Cinco De McCarthy: Archbishop Wins Fifth State Title

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The Maverick way of baseball never changes. Of all the teams that have donned the Archbishop McCarthy uniform over the years, the 2015 team had the greatest challenge of them all. Gone were the guys who had won a Florida record four straight championships, and in their place this season was a fresh group eager to prove they could carry on such weighty traditions.

On Saturday evening, the team proved up to the task. Facing Mosley in the Class 5A state championship at jetBlue Park in Fort Myers, the Mavericks played like champions and then became champions with a 3-0 victory. McCarthy won its fifth state title in the past six years, and the 2015 squad cemented their own legacy in the history of this proud and storied program.

“What a ride,” McCarthy Manager Rich Bielski said. “I can’t be any more proud of these young men. We never feel like we are rebuilding at McCarthy; we preach that we don’t rebuild, we just reload. Whatever shoes have left we need to find a way to fill them, whether that is to work harder or whatever it is. We had the most amazing senior class last year, and probably the most talented class we ever had come through McCarthy. They were the most heralded for all the state championships and the state record, with four in a row. These guys were so determined to live up to those expectations of their predecessors and the players that have come here before them.”

Senior right-hander Christian Demby earned the victory with six shutout innings. If not for a lengthy delay in the bottom of the sixth inning due to lightning strikes in the area, Demby would likely have gone the distance. But after the delay lasted too long, the coaches opted to go to Roger Garcia to close out the seventh. Garcia tossed a perfect 1-2-3 frame to seal the victory and earn the biggest victory in Demby’s baseball career.

“I feel like the luckiest kid in the world getting to play with these guys and these coaches,” Demby said. “When you go to Archbishop it is something special, and you feel it when you walk in. It is just amazing. It’s amazing to do this with these guys, and especially my first year here. The confidence that I have with them behind me and the feeling that I get when I step on the mound is just incomparable. This is what I came here for, this is what I have been waiting for and this is what baseball is all about.”

Demby settled in quickly on the mound, mixing a combination of fastballs, sliders and changeups to perfection. The senior surrendered four hits and a walk, while recording five strikeouts. After getting into the game in Friday’s semifinal win as a pinch-runner who went on to score the deciding run, Demby admitted that taste of the action helped him feel comfortable pitching in such a big environment on Saturday.

“Of course, getting in there and getting to play in the atmosphere and getting to see what it’s like in the stadium gets you a little more acclimated for what it’s like, as opposed to sitting in the dugout cheering other guys on,” Demby admitted. “They just said for me throw strikes and pitch to contact, and we’ll be behind you. I told them before the game to just get me two runs and we’ll have a state championship. They did and I had them behind me the whole time. Everything was working and I was confident. Every single inning I came in and had these guys behind me. There was no way I could not feel confident.”

The Mavericks (28-5) went right to work taking the lead in the bottom of the first. Kobe Lopez singled to center field to start the inning, and then advanced to second thanks to a sacrifice bunt from Alex Carballo. Kobe moved to third due to a passed ball, and then easily trotted home for the Mavericks’ first run when Alex Toral rolled an RBI single through the right side.

“It didn’t really cross my mind that the first run was going to be that big,” Toral said. “I just remember going to Christian after that, and he had told us he needed two runs to win the game, so I told him that he got one and one more was coming later.”

Toral helped set up the club’s second run with a leadoff double deep into the right field corner to begin the bottom of the fourth inning. Catcher Jake Anchia lined a single to left field, and then went to second base when the throw went to the plate to hold Toral at third. Ubaldo Lopez sent a fly ball to left field for the sacrifice that allowed Toral to come in and push the lead to 2-0.

McCarthy loaded the bases in the sixth, as Toral walked, Anchia reached on a fielder’s choice and Ubaldo also walked. Fred Matos delivered a fly ball deep to right field for the sacrifice that completed the scoring, after pinch-runner Samir Sanchez tagged up and raced home for the run.

Very few members on the current roster were a part of those past titles, and none of them were starters. Yet those few veterans with that playoff experience helped to lead the way for this young new group. In fitting fashion, it was the senior catcher Anchia who recorded the final out on a pop up straight up in the air behind the plate.

“The second that ball was hit into the air I thought about practices and how Coach mentions pop flys and to stay behind it,” Anchia said. “The second I caught that ball what came flashing through my head was of Pablo Sandoval falling back when they won the World Series. I wanted to do that so bad, but I knew my team was the other way. So I threw my glove and ran to Roger and Toral, who were already hugging each other.”

As one of the last links to those fabled teams of the previous few years, Anchia had taken it upon himself to be the guy to carry the torch and hand it off to the new regime. All season long the senior backstop has been a major contributor at the plate, a constant rock behind the dish and a leader in the clubhouse.

“This year is something that we learned throughout the years from having it taught to us from the seniors of previous years,” Anchia explained. “After last year ended Brian Gonzalez came to me and he told me that I would lead the team and continue the legacy. I thought that was something crazy that I had to do, but I just put my pants on and did whatever I had to do.”

Bielski credits the championship to the hard work every member of the program put in starting all the way back in the fall. The team dedicated itself in the weight room, in the classroom and on the field. The players embraced the lofty expectations heaped upon them, and it only forced them to work that much harder to prove they could also do what had been done before their time.

For Bielski, the victory is his seventh state championship in his coaching career. The veteran skipper also won two state titles during his time running the Hialeah Thoroughbreds baseball program. For Bielski, it is not about the individual accomplishments or any personal glory.

“What I treasure most is the camaraderie that I have with these players and these coaches,” Bielski said. “God has blessed me with the relationships that I have built through baseball, and he has blessed me with many sons. Each year I gain more and I just love being around the kids. We love baseball and we share that passion for the sport, to be competitive and to try to be the very best at whatever we are doing. One of the things that we insist of them that whatever they are doing we want them to do their best, even if it is just raking the third baseline, preparing the mound or sweeping out the dugout.”

Bielski was quick to point out the incredible coaching staff that he has surrounding him. Former Major Leaguers Alex Fernandez and Nelson Santovenia, “Pitching Scientist” Ric Butner, former Hialeah star Cookie Abay and Archbishop McCarthy alum Brayan Valencia all play huge parts for the program, and Bielski credits those guys even before he will take any praise for himself.

“We just have an amazing group of coaches together and I know the players see that,” Bielski said. “They see how we treat each other and how we look out for one another, and we’re family, and they do the same thing. It’s a gift to have those relationships and I appreciate those so much. No one man could do it all; it is always a combination. No one player can win a state championship; it is always about teamwork.”

Many Mavericks before them have known the thrill that the 2015 squad felt on Saturday evening. It is the dream every high school baseball player works so hard for, the culmination of dedication beyond measure, and something that the Maverick players admit they will always appreciate.

“Not everybody gets to come out and win a state championship in any of their four years of high school. It is something that we should cherish and not take for granted,” Toral said.

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