Zion Lutheran Ready To Build Under New Manager Ayala

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Ray Ayala has always been involved in coaching in the city of Miami. But when the chance to take over a young program and mold them into a contender opened up, Ayala jumped at the opportunity.

Ayala takes over a Zion Lutheran program that is starting fresh with almost an entirely new roster this season. Although the Lions were just one game away from making the state playoffs a season ago, almost every player from that roster has now moved on. It is a young and fresh new crop of players that Ayala will manage, and it is going to take some work to mold this squad into a state contender.

It is exactly the type of challenge that Ayala welcomes.

“I’m a Dade County boy at heart, but this was an opportunity that I could not pass up,” said Ayala, who is a longtime Miami coach and who was also an assistant on the Somerset staff a season ago. “This is going to be fun up here. It’s my first time as the head guy and I’m looking forward to get my feet wet with the players.”

The program is in a grass-roots stage right now. It is a family environment at the small Lutheran school in Deerfield Beach, and Ayala has enjoyed a ton of support from parent volunteers and the Lions administration. With such a small school it is much easier to ensure nobody gets lost, as each player gets the attention they need both in school and on the field.

Ayala understands that this will take some time to build the program into a consistent contender, especially given the limitations that come with such a small student population at Zion Lutheran. The new skipper intends to develop his players by installing a middle school and junior varsity program to help build that tradition. The biggest advantage is that the school caters to students from the kindergarten age all the way to high school, which means the players will spend years in the program to prepare themselves for the high school level of play.

By getting the younger programs established it can build consistency through the levels. The junior varsity kids can mentor the young middle school players, while the varsity guys will mentor the jv players. By being in the system for years the guys will also know the verbage and lingo, and this familiarity will help make the transition to varsity baseball that much easier.

While they work to build a foundation, they will not overlook the opportunities they have this season too. The current players know they have a great chance to compete in Class 2A this year. They are anxious for the chance to make another run at a state playoff berth that slipped just out of their grasp last year when they suffered a home loss to eventual 2A state champion Westwood Christian.

“They are still walking around with a very sour taste in their mouths from last year,” said Ayala. “They have some unfinished business and if we handle our business we have a strong opportunity to do that. On paper it looks very feasible. The powerhouse in the south is Miami Brito. They have a program built on tradition, and while we don’t want to look that far ahead, if we want to get to states those are the type of teams we will have to beat.”

With Westwood Christian now moved up to Class 3A this season, Ayala admits that the Brito Panthers are the club the team has an eye on. The Lions understand that they have to take care of their own business, just as the Panthers must in their own district, but they also know it is hard to ignore the reality that the road to the Class 2A state tournament will very likely run through Brito.

“If we have any aspirations of going to states, we know the road goes through Brito, until somebody proves they can beat them,” said Ayala. “Westwood did it last year, but now they are gone to 3A. So as far as I’m concerned they are the reigning champs. They have our respect. Our goal, we feel if our players play our best baseball and we are humble, then we feel we can get to that point.”

The leadership and ability of the team’s two returning veterans gives them the confidence and hope that they can accomplish their goals this season. Seniors Blayne Baker and Manny Rojas will anchor the roster, with Baker setting the tone on the mound and Rojas providing the big bat in the lineup. The team has a lot of promising new players around them, guys that Ayala is still learning who they are and what they can do. But in the meantime the squad knows what they have in their two big stars, and they know they will have to ride those horses if they hope to compete in the playoff race.

Manny Rojas comes off a junior campaign in which he hit .517 with a team-leading 30 hits in 58 at bats, with 24 runs, 13 RBIs, three doubles, three triples and two home runs. The speedy second baseman will provide crucial leadership and a valuable presence to an otherwise young and unproven lineup. Although Ayala favors an offense built on power, he has learned that he must adapt to his players and mold the roster around what they do best.

Blayne Baker is a hard-throwing right-hander with poise and grit to go with a great deal of experience. The senior has proven himself in big moments, and he is poised to be an invaluable anchor to the pitching staff. Baker compiled 29 strikeouts in 27 innings last year, and he has greatly improved in the offseason to bring a polished and dangerous arsenal of pitches to his fourth and final season of varsity baseball.

One of Ayala’s most important goals for each of his seniors is to help make sure they are able to continue playing the game they love at the college level. Both the Lions seniors have the drive and ability to compete for a college program, and the coaches encourage them to stay the course both on the field and in the classroom to help ensure they will achieve those goals.

“To win a state title is great, but the bottom line is to send kids off to college,” said Ayala. “We go to the system, and if they do things the Zion way then we will have those same colleges asking us for more of our players. Those guys have a chance to not only represent themselves in college, but also to let those schools know what type of players they can expect to get from Zion.”

Even while they look to the future both for the younger players and or the seniors hopeful to make the next level, the team still understands there are great opportunities for them to make this a special season at Zion. With the realignment placing them in a small three-team district with Grandview Prep and Boca Christian, the Lions know they have an opportunity to make waves in this year’s playoffs.

The chances they have give them plenty of reason for excitement, but first they must take care of today. Tomorrow seems very far away with such a young team to mold and shape into form, and it is this part of the process that has Ayala focusing all of his excitement and attention on right now.

“We’re a long way from there, and Rome wasn’t built in a day,” Ayala said. “Some battles we fight today and some we push off for a later date. We hope to be stronger next year and every year going forward. We have talented young guys who are going to be scary in three years. But right now they are just puppies. They are teething now and they haven’t shown their teeth yet.”

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