Taravella Outlasts Western In Another District Showdown

When Taravella and Western get together, fans can be assured that two things will happen. Tempers will be high, and a great game is on tap.

On Thursday, the two longtime rivals got together out in Davie, and fireworks flew early, with nine runs being scored in the first inning. From there the game settled down, and the Trojans came out with a possible district-preview win, 8-5 over the Wildcats.

“This has developed into a pretty good rivalry over the past few years,” said Taravella Manager Jorge Miranda. “Last year we faced off seven times, and this was our second time facing them this year. They beat us the first time at our place, and tonight we were able to get them tonight at their place.”

The game started out with fireworks in the first inning. The Trojans put up five runs in the top of the first. The scoring started when Nick Vizquel reached on an error. With one out, Jake Miller launched a two-run home run.

After a hit by pitch, Jose Hernandez and Nicolas Lacey hit back-to-back doubles, extending the lead to 4-0. Taravella would tack on one more on a Jace Singpradith RBI single.

Down 5-0, Western then used their half of the first to storm back. A walk, and consecutive singles from Faustino Diaz, Jorge Falagan, and Luis Isturiz, got the Wildcats on the board. A bases loaded walk, and an Anthony Beyra two-RBI single cut the lead to 5-4.

The game appeared like it was going to be a shootout, but the pitching settled down. Taravella added a run in the second, fourth, and sixth to take an 8-4 lead. Western added one in the bottom of the seventh, but it wasn’t enough, and the Trojans held on for the 8-5 win.

“We didn’t play well tonight,” said Western Manager Onel Garcia. “We had eight errors, and that is way too many to try and win a ballgame. We have been inconsistent for most of the year, and we are still trying to figure things out.”

These two teams have played some of the best games in the county over the past decade, and with them now splitting their two regular season games this season, the expectation is that both will be playoff bound come April.

“We are a young team this year, that is still searching for our identity,” said Miranda. “Tonight we hit the ball better than we have in any game this year. We graduated 14 seniors, and only have two returning starters. The goal is to push for a really good second half, and hopefully qualify for regionals.”

As for Western, Garcia knows what needs to be cleaned up, as we head toward the middle part of the season.

“We have a team that can swing the bats. Hopefully we can get the pitching figured out and hit our stride in the second half. We want to be playing our best baseball at the end of the year. We have given away some games late, and we have to clean that up if we want to get where we want to go this season.”

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