The 2013 regular season was extremely promising for the Miami Dade College baseball team. But a 12 game winning streak to end the season, and a 38-8 mark were quickly forgotten, when the Sharks lost their first two games at the Florida College System Activities Association tournament to put an abrupt end to their season.
Now the Sharks, who have seven returning players from last year’s squad, are looking for a clean slate as they prepare for their first scrimmage in Miami Garden on Jan. 21 against St. Thomas University before starting the regular season on Jan. 31 against San Jacinto in the St. Petersburg Tournament in St. Petersburg, Florida.
“They need to finish everything they do, on the field, off the field, [they] need to stay in the present and take care business” said Sharks Head Coach Danny Price, who was named the 2013 Southern Conference coach of the year.
One of the team’s top returning players is outfielder Jose Gomez. His all-out hustle style is contagious and he turned heads last year when he hit .379 as a freshman after walking-on to the team after leaving Monroe College in New Rochelle, N.Y., where he was on scholarship, because he struggled to adjust to his new environment.
At MDC, the diminutive 5-foot-5 fireplug has found a home. He had 27 RBI last year and was named to the FCSAA All-State Second-Team.
Gomez said the team is poised to rebound from last year’s rough ending.
“We just need to work hard,” Gomez said. “We need to work harder to succeed as a team.”
The team faces a tough challenge to improve on last season. Last year’s squad had a 19-5 Southern Conference record despite their late-season collapse. But this year’s team is striving to finish stronger.
“We have to prepare to finish,” Price said.
