Experienced Doral Academy baseball looks to defend Class 6A title

Firebirds follow the traditional formula for winning baseball

DORAL, FLORIDA – The formula for building a championship-caliber baseball team is fairly basic: Pitch well and play good defense.

Clubs that can excel in those two areas tend to have a leg up on the competition.

Doral players celebrate with the championship trophy following their victory in the FHSAA Class A baseball finals last spring

Doral Academy baseball coach Ralph Suarez adheres to these principles.

“I'm a big believer that you’ve got to be able to play defense,” Suarez said. “You’ve got to be able to throw strikes and play defense. If you do that, you're going to win 90 percent of your high school games.”

Combine great pitching and defense with numerous Division 1 committed players in their lineup, and it’s easy to see why the Doral Firebirds are among the favorites to compete for the Class 6A state championship.

“We play small ball,” Suarez said. “We should be a little bit more consistent offensively this year than we were last year. Last year, we were pretty young.”

Indeed, the 2022 Doral roster was filled with underclassmen. But the youthful squad still won the school’s first ever state baseball title, capturing the Class 6A championship with a thrilling 5-4 win over Pace.

“Ninety percent of the team is back from last year, and we’re really senior-loaded this year,” Suarez said. “Right now, we’re looking like we’re one of the top teams, and we’re probably playing one of the toughest schedules in the country. We’ll find out how good we are, real fast.”

Doral is setting the standard among all baseball teams in tradition-rich Miami-Dade County.

The Firebirds don’t shy away from any of the top schools, which also leads to a couple of more losses. The 2022 team finished 25-4-1, but won its final 15 to capture the state crown.

"I think it's important that you play as many tough teams as you possibly can," Suarez said. "That kind of hurts me a little bit because obviously when you play that many good teams, you're going to have a few more losses than what you probably normally have.

"So it's difficult for us to win a national championship because once you lose more than one or two games, it's hard to do. But it’s more important for me to get my guys to come in and be impact guys at Miami or any Division I school than it is for me to win a national championship."

Dural has been one of the better schools in South Florida for several years, so they are used to seeing the best from their rivals.

“It's going to be tough this year because we have a bullseye on us, and we’re going to see everybody’s No. 1 [pitcher] anyways,” Suarez said. “The last three or four years we’ve been one of the better teams in Florida. Last year, we saw three pitchers who went in the top 74 picks in the draft.”

Doral ran the gauntlet of facing Brandon Barriera of American Heritage, a first-round choice of the Toronto Blue Jays, taken 23rd overall. They also hooked up against Jackson Ferris of IMG, picked 47th overall in the second round by the Chicago Cubs. And in the state championship game, Pace’s ace, Walter Ford, was the 74th pick overall by the Seattle Mariners.

Doral beat Ford's Pace team for the state crown.

First baseman Daniel Restrepo belted a three-run homer in the state championship game. For the season, he hit five home runs, and returns to the Firebirds.

Center-fielder Michael Torres, who batted .512, last year, is one of the top juniors in the nation. He also helps out on the mound, earning a one out save in last year's state title game

Shortstop Adrian Santana, the Miami Herald’s Miami-Dade County player of the year, is the senior leader and a University of Miami commit. Santana hit .433 with 17 stolen bases. Center fielder Michael Torres is one of the top juniors in the country. A year ago, Torres batted .512. Also a left-handed pitcher, he logged a one-out save in the title game.

Suarez compares Torres to Mookie Betts.

“Super fast,” the coach said. “Very athletic. Super talented kid.”

Torres, who has played on the USA National team, already has committed to Miami.

Santana is an all-around talent, and yet another infielder who will be headed to UM.

The Doral to UM pipeline has been going strong in recent years.

Hurricanes shortstop Dominic Pitelli attended Doral, as did three outfielders from the 2021 class: Edgardo Villegaes, Renzo Gonzalez and Gaby Gutierrez.

“I've been fortunate here, where I’ve had really good defenses,” Suarez said. “My shortstop, center fielder and catcher are way above average, for high school. That helps tremendously.”

Catcher Justin Ruiz has elite defensive skills, and he’s committed to High Point.

The rotation is fronted by Frankie Menendez, who has a fastball that sits 92-94 mph and reaches 96 mph. The left-hander was 6-2 with a 1.91 ERA. As a junior he started in the state title game.

Left-hander Frankie Menendez, who has a fastball that reaches as high as 96 mph and has committed to the University of Florida., is back to anchor the rotation

Menendez is committed to the University of Florida.

Keyler Gonzalez was 6-0 with a 2.75 ERA a year ago.

Pedro Acosta is a two-way player, who sees time at second base and pitcher. He hit .295 and posted a 2.62 ERA, and has a fastball that gets up to 92 mph.

"We have a lot of depth in our pitching staff," Suarez said.

Late in the season, Doral will be participating in the USA Tournament, a major event.

"So it should get us ready for the playoffs," Suarez said. "At the end of the day, the ultimate thing is to win the state championship, which is not easy to do."