Archbishop McCarthy capitalizes on timely hitting in preseason win

PLANTATION, FLORIDA — Whether it’s in the regular season, district playoffs, state playoffs or even preseason, the Archbishop McCarthy-American Heritage baseball rivalry has meaning.

The two traditional South Florida prep heavyweights have a longstanding friendly, yet intense rivalry.

On Wednesday night, they met in a preseason game at Heritage. This time, it was McCarthy that came out on top, 6-1, in a game that was abruptly called before the bottom of the seventh inning began because the stadium lights shut off at 10 p.m.

Since the game didn’t count, and it generally takes about 30 minutes to repower up the lights, the game was called. 

Awkward ending aside, the game gave a glimpse of what is yet to come when the regular season begins next week.

“I’ve always said, if I can play Heritage in all of my 25 regular-season games, I would,” McCarthy coach Aaron Vorachek said. “There’s just always energy. You get a crowd. It’s fun. Even when we end up on the losing end, which we’ve been plenty of times, they are still fun games. There’s a lot of intensity. You can see, coaching-staff wise, and even player wise, there’s a lot of love.”

The schools are located about a 10 minute drive from each other, and there’s a close bond among everyone on the field. 

When it came down to business, both schools were tested in a game that had regular-season passion.

“It never gets weird playing those guys,” Heritage coach Mike Macey said. “We play them all Fall. We’ll play them in the preseason, regular season. It used to be in the districts. We’d play each other three or four times a year. Two district regular season games, and then the district championship, and even again in the playoffs. It never gets old playing them. They bring the best out in us, and we get the best out of them. That’s what you want to see, especially to have a test like that early in the year. We know where they are. They know where we are. Go from there.” 

A year ago, both were in Class 5A, District 15. But this year, Heritage has been moved to Class 5A, District 14, while McCarthy has stayed the same. Among the highlights of the game are as follows:

* Big night for McCarthy’s Capone: Designated hitter Vinny Capone, a left-handed hitter, had a double and triple. Both hits came off sliders, and they were pulled down the first-base line, past the first baseman.

In batting practice, Capone worked on hitting sliders off a pitching machine.

“That’s the pitch I was looking for, and I drove it,” Capone said. “The same pitch, twice. It’s funny.”

The double Capone hit was off a tough lefty, Spencer Krasner, who worked three innings of relief.

* Top of the order sets the tone: McCarthy’s top two hitters are among the best players in the state. Shortstop Antonio Jimenez and third baseman Justin Lebron present a formidable first and second hitter combination.

Jimenez, who switch-hits, singled on the first pitch of the game. And in the second inning, he drew a walk. Both times, he came around and scored. 

Lebron walked in the first inning, and had a double in the second inning. He also scored twice.Jimenez is committed to the University of Miami, while Lebron has committed to the University of Alabama. Both also have the potential to be selected in the first few rounds of the MLB Draft.

Vorachek, a former big league scout, projects both to be future MLB players.

* Heritage’s Lucas Ramirez impresses on offense and defense: With his team trailing 4-0, Ramirez doubled to deep left center in the fourth inning. The junior is the son of former MLB star, Manny Ramirez. The younger Ramirez is committed to the University of Tennessee. 

In right field, the junior made a nice sliding catch on Danny Machado’s sinking line drive. In warmups, Ramirez also showed off a strong throwing arm.

* Heritage’s young pitchers get tested: Patriots right-hander Talan Holiday started and allowed two runs in the first and second innings, before throwing a scoreless third inning. 

Krasner followed by working the next three innings, giving up two runs. Holiday is a sophomore, and Krasner is a freshman. Both are expected to be big parts of the staff.

“We threw two young pitchers at them,” Macey said. “I take their outings to see where they are early. Neither one has really pitched in a varsity game. It was more about them.”

* Heritage's football, baseball standout: Center fielder Jordan Rich is a two-sport athlete Jordan Rich who provides a spark leading off. 

In football, Rich played defensive back on the Patriots team that lost in the Class 2A state championship to Miami Central.

On Wednesday, Rich had a double, stolen base and scored Heritage’s lone run. The speedster had two steals in the game, and is a threat on the bases. 

“He’s been a pleasant surprise,” Macey said. “He’s a football player. So he wasn’t with us all Fall. Come spring, he shows up, grabs and bat, and here we go. He’s going to be good for us.”

* Big pitches in big moments: McCarthy’s pitchers showed the ability to work out of trouble, especially being able to execute off-speed pitches in crucial situations.

Starter Connor McShane threw three scoreless innings. In the second inning, he worked out of a jam with a two-out strikeout. 

In the fourth inning, Gabe Garcia was brought in with the bases full, and recorded a two-out strikeout on a slider.

“With that part of our staff, they’ve got to be able to throw off-speed for strikes,” Vorachek said. “That part of the staff, they’re not going to be overpowering. Like we preach. ‘Hey, we’ve got to pound the zone, because we have a defense behind you.’ We want guys to put balls in play. They work on throwing off-speed for strikes.”