Doral Outlast Gibbons In Extra Innings

With two dominant pitching staffs dueling Tuesday night in Coral Springs, it seemed the type of game that could have gone on forever. Then Doral Academy’s Yasiel Fabra mashed a triple to plate two runners and lead the Firebirds to a 3-0 win over Cardinal Gibbons in the Colts First Pitch Classic.

Back-to-back singles set the tone for Fabras’ big triple, which he blasted over the center fielder’s head and to all the way to the wall. As Coach Ralph Suarez notes, it totally turned Fabras’ night at the plate around.

“Timely hitting is everything,” Suarez said. “The kid who killed the ball for the triple struck out three times before that. So it’s all about staying in the moment.”

Christian Cuba started on the mound for the Firebirds. Using low-80’s hard stuff and mixing in a good running slider, Cuba overcame a rocky start in which he walked the first few batters to then set down his next nine in order. He was backed by excellent defense, namely the pairing of third baseman Andre Valbuena and first baseman Henry Alvarez. On three separate occasions, Valbuena made a tough play at third, getting an accurate but tough throw off every time. On each occasion, Alvarez made impressive stretches and digs. Two of the plays ended in outs.

Alvarez also made a great heads-up play in the fourth inning on a sacrifice bunt attempt. The Firebirds got an out at first, and Alvarez, seeing the runner leading off the bag, wheeled and threw to second, catching the runner in no man’s land.

All of this excellent defense from his corner men was a bit of a pleasant surprise to Coach Suarez considering where they are in their careers at their respective positions. He equates their early success to their work ethic both over the off-season and in practice.

“The kid who is playing first was in left field last year and the kid who is playing 1st was a JV player last year,” Suarez said. “But they’ve worked really hard in the fall and we’ve gotten a lot better. In the three games we’ve had so far we’ve had very good defense.”

In the fifth inning, Doral executed a “strike ’em out, throw ’em out” double play to perfection. After a walk put a man on first with one out, Carlos Pino made a beautiful speedy transition from crouch to pop with a strong throw and gunned down his man attempting to take second. All of this great defense paved the way for the huge offensive eighth inning by the Firebirds.

After his team took the lead, it was up to Royevan Armas to hold it. Armas did so by stifling hitters with a nasty out-pitch curveball and good moving heat. He struck out five over his two innings of work and earned the save.

The result left Suarez nearly speechless. His guys played a great game and the offense exploded at crunch time against a very good team that won the majority of their games last year.

“Unbelievable night,” Suarez said. “I am very proud of my guys.”

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