Archbishop Cruises To Regional Quarterfinal Win Behind Martinez

The calendar has turned to May, and that means one thing, playoff baseball in Southwest Ranches. The Archbishop McCarthy Mavericks are at it again, rolling through the playoffs on the strength of their pitching.

Thursday night, it was co-ace Andre Martinez who took the mound against Hialeah-Miami Lakes, and the team from Miami was no match for the future Florida State Seminole lefty. Martinez dominated on the mound, and the Mavericks offense did more than enough in a regional quarterfinal 7-0 win.

Martinez allowed one hit and struck out 11 in five innings of work, maneuvering through the Trojan lineup with ease.

At the plate, lead-off hitter Adam Duarte reached base four times, scoring twice and knocking in a run.

Jason Morozowski came up with the big hit in the game when he tripled home three runs in the fourth to give the Mavericks a comfortable 5-0 lead. Morozowski scored the sixth run of the game a few pitches later on a Brandon Roberts single. Nick Basto then put the icing on the cake with a booming double, scoring Roberts to put the game out of reach at 7-0.

Archbishop then showed its depth on the mound. Ryan Castellanos pitched a one-two-three sixth inning, striking out two Trojan batters, and Brian Gonzalez came in to shut the game down in the seventh. Martinez picked up the win, but the regional quarterfinal win was a team effort on the mound. Maverick pitchers struck out 14, allowing only one base hit in the game.

Archbishop will now face a familiar foe in Tuesday’s regional semifinals. The Mavericks will host Belen Jesuit, the District 6A-16 champions from Miami. The two teams faced off back in late February at Belen, and the Mavericks came away with a 5-1 road win. Tuesday night, Archbishop will have its home crowd behind them when they take the field versus the Wolverines.

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