For surging Marlins RBI World Series squad, it's all business

August 10th, 2022

VERO BEACH, Fla. -- The Miami Marlins girls softball team is on a business trip in the 2022 RBI World Series at Jackie Robinson Training Complex.

So far, business has been really good.

Buoyed by a perfect start through two days, the Marlins find themselves in good shape after a pair of blowout victories on Wednesday, winning in big fashion over the Cleveland Guardians and Dodgers Dreamteam.

“I tell them all the time -- business trip, business trip,” said Marlins head coach Ed Londono.

But this isn’t just any old business trip narrative, where a coach talks about his team being focused, practicing early and reviewing detail after detail.

This visit to JRTC is special.

The Marlins haven’t appeared in the RBI World Series in over two decades. Every team in this tournament has a recent history of some kind, but not Miami.

The club nearly got to the World Series last year.

Miami made it to the regional final but lost to the Atlanta Braves, who came to the legendary Treasure Coast facility and fell in the championship game, 5-3, as the Houston Astros claimed their third straight title.

Photo by Jared Blais

This season has been different for the Marlins, who along with Houston are the only teams sitting at 4-0 in pool play.

In a strong victory, they toppled Atlanta in the regional final in Tampa and advanced to JRTC for the seven-team tournament.

The Marlins narrowly beat Harrisburg on Tuesday, earning a 2-1 win. Then they trailed 7-6 against Hoboken -- with two outs, the bases empty and down to their last strike -- but proceeded to reel off eight runs in the seventh inning and beat the New Jersey side 14-7 to remain unblemished.

“I’m going to tell you right now, we were close to being 0-2 yesterday,” Londono said. “I’m telling you, there’s something special here. There really is. I’ve had parents come to me and tell me they’re glad their daughters are part of this.”

According to Londono, last year’s regional final defeat fueled the current run.

“We had an all-star team last year. We were so mad after that final last year that me and [assistant coach] Jesus [Berrios] looked at each other on the bus and said, ‘We’re coming back next year.’ We came back this year in the regional and blew them out 11-1,” said Londono.

“When I tell you business trip, I didn’t let the girls do anything. It’s business. I know sometimes they’d get upset in the moment, but I told them when you’re celebrating out there, you’ll forget this.

“This team and collection of talent is the best I’ve ever been around.”

It starts up the middle of the diamond.

Staff ace Vicky Navarro gives Miami a great chance to win each time she steps inside the circle. When she isn’t pitching, she plays shortstop alongside standout middle infielder Alahnis Berrios, who plays short when Navarro pitches.

After trouncing Cleveland, 12-4, in Wednesday’s early morning game, the duo contributed again in a 13-1 walloping of the Dodgers.

In the two games, Navarro combined to go 3-for-6 with a triple, four runs and three RBIs. She played well behind pitcher Isabella Zayas, who tossed four innings and allowed three hits in beating the Dodgers.

“This is my second year doing Marlins RBI, and I really love the experience with the girls and coaches,” said Navarro, who plays at Miami Dade College and has one win as a starter thus far, a 12-strikeout, two-hit complete game against Harrisburg.

As a college freshman, she was 16-15 with a 2.56 ERA over 191 1/3 innings, but the West Broward High School grad is probably the Marlins’ biggest weapon in the tourney.

“She’s a great all-around player – as a pitcher, infielder and hitter,” said assistant coach Berrios.

Alahnis Berrios scored twice, but her flawless play at second base has stood out. She recorded four assists on hard grounders, shutting down any threat the Dodgers tried to muster on Wednesday.

“This is an amazing experience to be here,” said Berrios, who will be a freshman student-athlete at the College of Central Florida in Ocala. “It’s been twenty years – none of us on the team were even born! That’s amazing.”

As the organization’s youth academy director Sarah Garcia said, the team owes its success to the Miami Marlins organization and their efforts with MLB.

“It’s an incredible experience,” said Garcia, who has been with the organization since 2015. “I know a lot of these girls don’t have the ability to pay to play, and we as the Marlins organization and with sponsors involved like Nike, we were able to provide them with uniforms to come and compete, travel, accommodations, lodging.

“It’s amazing to see them compete at this level.”