Sagemont Earns Pivotal District Win Over Westwood

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Edgar Abreu was almost there.

With one out remaining in a tight ball game, the Sagemont starter stepped off the mound a moment to collect himself. The Lions had reached a big point in a tough opening stretch, and Abreu needed just one extra second to regroup before toeing the rubber and firing the last few pitches he needed to close things out.

Two tosses later shortstop Brynn Martinez recorded his fifth putout of the day to put the final touches on a big 3-0 shutout victory over district foe Westwood Christian, in a contest played Tuesday afternoon at Tequesta Trace Park in Weston.

“It helped me recuperate and get everything together, and just go at it for the last one,” Abreu said of his quick breather just prior to closing out his complete-game victory. “It went great in the bullpen and I just carried that over onto the field. I just try to do the best I can and hit my spots like my coach taught me. It’s a big win because it moves us up in the district and just helps us keep moving forward to try as hard as we can to get the next one on Friday.”

Sagemont improved to 4-3 overall, as well as in District 3A-15. The team is nearing the end of a very challenging opening schedule that has seen nothing but district contests, and they have begun to build some steam in winning their last three games.

Also pivotal in the results was the fact that the Lions have now defeated the Warriors (5-5) twice this year, after a lopsided road win earlier in the season. With Westwood hanging right in there at 3-3 in 3A-15, the tiebreaker edge could come into play before it is all said and done.

“It’s a three-game win streak now and they were all district wins, so that’s huge,” said Sagemont Manager Wesley Morejon. “I told these guys from the get-go that 13-3 game we played at their field wasn’t going to come into play here today. They have improved a lot and they came out here to play today, and we had to show on our end that we’ve improved as well. It was a good test as far as district competition and the pressures of the game, that they were able to keep composure the whole time. We’ll take that alone in this game.”

Making his first start of the season after pitching in relief thus far, Abreu was the model of composure to set the tone from the mound. The senior needed just 71 pitches to go the distance for the first time in his high school career. The right-hander scattered five hits and recorded two strikeouts without issuing any walks.

Abreu showed great connection to his catcher, Stefan Revelo, who teamed for a great game with his starter. Stefan was on the same page all day long, even having the alertness to take a quick conference on the mound just to buy Abreu a few more moments to collect himself with two outs in the seventh.

“He threw quick and he threw amazing,” said Stefan. “Coach says if the pitcher gets two quick outs, get him to settle down because the game can move fast and it’s his game to control. It’s his time, so I just tried to keep him calm and get that final out and get the ‘W’.”

Stefan backed his pitcher with a crucial at bat in the fifth inning. Although things did not start so well for him when he came to the dish in the bottom of the fifth with leadoff man Brynn Martinez on first, the moment was a classic example of how one can fail in baseball and still bounce back to succeed.

Martinez led the inning off with a walk, and in a scoreless pitcher’s duel Stefan attempted to drop down a sacrifice bunt, but instead fouled the pitch off. Martinez broke for second on the next pitch and, after eluding a tag in a rundown, he managed to safely swipe the bag. The very next pitch he made a great jump and also swiped third base to get within ninety feet of cracking the scoreboard.

Stefan’s job was a bit different by the end of his at bat, and after fouling a few pitches off he connected on the seventh offering and slapped an RBI single up the middle.

“I still feel bad because I failed to execute at first,” Stefan said. “At practice our coach is always stressing the two-strike approach, so I waited back and looked for something that I could drive. He gave me a fastball there and I was able to put it up the middle. I love that pressure and having that intensity. I love when the whole team is counting on me, because I am counting on them. It’s great.”

Coach Morejon tells his team that the games are won in the fifth, sixth and seventh inning, and they must win inning by inning to earn that win late. Stefan recalled a recent loss to Hialeah Educational Academy in which they lost the lead in the sixth inning, and he knew it was that time in the game to buckle down and make a big play.

“He was a little aggressive early on and trying to go get the ball instead of letting the ball come to him,” Morejon said. “I tell him all the time that we’ll give you the first few pitches in the at bat if you’re going to be aggressive, but that two-strike pitch belongs to your coaching staff and it belongs to your team. He did a good job of staying with it the whole time and it paid off with a big hit.”

Sagemont used fundamental baseball to add a pair of insurance runs. Sean Iacono kept things going by zipping a liner up the middle, and Edison Rodriguez blooped a single to shallow right field to load the bases. Chris Iacono was patient following a pitching change, and that paid off with an RBI walk. Andres Vasquez then closed out the scoring with a sacrifice flyout that drove home Sean Iacono.

Sean Iacono has been a big factor in the offense this season, leading both the team and the county in hitting. The senior centerfielder continued swinging a hot bat on Tuesday, going 3-for-4 with a double on the day.

With so many tough games still remaining ahead, Sagemont did not spend much time on celebrations following the victory. Yet the team did walk off the field satisfied in knowing they have begun to put things together in all facets of the game. On top of the great pitching and timely hitting, the Lions also got a nice defensive performance.

Despite committing a throwing error, they countered that with several big plays. Nico Leontarakis made a nice diving catch in right field to end the top of the fifth, stranding Michael Mejias after the third baseman reached on an infield chopper off the pitcher’s glove. The Warriors had a nice approach to swing for the opposite field, which led to Leontarakis recording four putouts in all. Playing in a cavernous outfield, the Lions defenders showcased their range and speed by tracking down every fly ball.

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