Zion Lutheran Marches On With 5-1 Regional Quarterfinal Win

When Zion Lutheran head coach Jose Piedra took over the Lions, his hope was to build a team that could compete for a state championship. After Thursday afternoon’s 5-1 regional quarterfinal win over Mater Academy East, Piedra and his program are closer to the goal than they may realize.

The Lions had a game opponent Thursday in the Scorpions. Through the first two and a half innings, Mater Academy held a 1-0 lead. The Scorpions scored that run in the first inning after Daniel Hechevarria led off the game with a walk. John Merrill followed with a walk of his own, and both runners moved up on a groundout to third base. Hechevarria came in with the first run of the game on an Eric Hepple wild pitch.

That pitch was one of the few that Hepple did not control on this day. The sophomore settled down after the first, and took a no-hitter into the sixth inning. The only hit of the afternoon came in the sixth, on an infield single by Hechevarria.

“Straight up bulldog,” said Lions assistant coach Julian Cabrera, on Hepple’s performance. “That’s something he’s been doing all year long on the mound. Every time he goes out there, he’s going to pitch to his strengths and give you the best game that he’s got.”

Even with the superb pitching performance from Hepple, the Lions were having a hard time solving Scorpions ace Edgard Aparicio. Enter Blayne Baker.

The sophomore hit in the ninth spot Thursday, but he had a day that could easily be seen from a third- or four-hole hitter. In the third, with the Lions down 1-0, Baker executed a sacrifice bunt that eventually led to a Vick Vasquez suicide squeeze that brought in J.R. Meneses with the tying run.

In the fourth, with the score tied 1-1, Baker provided the defining moment in the game. After two quick outs, Bobby Barradas and Alex Ernestine followed with consecutive singles. Meneses was then hit by a pitch, and Baker made the Scorpions pay, launching a grand slam to left field.

“I was just thinking dead-red,” said Baker, when asked about his game-turning home run. “I just trusted everything that I’ve been working on with my coaches, and luckily I got a pitch I could handle and hit it out.”

Although the home run was big, Baker was equally as happy with his sacrifice bunt that led to the Lions tying the game in the third.

“Both of them were equally important,” Baker said. “They were at different points in the game, but without the sacrifice, the home run might have never happened.”

Mater Academy had nothing to bow its heads about after the game, as it is a program that is being built for the future, and head coach Lazaro Abreu put the loss into perspective.

“We’re very young, and our goal this year was to establish a program,” said Lazaro. “We wanted to get into districts and see how far we could go. The season ended today, but I would battle with this team against anybody. I’m proud of what they accomplished. We’ll build from this, and we’ll be back stronger next year.”

Zion Lutheran’s run will continue next week when it faces district rival Sheridan Hills in the regional semifinals. With two more wins next week, the Lions will make it to states in Port St. Lucie, and that is a destination Hepple and his teammates have their sights on.

“We’re just going to keep doing what we’ve been doing all year long,” said Hepple. “We’re going to practice hard, and whoever we play next week, we’ll be ready. Our ultimate goal is to get to states, and we are close, so we’ll work hard to make that a reality.”

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