Playoff baseball: Dwyer exits after Doral Academy hurls combined no-hitter

DORAL -- Last Friday, the Dwyer baseball team played like a state title contender by defeating Fort Lauderdale-St. Thomas Aquinas.

On a muggy Tuesday afternoon in west Miami-Dade County, left-hander Frank Menendez and the Doral Academy Firebirds made the Panthers look like any of the teams they have dominated recently.

The Panthers were never in it, giving up four runs in the first inning en route to a 10-0 loss in five innings in the Region 4-Class 6A championship game. The Firebirds (23-4-1), who pitched a combined no-hitter, will play in the state semifinals on Friday at Hammond Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.

Doral avenged a 2-0 loss to Dwyer in the same round in Palm Beach Gardens last year.

“They looked like they had their mind on taking care of us this year, and they did,” Dwyer coach Alex Morales said. “Credit to them.”

Doral has won 14 straight. In 12 non-forfeit games, the Firebirds have outscored their opponents 108-16. They entered the playoff ranked fourth in the state in Class 6A. They were the state runner-up in Class 7A in 2019.

After a long drive to Doral, the Panthers (20-10) had to wait out a 37-minute rain delay. They also had to adjust to a ballpark with small dimensions in left and right field, and with busy traffic rushing by on nearby Beacon Trail.

“This is a tough environment to come to,” Morales said. “These guys do a good job of you feeling them when you’re in their ballpark. We were (prepared) to play, but we picked a bad time to have our worst game.”

Menendez, whom Dwyer beat 2-0 in the 2021 regional final, was pulled with two outs in the fifth after throwing 73 pitches. Doral wanted to keep him under 75 pitches so that he could be eligible to pitch this weekend in Fort Myers. He struck out nine, walked three and hit a batter. Jake Gorelick retired Panthers right fielder Jack Savery for the final out of the fifth. Little did anyone know that would be Dwyer’s final at-bat of the day.

In the first inning, Menendez walked Max Iervolino on a 3-2 pitch, but struck out the other three batters.

Dwyer starter Bryce Jackson, who pitched well against St. Thomas Aquinas four days earlier, did not retire any of the six batters he faced Tuesday. He walked leadoff batter Adrian Santana, who then was caught stealing thanks to a strong throw by Dwyer catcher Corey Goldstick.

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Moments later, No. 2 hitter Michael Torres hit a home run over the left-field fence. Then Jackson hit two batters and gave up two singles, the last of which drove in three runs and ended Jackson’s time on the mound.

Zack Robinson hit his first batter and walked his second. His third batter, Sebastian Barrios, hit a hard ground ball to the right side that hit the baserunner running from first. Robinson then got Santana to bounce into a force play.

In the top of the second, Dwyer shortstop Dawson Thrush hit a line drive that right fielder Berrios caught on one hop. Because of the field’s dimensions, he was playing fairly shallow, and he was able to rifle a throw to first base that beat Thrush by a step.

It was that kind of day for the Panthers.

Robinson kept Dwyer in the game, allowing only a long home run to Berrios in the fourth that pushed Doral’s lead to 5-0.

Thrush, who nailed down the victory Thursday, also didn’t last long Tuesday. He started the fifth inning but left with two outs after walking in a run that made the score 6-0. Kris Blanks was brought in to pitch, but he began by also walking in a run, then giving up a two-run single, then walking the next batter, which reloaded the bases. Daniel Restrepo then hit a line drive to the left-field fence that appeared that appeared to be a grand slam, but was ruled a single, and it ended the game.

“Those guys have been doing a great job over this playoff run,” Morales said of Jackson and Thrush. “It looks like they got tired out a little bit. I mean, we’ve been rolling them out there quite often, and they’re both sophomores and they just didn’t have their best stuff today.”

In all, Dwyer pitchers walked eight and plunked four hitters. The Panthers could have used their sophomore ace Nicholas Rovitti, who needed surgery earlier this year to reattach a ligament in his elbow.

“But there’s no excuses,” Morales said. “The guys that we had were plenty good enough to get the job done.”

After watching Doral celebrate and then consoling his players, Morales reflected on the season, which included a District 13 championship and two victories in the state playoffs.

“Season like this when you make it deep into the playoffs and then you end up losing to a tough team, I mean it hurts extremely right now,” Morales said. “The seniors are sad about it, but overall, a successful season. It took a spectacular team to beat us, and that’s what this Doral team is right now.”

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Dwyer baseball exits after Doral Academy hurls combined no-hitter