Heritage Gets Leg Up In District 5A-16 With 5-3 Win Over Pompano

Monday night at American Heritage, two top ten teams squared off when the #1 ranked Patriots hosted district rival #9 Pompano. The Golden Tornadoes already had motivation to beat the Patriots, as the two teams are expected to battle for the District 5A-16 crown this year, but the idea of knocking off a top ranked team gave Pompano players even more motivation.

“When we saw the rankings came out today, and they (Heritage) were the number one team, I told my guys, ‘you have an opportunity tonight to show what you can do against a team that everybody looks at as the number one,'” said Pompano head coach Ryan Combs.

While the motivation was high, there is a reason that the Patriots are considered by many to be the top team in the area, and it is because on night’s like Monday, when they don’t play their best game, they still find a way to win. Heritage fell behind early but regained their composure several times in the 5-3 victory over their district rival.

Part of being a great baseball team is having different players that can step up on any given night. In this game, lead-off hitter Gabby Aurrecoechea was one of the difference-makers. The junior outfielder hit a one-out triple off the right-center field fence in the sixth inning with the score tied at three. Aurrecoechea then scored what would prove to be the winning run on a wild pitch. He finished the game 2-for-4 with a run.

“I was just going up with the approach of see the ball hit the ball,” said Aurrecoechea. “If you ask me how I hit it, I couldn’t really tell you. I go up there, and I just bang the ball. I ran hard out of the box, and I ended up on third.”

Pompano had several opportunities to win their district match-up. In the first inning, the Golden Tornadoes had Patriots starter Shaun Anderson on the ropes. A one-out double by Kenny Harrell and a two-out walk to Allen Benzenhafer put runners on first and second. Matt Fengler then singled home Harrell for the game’s first run.

After that, Anderson induced a ground ball to end the inning, and from there he was lights out. The junior would allow only one other run during his outing, which lasted five innings. Anderson finished the game with 10 punch outs and only one walk.

“Shaun was outstanding,” said head coach Bruce Aven. “He comes in, he pounds the strike zone. One thing our guys have been doing is really spotting their fastballs. Most guys say you don’t throw fastballs in high school, you throw a bunch of curve balls, but we pound the fastball. We’ll throw the curve balls when we need to, but when Shaun’s throwing like he was tonight, we’re going to pound the fastball.”

The Heritage offense gave Anderson the lead in the first with the help of three walks. A couple of Golden Tornado errors helped the Patriots extend the lead in the fourth, but in the sixth, Pompano fought back.

With the score 3-2, JJ Rodriguez accomplished the rare feat of sliding into every base on the field in one trip around. Rodriguez beat out an infield hit by sliding into first to start the sixth. He then stole second and third, sliding in safely both times, and when he slid into home on an RBI ground out by Fengler, the score was even at three.

Aven called on University of Miami signee Brandon Lopez to work out of a bases loaded sixth inning jam, which he did by striking out the final batter of the inning. After the Patriots scored two runs in their half of the sixth, Lopez again took the mound and struck out the side to end the game, giving Heritage another big win in the early stages of the season.

The win was nice, but Aven knows that the talent level in his dugout did not match the execution he has seen from his team so far this year, and after the game, Aven explained to his squad that if they want to be playing in May, they had better start doing the little things right.

“It’s been the same story in week two, week three. As hitters, we have yet to make adjustments. If we’re going to be a good team, then our hitters are going to have to learn to make adjustments, because our pitching has been outstanding, and since our pitching has been outstanding, our hitters have not had to face the consequences for their bad at-bats, and that’s just the bottom line.”

The win moves Heritage to 6-1, and sets up a showdown tonight at FAU against American Heritage – Delray. Pompano will get a week-long break before traveling to play a district game against Hallandale next Monday.

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