MARATHON -- The Marathon High baseball team did something no other District 16-2A rival has done so far this year on Thursday afternoon by defeating the district's best and 2A state champion Westminster Christian at Joe Simcic Field. Led by Matt McKeon on the mound and timely hitting, the Dolphins never trailed in the game and held strong late for the 6-3 victory.

"It's a huge, huge win," said Marathon coach Luis Leal, who said it was the first time in his seven years as coach that the Dolphins defeated the Warriors. "We just came out on fire and we had a great day. It was an exciting win. Both teams played great baseball, a great game to watch and we are looking forward to picking up some momentum."

Coming off a Thursday night home loss to Miami Country Day and a district loss to Westwood Christian on Monday, Leal said he thought his players had a lot to prove and were motivated to prove it against Westminster.

Led by the Esquirol brothers, the Dolphins pounded out six runs on six hits, while McKeon (3-1) held the Warriors to three runs on seven hits, with two strikeouts and two walks. Yoniel Esquirol went 2-for-4 with 2 RBI, while older brother Doniel's triple drove in a run and he scored a run. Also for the Dolphins, Jake Sjursen went 1-for-4 and scored two runs, as teammate Tyler Roussin went 1-for-3 with 2 RBI.

"I feel like, this one here is just one of many we should've had this season," said Leal. "Our season isn't over yet, we have to keep our heads level and fight for the bigger picture which is the playoffs."

After leaving the bases loaded in the first inning, the Dolphins jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning behind solid hitting from the brothers. With two on, Doniel cleared the bases with a triple and scored on a fielding error, while Yoniel singled to close out the inning's scoring. Leal said he thought his players calmed down following the 4-0 lead, but never let down, knowing the power in the Westminster bats.

"We played before against Westminster where they have exploded," said Leal. "The lead gave us a little breathing room, but we never let them forget that Westminster can really swing the bats and no lead was safe."

The Dolphins remained focused and kept the four-run lead through the fourth inning. In the fifth, on an error, the Warriors scored for the first time and added two more in the sixth, but would get no closer to the Dolphins.

In its final at-bat, Marathon knocked on a pair of insurance runs to take the three-run lead. Jake Sjursen and Yoniel Esquirol led off the inning with back-to-back triples and Esquirol was able to score later to put the Dolphins up by the final score. McKeon closed the game down by striking out two of the four batters he faced to finish off the complete game.

"Our boys didn't panic," said Leal. "They came out confident and were ready to deal with what ever came at them. I think this is going to be a huge momentum boost and confidence builder."

They are all really excited, we are all excited."