Miami Christian overcomes early deficit to advance to fourth state final in six seasons
An inning where a pitcher gives up two runs on four hits and a walk can often rattle a team especially at the state tournament.
But not one as experienced as Miami Christian.
Senior Jeffred Fermin was confident in his ability to limit the damage and his teammates’ ability to recover.
He was right.
After recording a strikeout to end the first, Fermin did not allow another run and neither did Matthew Fernandez and Hector Escobar - the pitchers that would follow.
The Victors’ offense, led by senior right fielder Willy Mendez, responded with six runs over the next two innings and helped Miami Christian cruise to a 9-2 win over Orlando The First Academy in a Class 2A state semifinal on Monday at Hammond Stadium.
The Victors (22-4) will next try to win their fourth state championship in the past six seasons (not counting the canceled 2020 season), and fifth overall, when they face Orange Park St. Johns Country Day (24-6) in the 2A final at 11 a.m. on Wednesday.
“We kept our heads up and got one back and then we caught rhythm at the right time,” said Miami Christian coach Chris Cuadra, who has coached the Victors to three state titles since 2018. “Fermin settled down and put up goose eggs after that. What I love about this bunch is whenever we get down we stay even keel and make it happen.”
That cool under pressure comes from the experience of navigating through a challenging schedule that included wins over American Heritage, West Boca Raton, Calvary Christian, Varela and Braddock - all playoff teams.
Mendez went 3 for 4 with three RBI with two of those coming on a go-ahead single that was part of a five-run second inning which gave Miami Christian a 6-2 lead.
After senior shortstop Ronny Cruz drove in a run on a ground out, senior Fabio Peralta drove in another run on a single.
Peralta went 2 for 3 while Alejandro Abreut went 2 for 4 with an RBI and Kevin Bruno went 1 for 2 with a walk and two RBI.
Fermin did the rest, allowing only two more hits after the first inning to finish with five strikeouts in five innings and 86 pitches. Fernandez struck out two and walked two while Escobar struck out one over 1⅓ innings.
“After the first inning, I knew all I had to do was come back because I knew my teammates had my back. They did an excellent job picking me up,” Fermin said. “It was a lot of missed spots and I got behind in counts. All those guys are good hitters and they were putting balls in play, but our defense was doing its job.”
Miami Christian’s infield defense was spectacular as Cruz made two diving defensive stops at short - one in the first and one in the third. First Academy was nowhere near as sharp as it made four errors, which contributed to the Victors’ onslaught.
“We just told (Fermin), ‘Hey, don’t panic. We’re going to get you back in this game,’” Peralta said. “We all communicate and it brings us together and gives us a boost of confidence…We’re hungry man, our senior year, we want it all.”
This story was originally published May 20, 2024, 5:25 PM.
