcher had Ernie Diaz had an 0-2 count on Jay Martinez before eventually walking him. He then hit Mora putting two runners on setting the stage for senior Matt Farinas. With a 1-2 count and having never hit a home run in his high school career, the left-handed hitter launched a high drive to the left field corner that just barely cleared the fence for a game-tying three run homer.

“Honestly, all I was looking to do, in that moment, was not strike out,” Farinas said. “I just wanted to somehow get the bat on the ball and put it into play. The truth is, when it left the bat, I thought it was a fly ball to left.

“I put my head down trotting to first thinking I had flied out and then I heard my first base coach yelling ‘get out, get out’ I look up, and their guy is reaching over the fence and its gone. I was in shock. What a time to hit my first home run. A surreal moment to be honest. Even right now, the whole thing is still a little fuzzy.”

The Farinas homer would’ve been nothing more than a footnote had Belen (19-9) taken advantage of its two golden scoring opportunities in the ninth and 11th innings but could not.

They loaded the bases with one out in the ninth for Hayden Pelegrin who then check-swinged a slow roller to shortstop on the first pitch. With the infield in, Sanchez fired home for the force out. When Pelegrin slowed down on the first base line to look back at the play at the plate, Martinez fired down to first in time to complete the 6-2-3 double play sending the game to the 10th .

In the 11th, Belen players began to charge from the dugout again when they thought the game was ending following a two-out base hit to center by Andres Gross.

Batista was on second and came charging home around third with the winning run.

But Mora, Somerset’s center fielder had other ideas. He cleanly fielded the hard-hit shot and fired to home plate right on the mark. Martinez was waiting for Batista to put the tag on him and the game continued to the 12th.

“Our coaches always preach to us always go at every ball hard but as soon as I realized I wasn’t going to get there to make the catch, I slowed real quick so I could get it on the short hop and fire home,” Mora said. “Fortunately I made a good throw and we were able to cut him down. A huge night for me and this program. I’ve been a starter ever since freshman year so this would’ve been my last high school game tonight. I didn’t want it to end and now we’re moving on. This is great stuff.”

What will further haunt Fernandez and his Belen players was the fact that, thanks to a four run third inning, they enjoyed a 7-2 lead and had their ace Victor Escobar on the mound. But the Panthers didn’t blink. They answered right back by sending 11 batters to the plate in the fourth to score five runs to tie the game at seven and chase Escobar.

“Just an incredible moment for our program and our boys somehow just found a way to win this thing tonight,” said Somerset head coach Juan Mora, Jon’s father. “Just an unbelievable high school baseball game and so proud to be a part of it. Next week will be a big challenge for sure. Key West is a great program and a tough place to go and win. But hey, at this point, we’re just going to head down there with basically nothing to lose.”