Kan, Pembroke Pines Charter Shut Down Coral Glades 7-1

Pembroke Pines Charter got a complete all-around effort and a dominant pitching performance from sophomore Alejandro Kan to defeat visiting Coral Glades 7-1 on Thursday in the season opener for both teams.

Kan, making just his second varsity start, was solid throughout his five innings on the mound. He kept Glades hitless through four innings before giving up a pair of singles in the fifth. He walked two and struck out six.

Kan, who played on the varsity team last season as a freshman, kept the Glades batters confused with his curve ball and fastball. “Once I got it down, it was easy go,” he said.

Pines Charter coach Carlos Iglesias said Kan, one of the team’s top pitchers, executed the team’s philosophy of forcing contact.

“He threw a lot of strikes, made his pitches and kept the ball low,” Iglesias said. “He threw outstanding. He was around the strike zone the whole game.”

To complement Kan’s strong pitching performance was timely hitting and good defense. Pines Charter went to work against Glades starter Alex Kline from the outset. Leadoff batter David Monge-Rodriguez set the tone with a single to open the first. He was moved over on Jake Jacob’s sacrifice bunt and brought home by Kevin Daly’s base hit.

Kline appeared to find his form in the second as he struck out the side, but Pines Charter came back in the third and plated three runs. Monge-Rodriguez led off with a single and stole second and third before being driven in with Jacobs’ base hit. After Kevin Daly was hit by a pitch, Carlos Lopez Jr.’s sacrifice fly brought home Jacobs, and Eduardo Espino’s single to center allowed Daly to score and give Pines Charter a 4-0 advantage.

Kevin Druckman replaced Kline on the mound in the fifth, and Pines Charter tagged him for three more runs. Nicholas Eyrich led off with a walk and Espinosa followed that with a single. Druckman struck out Jorge Marrero but walked Alex Metallides. Pinch-hitter Jesse Gonzalez then belted a three-run double, scoring Eyrich, Espinosa and Metallides.

Coral Glades finally broke through in the top of the seventh as Kline reached on a error and scored on Thomas Santarcangelo’s base hit.

Iglesias said Pines Charter’s solid all-around effort Thursday night was the results of three productive weeks of practice.

“The intensity has been outstanding,” he said. “As a coach, you can not ask for more.”

He said the team follows the mantra of not getting ahead of itself and playing only for the moment.

The loss left Coral Glades with work to do as it gets ready for one of its foremost challengers in the district, Coral Springs. Glades will host the Colts on Tuesday.

Coach Jorge Miranda acknowledged that Kline’s “tempo wasn’t helping him out. We did a poor job of holding runners, and that put us in a situation where we had to force our hand and bring the infield in. Our execution wasn’t there. We needed to have better at-bats. We didn’t make adjustments, and they took advantage.”

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