Dade Christian Charging For A District Title in 2014

The Dade Christian Crusaders opened a lot of eyes around Miami baseball circles in 2013. After finishing a lowly 6-19 the season before and bringing in a new manager last offseason, the program appeared to be headed in a downward spiral.

With a new manager coming in to implement his brand of baseball, the first season is usually a rough one as players adapt to the demands of a new staff. However, as the 2013 season progressed, great things happened under new skipper Reggie Rodriguez. Not only did the Crusaders win games, they played their way to the 3A-15 title game against mighty Mater Lakes Academy, and made a regional appearance to top it off.

This season, Rodriguez hopes his team will build off of that momentum and surprise even more people around Miami by winning a district title and making a deep playoff run.

“That experience was invaluable to play for the district championship, regionals, and a tough schedule all year long,” Rodriguez said. “Our team is looking pretty good this year and we have good expectations of winning a district championship.”

The Crusaders will face some new opponents in their quest for a 3A-15 title. Powerhouse Mater Lakes Academy has moved up to Class 4A, but a few legitimate ball clubs have joined the league in 2014. Miami Country Day and Archbishop Curley remain in the group while the emerging school Hialeah Educational Academy, Weston-Sagemont, and Class 2A state champion Westwood Christian join the fray.

“Last year we had a tough district, this year again everybody is really good,” said Rodriguez. “Hopefully we should come out with the district title, and we’re working hard to try and do that.”

Only the top four seeds earn a playoff berth and the Crusaders expect to be in the thick of the race.

“With the experienced guys we have coming back, I think we have a good shot to win it this year,” senior shortstop and pitcher David Seijo said.

Most of those returning players will see action on the mound for Rodriguez. Dade Christian boasts a deep rotation of pitchers that will pay dividends for the club as the season progresses.

Senior Anthony Munoz, Seijo, right handed pitchers Nik Haber, Nick Cue, and Alex Perera will lead the club on the hill. With so many talented lineups in Miami, having depth in the starting rotation is important on days when the ace of the staff is unable to take the mound.

“Pitching is huge, that’s where it begins,” said Rodriguez. “Pitching and defense, you do those two things you have a chance to win every game. We have five or six guys that can really throw.”

When the pitchers kept their ERAs down, the team usually came up with a win. Nine of the Crusaders 10 wins came when they allowed four runs or less. In 12 of their losses they allowed their opponent to score 10 runs or more. The Crusaders pitching staff expects to keep those games a lot closer in 2014.

“If we stay healthy and our pitching staff does what they’re supposed to do we should be in every game we play,” Rodriguez said.

On the other side of the ball, Dade Christian will feature a lineup that scores runs the hard way. With a lack of power and a wealth of speed, the Crusaders will play small ball on offense. The key to their approach is coming up with timely hits and being smart on the base paths. The team swiped 37 bases last season, and they will look to run just as much this spring.

A four year starter in Munoz (.305 BA, 9 RBI, 5 SB), Perera (.306 BA, .424 OBP, 9 RBI), Seijo, and sophomore catcher Paul McIntosh, the son of former Florida State lineman Toddrick McIntosh, will carry the load on offense. Dade Christian averaged a shade over four runs scored per game in 2013 and they expect to improve upon those numbers with a year under their belts.

“We’re not a power hitting team, we like to play small ball, be smart on the bases and limit the errors,” Seijo said.

Rodriguez believes the experience of playing a tough schedule and later for a district title will have a huge impact on his team’s mentality this season. The Crusaders played South Florida powerhouses, 2A-15 champion Brito, 2012 state champion Plantation-American Heritage, 15-4A champion LaSalle, 4A state runner-up Florida Christian, and four-time defending state champion Archbishop McCarthy.

“It was huge last year, they had a chance to play for the district championship and after that we had regionals, but on top of that our schedule was loaded,” Rodriguez said. “I think that should translate to the field this year especially with summer and fall workouts. Our expectations again are to win a district championship.”

The team didn’t have to journey far from their home field to hit the weights. The program had the luxury of working out in a state-of-the-art fitness center on the school’s campus in Hialeah. The David Stephen Rodriguez fitness center gives the players a place to hit weights to improve their strength and conditioning as well as astudy room on the second floor to breakdown game film.

“Our guys spent a lot of time in the facility working on getting bigger, stronger, and faster and those results should translate to the baseball field,” said Rodriguez.

As Rodriguez and his coaching staff mold the Crusaders back into contenders, his ultimate goal is to prepare them for life after the game.

“This is my second year here and now is when we are finally getting into a groove, learning the system, and going with what works,” Rodriguez said. “My job is to put them in a situation to succeed and go to the next level to play college ball and earn a degree.”

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