Baseball Game Preview: Miami Beach Hi-Tides vs. Hialeah Gardens Gladiators

The Miami Beach Hi-Tides will square off against the Hialeah Gardens Gladiators at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Miami Beach's pitching crew has only allowed 3.6 runs per game this season, so Hialeah Gardens' hitters will have their work cut out for them.

Thursday just wasn't the day for Miami Beach's offense. They took a 4-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of Mater Lakes Academy on Thursday.

Luis Mauricio Morales

Batters Struck Out

03/06/25 @ Mater Lakes Academy	7
02/25/25 vs American	2
02/19/25 vs North Miami Beach	2
02/10/25 vs Ferguson	4
04/25/24 vs Varela	4
+ 6 more games

Luis Mauricio Morales was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out seven over five innings pitched. That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in March of 2024.

Meanwhile, Hialeah Gardens got themselves on the board against American on Wednesday, but American never followed suit. They blew past the Patriots 10-0. The Gladiators might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three contests by ten runs or more this season.

Not much got past Ryan Valdes, who gave up just a hit to keep American off the board. Valdes has become a key player for Hialeah Gardens: the team is 2-1 when he allows at most three hits, but 1-5 otherwise.

On the hitting side, Andrew Gonzalez and Jerry Sosa did most of the damage at the plate: Gonzalez went 2-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and one triple, while Sosa scored two runs and stole Two bases. while going 4-for-4. Sosa is becoming a predictor of Hialeah Gardens' success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 0-6 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Ali Gonzalez, who went 3-for-4 with one stolen base and two RBI.

Hialeah Gardens was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .480. They are a perfect 3-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.

Miami Beach now has a losing record of 5-6. As for Hialeah Gardens, their victory bumped their record up to 3-6.

Miami Beach skirted past Hialeah Gardens 2-1 in their previous matchup back in April of 2023. Will Miami Beach repeat their success, or does Hialeah Gardens have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.