The Miami Senior High school baseball team started the season against Northwestern on February 10. The game started slow for the Stingarees, but after senior Lucas Arriaza hit a double to score the first run of the game, the Stingarees woke up the bats and were able to get the win by a score of 9-0.
Another thing that was impressive was the pitching performance by sophomore Santiago Espana-Reconco who pitched 5 innings with 6 strikeouts and did not allow a run. This allowed the Stingarees hitters to be comfortable at the plate while getting run support for the young pitcher.
One top experience that the Miami High baseball team had this year was the opportunity to play at the Marlins Stadium (Field of Dreams) against Hialeah High on March 11. This game resulted in the Stingarees taking the win by a score of 5-2. This was all thanks to Coach Bonilla calling the right plays at the right time in this important game in front of the school and staff. This gave the team momentum to go on a 3 game winning streak.
Another top experience that the team had was the opportunity to go up to Jacksonville to be able to play 3 games and won two of them. They were able to win those two games thanks to senior and outfielder Samuel-Bort-Bautista who went 2-3 in the first game and one of those hits was a triple with 2 RBIs. Another player that helped was sophomore pitcher Francisco Sanchez Ramirez who had a great performance on the mound holding the team to only one run.
According to Coach Bonilla, one of the top performers on the team this year was senior Jann Soto he had transferred in from Miami Springs Senior High School. He had the highest batting average on team while also pitching the most important games in the season.
One exciting game for the Stingarees was playing their rival school Coral Gables Senior High on February 18. This game was full of adrenaline for both teams while Gables had the lead for most of the game with a score of 3-0.
Then Stingarees, in the last inning, came in hot hitting the pitcher from Gables, making the score 4-3. Coach Bonilla decided to go with his ace Jann Soto to close out the game. The Stingarees ended up getting the win. This is the first time in 10 years that the Miami High Baseball team won a game against Gables. Senior outfielder Samuel Bort-Bautista said, “This was an exciting win for the team seeing that all the hard work paid off.”
Sadly, the season had to come to an end when they played Columbus on April 15, and the Stingarees took the loss 8-0. It was a learning experience for the players and head coach Edwin Bonilla.
Coach Bonilla said that this year’s team was the most talented one he has had since 2017. This was also a historic season for him because the team won the most games he had ever won as a head coach. The team’s record was 18-8 this spring, making that a new record.
Team Leaders:
Batting Average
1
Sr. – OF, RHP
0.484
Avg
2
Sr. – P, INF
0.463
Avg
3
Jr. – INF
0.446
Avg