Hubert’s Big Hit Lifts Nova Past Northeast In Extras

Playing in a state playoff game is a thrilling time that will send emotional charges that can carry most any player through every moment they need it.

Yet at the same time there is perhaps no greater challenge than to come off the bench and try to replicate that sort of immediate momentum late in a game.

But for some players, big moments are their best times to shine.

With the bases loaded in a tie ball game in the top of the eighth inning, Nova Manager Pat McQuaid knew he had the right person for just such a job in Patrick Hubert.

The senior pinch-hitter was true to the calling, drilling a 2-2 pitch for a two-RBI single to put his team ahead for good and send Nova to a 5-2 victory over host Northeast, in a Class 7A regional quarterfinal held at Davis Field at Northeast High in Oakland Park on Monday night.

“On that 2-1 pitch I kind of swung out of my shoes a little bit, but on 2-2 you’ve just got to shorten it up,” Hubert said. “I just hit the ball where it was pitched. There were so many emotions going through me that I didn’t even know what to do. It’s just such a great feeling, and it was a really good team victory tonight. Anything can happen; that is why you play all the innings.”

Hubert had come through in a similar situation earlier in the year in a victory over Georgia powerhouse Dunwoody, also on a 2-2 pitch with two outs.

“He struck out the first time and didn’t look very good. But I wanted to give him that chance for a big base hit,” said McQuaid, after Hubert entered the game in the sixth. “It just worked out. A lot of things I did today did not work out, so I just figured to leave him in there. He has come through for us before.”

The Hurricanes (12-10) were not going to celebrate simply because they gave the mighty Titans such a worthy battle, but they still had their reasons as to why they held their heads high with pride as they left the field for the last time this year

After going toe-to-toe with Nova for a second straight year in this round of the playoffs, they had proven that they belonged in this fight. Even as several core seniors on a team that had come together at the right moment said their goodbyes, they could do so knowing they had helped pave the way for the program to keep banging on this door.

“When something comes to an end you think about all the things that went on during the year. The thing I’m most proud of is the way we started to come together as a team later in the season. It’s something we’ve been stressing, to play team baseball. To finally see these guys playing together as a team, that was really gratifying,” Hurricanes Manager Kevin Carney said.

The Titans (14-8) have now earned another shot at district rival St. Thomas Aquinas, in a 7A regional semifinal that will be hosted by the Raiders on Wednesday night.

That game had originally been scheduled as part of the slate of regional contests being played on Tuesday, but due to the circumstances that found the Titans playing Monday night after an original scheduled date five days prior, the state allowed for the semifinal to be pushed back a day to accommodate.

After unforgiving storms pounded the area all last week, leaving Davis Field still unplayable even on Saturday, Carney pushed to keep the game at their home field rather than move to a neutral site to play Saturday.

“We could have made arrangements and not played here,” Carney said. “But the principal and the AD, we all felt it was important that we earned the right to host this game. I know we could have played on Saturday somewhere else, but we felt it was important to play the game here, even if it was on Monday.”

Although McQuaid would have preferred to play last week, he could not dispute the way both teams showed up to play once they finally got the chance to take the field.

“It was nice to see the kids win, because we could have easily lost tonight,” McQuaid admitted. “In the seventh we got a big pickoff, and we turned a double play to end the ball game. When the pressure was on, they played well. We played almost 20 kids today, and we don’t always do that. A couple of guys got base hits at the end that don’t normally play, and that was satisfying. Joey Fiorentino had a nice catch in centerfield, and he got that ground ball to get us the third run.”

After Hubert singled to send home Gabe Valverde and Cole Habig to put Nova ahead in the top of the eighth inning, Fiorentino hit an infield grounder that was misplayed to allow him to reach and Frankie Graf to come home to extend the lead.

It was a valiant effort from Hurricanes starter Ralph Morel, who pitched into the eighth inning on an efficient pitch-count and a gutsy performance.

Morel proved early on that he had done his homework, mixing up his approaches and oftentimes using his curveball to set up his fastball and other pitches. The junior scatted five hits and held the Titans to just one big inning, recording seven strikeouts which included striking out the side swinging in the top of the sixth.

“That kid pitched out of some tough jams,” said McQuaid. “Coach Carney does a good job with them.”

After walking Valverde to lead off the eighth, Morel exited the game to a respectful round of applause from both sides of the fan base.

“The kid’s got a lot of poise,” said Carney. “He knows how to pitch. It’s one thing to be able to go out there and throw, but he’s a guy that’s a pitcher. He sets guys up real well, and his control has been awesome. He’s just a good ball player, and he’s really learned a lot. He’s pitched in all our big games.”

Eduardo Uriarte came on in relief of Morel, and he too was able to recover and limit the damage to still give the Hurricanes a fighting chance. After Nova punched across runners on consecutive batters, Uriarte recorded a swinging strikeout to end the threat and strand two runners.

The senior struck out the side in his final inning of his high school career.

Pitching was the theme of the night, as the Titans also got a stellar performance from their sophomore starter Nick Marchese.

Making his first start of the year, the right-hander did not waste pitches as he attacked the zone and went after the Northeast batters with command. Marchese (3-0) pitched into the seventh inning on 106 pitches, never throwing more than 20 in a single inning. He scattered five hits and two walks while picking up four strikeouts.

But after Marchese walked Abrailis Jimenez, he too would exit to an appreciative round of applause from the extensive fans after the biggest performance of his career in his first varsity start.

Right-hander Bryan Burrows came on relief, and after walking Hassan Westbrook to put the tying run on the bases, he recovered to induce a 6-4-3 double play that ended the game to earn him his first save of the year.

It was the third double play for Nova on the night.

The Titans broke open a scoreless contest in the top of the fourth inning, as Kyle Pangallo got things started by drawing a walk, stealing second and reaching third on an error.

First baseman Brandon McCalla wasted little time in sending Pangallo the final ninety feet he needed to reach home as he cracked a single to left field to put Nova up 1-0.

Cole Habig dropped a bunt that perfectly skirted the infield line for a single and Lewis Rodriguez walked to load the bases, before McCalla came home on a walk to Ben Torres. Habig finished 3-for-4 with a stolen base.

“We went down 2-0, and in the past we’ve had a tendency that once we’ve given up a couple of runs we’ve hung our heads,” said Carney. “But we got out of it with just two runs, and that was important. We didn’t allow the wheels to come off. We felt confident with our approach offensively that we would get at least a couple of runs. We grinded it out a little bit. I just wish we got a couple more runs.”

The Hurricanes answered right back in the bottom of the fourth, as D.J. Kelly sent a slow roller to the shortstop and then raced to first ahead of the throw for a one-out single. The speedy centerfielder wasted little time in swiping second, and then raced around third and across the plate on a liner up the middle off the bat of Vince Duarte.

Uriarte came to the plate next and he blooped a single into shallow right field to put runners on the corners, as he also went 2-for-3 on the day.

Uriarte timed a pitch and then broke for second to induce a throw, as Duarte then broke from third base to slide in just ahead of the tag from Valverde to tie the game at two runs apiece.

“I’ve got the utmost respect for Coach McQuaid and what they do at Nova,” said Carney. “It’s good to see our guys competing at that level right now. We’ve taken that next step. Now we’ve got to see what we need to do to take it a step farther. The future is bright, people are excited, as well as the school and the community.”

Meanwhile, the Titans are left trying to figure out a Raiders team that has beaten them three times this season already by a combined score of 27-8, including a big loss in last week’s 7A-16 district championship.

“We’re going to be ready,” said Hubert. “We’ll have a really good practice tomorrow and we’ll focus. On Wednesday we just have to show up with our hearts. We’ve got a lot of talent on this team and Coach McQuaid knows how to develop us into ballplayers and men as well. I just think if we want it bad enough maybe we can go to the Final Four. We’ve just got to start clicking at the right time.”

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