Mavericks Run Away Late For 5-1 Victory Over Belen

Winning games this deep into the postseason oftentimes requires teams making adjustments in order to be successful.

In a tight game against a talented hurler, host Archbishop McCarthy did exactly that.

The results spoke for themselves, as the Mavericks padded their lead late to pull away with a well-earned 5-1 victory over Belen Jesuit, in a Class 6A regional quarterfinal played Saturday night at Mavericks Field at Archbishop McCarthy High in Southwest Ranches.

“Their pitcher was good and he was commanding all of his pitches. We just tried to stay back and go to opposite field,” Mavericks senior catcher Michael Hernandez said. “We just tried to let the ball get deep and hit it to right field. We usually score in the first, but today wasn’t one of those days. I knew we would do it; we just had to make adjustments.”

McCarthy (22-5) will now travel to Westland Gardens Park in Hialeah to face Mater Academy (25-3) in a Class 6A regional semifinal on Tuesday night.

“It’s so much fun to coach these kids,” Mavericks Manager Rich Bielski said. “They work so hard and they love the game of baseball. They love to compete and they love to win.”

To defeat the Wolverines (19-9) in the playoffs for the second season in the row, McCarthy turned to its ace and workhorse in left-hander Brian Gonzalez. The junior once again proved up to the calling in throwing six strong innings to earn the victory on the mound.

Gonzalez was less consistent early on, as Belen was able to put runners on base in each of the first two innings. But the lefty settled into a groove as he got going and got tougher and tougher to hit along the way.

As is typically the case, with every ace there is a great catcher there to go pitch-to-pitch the whole way with him. For Gonzalez that catcher is Hernandez, a four-year veteran on this elite ball club.

“There’s always going to be emotions, but I just try to help keep him in check,” said Hernandez. “I let him remember that he doesn’t always have to over-power people. He just has to go after hitters and throw strikes. His fastball wasn’t pounding as usual, but his off-speed stuff helped him out. He’s a fighter and he battled.”

For Gonzalez, his off-speed stuff included a devastating change-up that kept the Belen lineup off-balance all day.

“He had his changeup working really nicely,” Wolverines Manager Jerry Albert said. “He’s got nice velocity and an excellent changeup. He was throwing three pitches for strikes and that made it tough. I give them a ton of credit; they do a great job. They get great players here and they are great baseball kids. They’re experienced, they’re confident, and you can see it in the way they play.”

Momentum seemed to play a huge factor in the outcome, as Brandon Vicens seemed to reach down and find a way to bring all the momentum around the bases and back into the dugout with him in the bottom of the third inning.

The centerfielder came to the plate with two outs and the bases empty in a scoreless contest, and with one swing of the bat he put his team in control as he sat back and drove a shot deep to right field and out of the yard for a solo home run and a 1-0 Mavericks lead.

“That first run really sparked us,” Bielski admitted. “Brandon hit that ball so well and that really got us going. Guys were going up there with a little more confidence and a little better attack-plan at the plate. That really got us going, and it was huge for us.”

This week’s weather had disrupted playoff baseball across South Florida, which included pushing Saturday’s contest back twice from an original date on Thursday. The end result left McCarthy taking the field against Belen having not played a game in a week, while also having been unable to even muster much practice time on the field.

“Considering the circumstances, you’ve got to deal with it and try to play your best baseball,” said Bielski.

Once the Mavericks took the lead, it was exactly what they did.

Gonzalez was efficient with his pitches and continued to keep the Wolverines at bay, relying on his off-speed stuff to lead the way to the tune of eight strikeouts.

“He has that devastating, Tom Glavine-like changeup,” Bielski said. “He locates it really well and he can throw it in any count. He also came up clutch with the stick tonight and had a big hit for us.”

After Jonathan Quintana led off the fifth inning with a double and Vicens walked to eventually put both runners in scoring position, Gonzalez came up with his biggest moment of the night when he held back and drove a pitch deep to the right field corner for a two-RBI double that drove in the deciding runs.

Aaron Soto drew a walk to join Dylan Bautista on the bases, after Bautista came in to serve as a courtesy-runner for Gonzalez. Eddie Silva followed with a back-breaker, as he drove a sharp liner past the diving second baseman to send both runners across the plate and increase the lead to 5-0.

Hernandez joined the hit parade to come through with a single to keep the inning going, as he finished 1-for-3 after also reaching on an error in the fourth.

“We’ve been very blessed to have him back there for us the past four years,” Bielski said of his senior catcher. “There are some scouts who say he is the best defensive catcher in the state of Florida, and that’s what helps lead us to great seasons.”

Defense has been a staple of this squad, and on Saturday the unit did not commit an error on the night.

“We love to play defense, and it’s something that we pride ourselves on,” said Bielski. “We enjoy it, we take pride in it, and we celebrate it. For a high school team to go no errors in a game is pretty good. Defense wins championships, so we spend a lot of time with it and we work very hard on it.”

After going 2-for-2 with a double and a walk to reach base in each attempt, as well as playing his part with solid plays at first base, Aaron Soto took the mound in the top of the seventh to close out the contest by striking out the side.

With this one now behind them, the Mavericks move one step closer on their quest to become the first Florida team to win four consecutive state championships. But Bielski admits that he does not think about that aspect unless it is brought up to him.

“I treat every season like I’ve never won a single championship,” he explained. “I just go after it as hard as ever, as my first year. It took me nine years to win the first one, and I still feel that hunger every day, that passion. As a coaching staff we try to share that with the players, and we hope it rubs off on them. I think a lot if it does.”

After being a part of each of those three championship teams in each of his first three years of his high school career, Hernandez also admits that the drive for another only gets stronger.

“To win my fourth ring would be the greatest thing, especially my senior year to go out with a bang,” Hernandez said. “I’ve got to say that this has probably been the most fun year, because I’ve know these guys so long and we’ve played together since we were small. This is a magical year.”

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