American Heritage Hitters Power Up In 12-1 Win Over Miami Brito

The American Heritage high school baseball team continued their resurgence on Wednesday evening in an impressive 12-1 win over Miami Brito. The win kicked off one of the toughest weeks of the year for the Patriots.

Coming into the Brito game, Heritage had won eight games in a row, scoring an average of over nine runs a game during the winning streak. The Patriots again broke out the big sticks Wednesday, hitting six home runs. The power was shown throughout the lineup as five different players connected with round-trippers.

For those in the stands that may have been watching Heritage for the first time, the first inning was telling to how their recent winning streak has gone. Brandon Lopez hit a two-run homer, erasing a 1-0 deficit. Derrick Fritz then followed with a solo shot, putting the Patriots up 3-1. By the end of the inning, Esteban Puerta added a third home run, and the lead had grown to 5-1.

Fritz added another home run in the fourth, and by that time, Heritage had put the game away. Fritz finished the night 2-for-3 with two home runs and three RBIs. The sophomore first baseman credited two seniors with his growth as a player.

“Sedell and Lopez (both Brandon’s),” said Fritz, when asked which team leaders helped him with his progress at this point in the season. “They carry us, and they let us young players know that we need to come in and do what we have to do to win.”

On the mound for the Patriots was staff ace Jimmy Nesselt. After giving up a lead-off home run to start the game, Nesselt only allowed two more hits in four innings of work. The senior went four innings for, picking up the win, while striking out eight.

Heritage lead-off hitter Brandon Diaz was part of the hit parade, going 3-for-3 with a home run and a double. Diaz also scored three runs and stole three bases. Diaz was another sophomore that credited the elder players with the teams success.

“I’m a lead-off guy, I just try to get on base,” said Diaz. “I have Sedell and Lopez behind me, they usually get me home every time, and that starts the whole thing off.”

When asked about his teams upcoming game with traditional power Westminster Christian, Diaz stated that the status quo would be the norm.

“We’re going to come out and do the same thing that we always do, and hopefully it will work out.”

This week, rain has been a factor for Broward teams for the first time this year. As was the case with many teams across the county, Heritage was washed out a couple of times early in the week, and Head Coach Todd Fitz-Gerald feels that may have helped his squad.

“Yeah, I would say so,” said Fitz-Gerald, when asked about whether this was one of his team’s best offensive performance of the year. “We had a couple days off, and it probably helped us a little bit. We had a couple days off because of the weather and that kind of helped us get refreshed and rejuvenated a little bit, and I think our bats were good tonight.”

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