Cepeda, Quintero, Power Cypress Bay Over Coral Springs

Dating back to the end of last season, there are not too many teams in Broward that have played better baseball than Cypress Bay. The Lightning continued their perfect season on Tuesday evening with a power display from the top of the lineup in a 9-3 win over Coral Springs.

The game pitted two of the surprise teams early in the 2014 season. The night was a showcase for one of the teams to show they are for real, and Cypress Bay took full advantage of the opportunity. Following a season-long theme, Cypress Bay fell behind early to the Colts, and then scored eight unanswered runs to cruise to victory.

“”Three games in a row we went around our lineup once and the visiting team had the lead,” said Cypress Bay Manager Mike White. “Then, the second time, we get back to the top of the lineup and Dan gets us going, and it just snowballs from there. We have to start better, but I am pleased that we are able to respond to being down. That’s the mark of a good team.”

The “Dan” that White was referring to was lead-off hitter Danny Cepeda. After flying out in his first at-bat, Cepeda followed with a double, a single, and a game-sealing two-run home run. Cepeda scored two runs on the day, and understands that it is his job to be the catalyst for the Lightning.

“I know my role is to get on base at the top of the order,” said Cepeda. “After the first time through the lineup, we knew we had to make adjustments. That is one of the strong points of our team, our ability to adjust, and we did that again today. Once we made the adjustments, we just kept our foot on the gas the rest of the game.”

Cepeda may have been the spark plug, but it was Tommy Quintero that was the hitting star of the night for the Lightning. Quintero went 4-for-4, with four runs scored. In the bottom of the third, with Cypress Bay trailing 3-1, Quintero came up with two runners on, and belted a three-run home run to right field. The blast put the Lightning up for good.

“I just wanted to put the team on my back, and get us going,” said Quintero. “My approach was to drive the ball to a gap and score both runs. After the first at-bat, we decided to sit on the fastball, and that’s what I did. I was telling everyone in the dugout that we needed to wake up, because we were a little flat. Luckily I got a pitch I could hit and I was able to help get my teammates going.”

The top of the order did most of the damage for Cypress Bay. Cepeda, Quintero, Brandon Escalante, and Enzo Clemente combined to go 10-for-16 at the plate, with eight runs scored, and six RBIs. Nick Orlando contributed from the eight-spot with two hits of his own, to go along with two stolen bases.

For the Colts, the loss represents a setback to an otherwise strong start to the 2014 season. Coral Springs, despite the loss, is still undefeated in district play, and now will turn their attention to their own district with games against Douglas and Taravella looming in the coming weeks.

“We just didn’t play well tonight,” said Colts Manager Frank Bumbales. “After we got down, we played like we were down. We started swinging for the fences, instead of trying to get rallies going. We were trying to hit five-run home runs to tie the game, and when you get to that point, you’re in trouble.”

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