Westminster Christian Holds Off Sagemont 5-1

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Before the season began Ryan Terry was not a household name for the Westminster Christian baseball program. By the time the left-hander took the ball on Tuesday afternoon, he had grown to become the most trusted man on the entire pitching staff.

Facing a worthy Sagemont opponent on its home turf at Tequesta Trace Park, the southpaw rewarded his team’s confidence by tossing a complete-game gem. Terry held the Lions to one unearned run to earn a 5-1 victory and an appointment in a 3A regional championship Friday afternoon.

The Warriors (23-4-1) will host Coral Springs Christian in their final stop of their quest to return to the state championships.

“Listen man, this is a team that has one goal in mind and we’ve been working for it,” Warriors Manager Emil Castellanos said. “We have been taking one game at a time. We know what the ultimate goal is but there is always someone trying to put a lock on your door. We just found a way to keep battling, and today was a tough one. The conditions weren’t what we expected and we made some adjustments and got some big timely hitting, and of course the guy on the mound had a great performance. There is a reason he is undefeated. I am real excited for him because he just pitched lights out.”

Terry needed just 93 pitches to go the full seven innings. The left-hander scattered three hits and a walk, while also hitting one batter. Terry pounded the strike zone on 66 of his pitches, leading the way to seven strikeouts. It was a big performance in an important point of the season, and it was also the culmination of a lot of hard work that had carried him this far.

Across the field for the Lions (14-8) Andres Vazquez also came through by nearly matching Terry pitch for pitch. The right-hander nearly went the distance as well, keeping his club in the battle all the way to the end by pitching a great game that had the dangerous Warriors lineup out of sync. Vazquez allowed just four hits and for walks and also struck out five on 101 pitches.

“He’s been doing it all year and I didn’t expect anything else today,” Sagemont Manager Wesley Morejon said of his ace. “He pitches to contact, works his own throws whatever whenever and he had them off-balance throughout the game. He pitched his butt off, and defensively we were pretty solid. You have to give Westminster credit; they drove the ball today and they came through when they needed it.”

Jacob Zarello came through with the biggest hit of the day. After Adrian Mayans lined the first pitch of the top of the second through the left side to start the frame off with a single, Zarello came up two batters later and slugged a 2-1 offering over the center field fence for a two-run home run and all the runs Westminster Christian would ultimately need.

“Everyone told me he was throwing a changeup and it was his best pitch and I was looking for it 2-1, because he got me ahead with the fastball,” Zarello said. “I just waited back and I squared it up. That was all I did; I didn’t do much. It was a team win and now we get to go back home and play a regional final in our home.”

Sagemont cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the third inning. David Velez reached on an error starting off the frame, and Brynn Martinez dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move him into scoring position. Stefan Revelo then came through to line a shot to center field to bring Velez around third and across the plate to make it 2-1.

The Lions threatened to pile on more. Sean Iacono singled through the right side and Edison Rodriguez walked to load the bases. But Terry buckled down to induce an infield groundout to end the threat. It would turn out to be the most pivotal moment of the game, and just another example of why the team has so much faith in Terry.

“I love Ryan. He’s got it man,” said Zarello. “Last year he didn’t have a very good year, and this year he put a lot of work in during the offseason and he deals. I’m proud of him. Obviously you can see that if we didn’t get those insurance runs he would still bring it home for us. We’ve trusted him all season and this is his fourth complete game of the season. He kept his pitch count down and he has just been doing a great job. I love the kid.”

Westminster Christian added a larger cushion in the top of the seventh. John Gonzalez drew a one-out walk and Julian Infante was hit by a pitch to but a pair of runners on base. After a pitching change ended Vazquez’s afternoon, Cole Kreuter smacked a shot deep to centerfield that fell just short of leaving the yard, instead scoring both runners with a two-RBI double. An infield error also brought Kreuter across the plate to give Terry a bigger cushion.

The left-hander reached down for one last frame with all that he had. What he had was enough grit and gusto to strike out the side and close out the big victory.

The late runs and strong finish by Terry were a welcome sight for Castellanos. With the goal of winning the school’s eleventh state championship still alive and kicking, the Warriors Manager acknowledged how a victory over such a worthy adversary is exactly the type of challenge he could ask his players to overcome along the way.

“For us it was huge. I definitely tip my hat to Sagemont, they are a great ball club and they did everything fundamentally sound,” Castellanos said. “They didn’t make mistakes, they kept pressure on us and they were one hit away from opening up the ball game. They had opportunities to do it and you have to tip your hat because that kid pitched a gem as well. We ran into one early on when Jake Zarello hit a home run, and it’s always a good feeling, but it wasn’t enough. I told my guys if you sit on a one-run lead on these guys in their backyard it’s going to be a long ride home down I-75 South. It can’t happen, so battle and find a way to win.”

While a magical season now comes to a close for the Lions, it comes with no regrets. The team had a historic playoff run this year, and it was even more rewarding for every player and coach because of the way the team was successful. Sagemont won by playing great team baseball, setting the example of how any ball club should approach the game. The small school from Weston showcased the heart, drive and talent of champions, and the players left the field Tuesday afternoon with their heads held high.

“I believe it was the first time in school history that we actually won a regional playoff game,” said Morejon. “Hats off to them, they put in the work, they bought in, they trusted the system and it showed from last year to this year. Getting the returners to have that extra seasoning in the system under their belts, it showed off this year.”

Key to that success was the leadership showcased by the senior veterans on the team. With their high school careers now at a close, Morejon could not help but be grateful and inspired by all they have given for the Sagemont baseball program over the years.

“They’ve been doing it since middle school years, when they were playing as seventh-graders and eighth-graders facing guys they had no business facing and they set the tone since that time,” Morejon said. “Especially when I talked to the guys in the huddle at the end I told them you have tremendous shoes to fill with how they led you guys this year, on and off the field, in the classroom, leaving practice, coming to practice, game time, the whole time. So it definitely left a fantastic example and I’m hoping they move on to the next level, whether its baseball, college or work, whatever it is, and they take some of those experiences with them into the real world and apply it.”

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