The Road to Marlins Stadium – Part Two

After 9 days of practices for the Manta Rays, they were faced with their first preseason match against Golden Gate High School. Last year, the Rays had no trouble handling Golden Gate in the two regular season games they played against them. But Thursday, February 16th, was much different for the Rays. Junior Ryan Sweeney started on the mound and got off to a rocky start ending up going 1.2 innings before being pulled and put into center field. When the 3rd inning came around, everything went south and 13 runs were piled against them.

Even though the Rays lost, there were many positives found in the game. Freshman Aidan Herzog went 3-3 with 2 doubles and a single, Senior Chase Berry rocked a triple over the right fielder. Senior captain Zach Ferro said, “ Win or lose, this was a great way to get some experience before the real season starts.” The Rays looked to bounce back the next day, February 17th, against crosstown school Lely High School.

The game against the Trojans of Lely caused a 180 shift for the Rays as they dominated the game, winning 6-5. The Lely Trojans were held to just 2 hits the entire game, one being a blooper over 2nd base. With Senior Zach Ferro, Junior Akiel Jiminez, and Senior Chase Berry having all pitched in this dominant game, the Rays’ pitching game was on point. The Rays found themselves in the batter box as Freshman Aidan Herzog continued his dominance and with Senior Jack Berry who tallied a couple of his own hits on route to victory.

The Rays are eager to begin their season starting on Monday in their home opener against First Baptist Academy. As the Rays inch closer to the beginning of the season, they inch even closer to the big game at LoanDepot Park in Miami on March 1st.