Archbishop McCarthy Opens Title Defense In Style

It didn’t take long for three-time defending state champion Archbishop McCarthy to show it means business again this season.

Sending 10 batters to the plate in a five-run first inning, the Mavericks opened their 2013 campaign Monday night with a 14-0 mercy-rule victory over Pompano Beach.

Senior pitcher/first baseman Brian Gonzalez was the star of the night, allowing just two hits over three innings while also hitting a three-run home run to deep left field later in the contest.

“We were seeing the ball real well and hitting it hard tonight, and our pitching was outstanding,” winning manager Rich Bielski said. “That was a nice way to start the season.”

Things didn’t quite start exactly the way Bielski wanted in the top of the first when Gonzalez allowed a leadoff hit that turned into a runner on second with no outs when his starter was errant with a throw to first, but that was pretty much it for the Mavs’ lowlights.

Gonzalez got himself out of the jam he created and then watched as two of his three teammates above him in the lineup doubled to begin the bottom of the inning.

Gonzalez would have to wait for an RBI after reaching due to catcher’s interference, but his other friends below him in the lineup wouldn’t as McCarthy (1-0) tallied five runs off Pompano’s lefty starter Brian Dolan.

Things didn’t get much better for the Tornadoes (0-1) in the second when Aaron Soto’s RBI single and Alex Rodriguez’s second run driven in made it 7-0.

Rodriguez would pick up his third RBI in the fourth inning and score two batters later on transfer Brandon Vicens’ first RBI as a Maverick. Then, after a Michael Gigliotti sac fly, Sinzenich hit what appeared to be an inning-ending fly ball high into shallow center field with two on and two out.

The ball was dropped, leading to an 11th run scoring and the inning being extended. That would also mean Gonzalez’s big bat would get another swing, and this time the catcher wouldn’t be an issue.

Gonzalez turned on a pitch and with all of his 6-3, 230-pound frame behind it, powered the ball into the night and far beyond the left-center field fence.

“I felt good on the mound and my defense played well behind me,” Gonzalez said. “Then on my last at-bat I tried to swing a little easier than my earlier ones and I tried to just make it easy and calm and barrel the baseball up.”

Four outs after Gonzalez’s barrel work, things were called for the night.

Pompano Manager Ryan Combs was understandably disappointed in his team’s two-hit performance, but he had some positives to take away from a loss to one of the state’s premiere programs, especially considering he was missing his entire battery.

“I thought we hit it alright and were aggressive,” Combs said. “We’re young and missing our No. 1 starter (Tyler Keller) and our starting catcher (Christian Perez), who are both hurt. They played to their level and we played down, that’s all.”

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