Cardinal Gibbons Falters Late Against Gulliver Prep

For six and two-thirds innings, host Cardinal Gibbons kept one of the premier powerhouses in Miami-Dade County pretty much in check after a strong outing on the mound from starter Michael Hanke and reliever Thomas Woodrey.

But a forgettable seventh inning in which the Chiefs gave up five unearned runs to put themselves out of the game paved the way for a 6-0 win by Gulliver Prep on Saturday.

Hanke scattered three hits and struck out four in his three innings. After he gave up a leadoff single to Henry Hernandez to start the second inning, Joe Dunard got on base courtesy of a fielder’s choice. An error allowed Dunard to score, giving the Raiders a 1-0 lead that would hold up until the seventh as the teams staged a pitchers’ duel.

Gulliver (5-1) starter Ivan Pelaez handcuffed the Chiefs (2-3), allowing only one batter to reach base before Woodrey got the first hit for Gibbons in the fourth.

Woodrey picked up where Hanke left off when he relieved him in the fourth. He struck out the side in that inning and fanned four more before Gibbons broke down in the seventh. Woodrey struck out the first two batters in the top of the seventh, but then Adrian Murin reached on an error. Ricky Eusebio followed with a double, and Chris Chinea was intentionally walked to load the bases. Eric Neitzel got on with an error and Murin came home before Eusebio scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-0. Chris Satisteban walked and then Hernandez put things out of reach for Gibbons with a bases-clearing triple for the final margin.

Pelaez said he effectively stymied the Gibbons lineup with three pitches as he struck out six and allowed three hits.

“My fastball was working and my change-up helped me out and my slider helped me out,” Pelaez said. “They’re a good group of kids, but what they put in front of you, you’ve got to dominate.”

Raiders coach Javier Rodriguez said Pelaez “was good, mixing up his speeds throughout the day. For us, it was a tough day to hit all around with the wind in our faces.”

Rodriguez said his team was able to capitalize using its speed on the basepaths.

“We’re a team that runs well, and we’ve got to take advantage of every base when we can. And then we came up with a big hit to score three extra runs.”

Gibbons coach Frank Pisani commended the work of his pitchers but expressed concern with his defense.

“I thought we had great pitching from Hanke and Woodrey,” he said. “They did the job phenomenally.”

Saturday’s game against a Miami-Dade power such as Gulliver was part of Pisani’s overall plan to get his team prepared for the part of the season that matters the most.

“I schedule all quality opponents to prepare for the district,” Pisani said. “Our kids were not in awe of them.”

Gibbons, which is on a three-game losing streak, will face another top team from Miami-Dade on Thursday when it travels to Monsignor Pace. The Chiefs then begin a stretch of 12 district games in a row, kicking off with Pine Crest next Saturday.

Gulliver, which won its fifth in a row Saturday, hosts district opponent Key West on Wednesday.

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