Florida Preseason Classic: Day 1 Recap

The 2021 PBR Florida Preseason Classic kicked off Monday, February 9th at Vero Beach High School in Vero Beach, Florida. The first matchup featured the host team Vero Beach taking on Central Pointe Christian Academy.

Pitching was the story early on as both teams were able to keep each other off the scoreboard throughout most of the game. Central Pointe scored first and would be their only run of the game after two early walks and a Jaime Ferrer single. 

Uncommitted 2022 Jake Nolan got the start for Vero Beach and would go 5 innings allowing just 1 run with 7 strikeouts. He sat 81-84 with the fastball and threw an above average breaking ball early and often and was able to keep hitters off base.

On the other side for Central Pointe, 2022 USF commit Luis Rujano and 2021 Bethune-Cookman commit Michael Marrero combined for 6 shutout innings and 6 strikeouts. Rujano sat 88-92 with the fastball and 76-79 with the slider. Marrero was 86-89 with the fastball and 74-75 with the slider.

Down 1-0 in the bottom of the 7th, Vero Beach rallied to tie the game on a bases loaded walk and was followed up by a walk-off single by Preston Keen to give his team a 2-1 win.

Other Standouts:

Jake Randolph (Vero Beach) - 2-4, R
Laheim Bell (Vero Beach) - 1-2, 2B, RBI, BB

Game 2 on Monday featured Doral Academy taking on Winter Haven. There was much more scoring in this game as both teams combined for 13 runs. Uncommitted 2022 Jeremy Weaver got the start for Winter Haven. He sat 86-89 with the fastball with a breaking ball in the 2700’s on the spin rate. Weaver allowed 3 runs in 2.2 innings, striking out 4.

On the other side, 2021 Miami commit Renzo Gonzalez started for Doral. He sat 85-89 from the left side and showed an above average breaking ball that was up to 2900 rpms. Gonzalez struggled with command and would only go 1.1 innings.

Offensively, Winter Haven went up early. Roberto Odor collected 4 RBI with a RBI single in the first and a 3 RBI double in the 2nd. 2021 Miami commit Gabriel Gutierrez was the big story for Doral as he singled in 2 runs in the 2nd, and later hit the go ahead, two-run homerun in the 6th that would help Doral come away with a 7-6 victory.

Other Standouts:

De’Sean Rogers (Winter Haven) - 1-3, 2B, RBI, BB, 2 R
JC Cruz (Winter Haven) - 1-2, RBI, BB
Evan Demurias (Doral) - 2.2 in, 0 R, 3 K, (FB 88-91)
Marcus Franco (Doral) - 1-4, 2B (100 mph EV)
Manuelle Marin (Doral) - 1-1, 2B, RBI, 2 R, BB, HBP