Sagemont Falls Short Again Against Hialeah Educational
Center field Sean Iacono was a spark for the visiting team, with his blazing speed and bat.
Yankees and Red Sox. Ali and Frazier. Real Madrid and Barcelona. Hialeah Educational and Sagemont. Can only two games create a rivalry? Don’t give the fans attending Wednesday’s game at Slade Park a negative answer.
In what ended up being an entertaining but one-sided context, Hialeah Educational Academy got the best of Sagemont by a score of 11-4.
After starting the season last week against each other with the Bulldogs (3-0) winning 5-3, the Lions drove from Weston to meet the new found rival at its home field.
“This is the second game we have played against them,” Bulldogs manager Manuel Pazos said. “The first one was kind of like this one, a close game.”
The game proved to be enjoyable from the beginning. The Lions (1-2) scored first, after the catcher Edison Rodriguez drove in two runs with a double. This was followed by another hit and a walk that loaded the bases.
With only one out, Bulldogs starter pitcher Marc Anthony Suarez looked with no answers for the Lions lineup. What followed, as expected, was a visit from his coach to calm his nerves and to instruct him how to get out of the jam.
As if it was scripted for a movie, Suarez punched out the next two batters to finish the inning.
Starter Marc Suarez didn't let pitch count, blisters or hitters bother him through his complete game.
“They just told me to throw strikes, throw hard,” Suarez said. ”They were telling that I was slowing down my pitches.”
The answer from the Bulldogs did not take too long. Opening the bottom of the second, first baseman Alfredo Barroso hit a towering home run over the left-field wall. Barroso, who finished a perfect 3-for-3 with a walk, a double and two RBIs, said he felt really good after hitting the ball.
“It was just about hitting the ball and running hard until I saw it cleared the fence,” Barroso said.
In the top of the third, the Lions scored another run fabricated with small ball and the smarts of senior Sean Iacono. The center fielder got a hit, stole second base, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on a throw to first base by the Bulldogs third baseman to check the runner.
The game seemed to be in cruise control, a pitching duel between Sagemont starter Andres Vasquez and Suarez, up to the fifth inning when the visiting Manager Wesley Morejon pulled Vasquez from the game.
The relievers surrendered three consecutive walks, two errors and three base hits for a total of eight runs.
On the other side, Pazos showed a lot of trust in his starter. Suarez pitched a complete game, striking out seven, giving up seven hits and four earned runs.
In the last inning, he seemed to be bothered by a blister, but he kept his composure and stayed in the contest.
“I was getting a blister,” Suarez said. “But I knew I had to finish the game. You have to do what you have to do.”
After the game Pazos stated that he thought after only three games the team is coming around.
“It was the first game at our home field, the nerves got the kids a little excited with the crowd,” Pazos said. “But in the end we got our focus and the win. Our main goal for the season is to win our district. From then on, whatever comes it will be a welcome blessing.”
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