BROOKSVILLE – It seemed like Wednesday would be a banner day for Hernando County prep baseball, as a record four local squads were set to compete in regional quarterfinals.
But it ended up being a rugged night for all those teams – Hernando, Nature Coast, Springstead and Weeki Wachee – as each saw their seasons come to a close in defeat.
The Sharks, less than a week after claiming their first district crown – likely suffered the most gut-wrenching loss, blowing a two-run lead in the seventh inning and falling to visiting Orlando-Lake Highland Prep in a Class 5A, Region II contest, 5-3.
Almost all the damage against Nature Coast (20-5) was self-inflicted. The Highlander (24-5) managed just two hits and all of their runs were unearned as the Sharks committed five errors.
“If we make the plays, the game is a totally different game. We didn’t for some reason,” Nature Coast head coach Frank Vitale said. “We’ll learn by it, we’ll get better next year and hopefully we can go a little further next year. We have a strong nucleus coming back, so I’m happy with the season.”
Back-to-back errors by the shortstop allowed Lake Highland Prep to score the game’s first run without a hit in the top of the fourth inning.
Leading off the bottom of the fifth, Brandon Riera recorded the first hit by either side with a single, and advanced two bases on a wild pitch. Matty Myers followed with a squeeze bunt, fielded by the pitcher who airmailed the throw to first while the tying run scored.
Myers went to third on the play, and came across when the next batter, Brandon Frangione, executed another squeeze, bunting back to the mound. Mason Stacy also drove in a run on a single to center in the sixth.
Meanwhile, ace J.P. Gates was in control for the Sharks. The sophomore southpaw, having tossed a no-hitter in his last start in the district semifinals against Central, didn’t allow a hit in this one until Max Clark singled with two outs in the sixth.
He began the seventh by issuing a walk to Matt Morgan and hitting Luke Henson, and Vitale opted to take him out. In his six-plus innings, Gates gave up the one hit, two walks and the hit batter, but was touched for three unearned runs. He struck out 10.
“J.P. ran out of gas in the end. He started the inning at 91 (pitches),” Vitale said. “He was at 99, maybe 100 when I took him out. He’s too young to let him go past that. I can’t play around with his future like that.”
A double steal on a ball in the dirt resulted in an errant throw to third, bringing in one and putting another runner at third. Logan Jamieson hit a high chopper that the shortstop failed to snag, and the Highlanders had tied it up.
Two batters later, Jaylen Townsend grounded a single that the right fielder misplayed into another run-scoring error, and Joe Cosgrove tacked on a sacrifice fly.
Frangione was hit by a pitch in the bottom half, but the Sharks could do no more as Clark closed out the final frame on the mound. Will Saxton threw the first six, limiting Nature Coast to three hits and a walk, striking out six.
“(Saxton) changes his motion. He went quick pitch, slow pitch; not the speed of the pitch, but his motion,” Vitale said. “He kept us off-balance and he has a very good curveball, and it took us a little while to be able to start squaring it up.”
Despite the disappointing finish, Vitale expressed satisfaction with what was a turnaround campaign for a program that hadn’t posted a winning record since 2009.
“It can motivate them to get back here and change the results next year,” Vitale said. “Again, we’ve got a solid nucleus, a good bunch of kids and we’ll be fine. It’s a learning experience. They’re teenagers. I’ve seen pros make the same mistakes like that.
“You want to win, but what I told them was there’s probably over 500, 600 high schools in Florida. Only nine finish with wins, state champions. Everybody else, their last game is going to be a loss. It’s disappointing, but it’s a learning experience. We’re young and I think we’ll take it to heart, and be pumped up and ready to go next year.”
Springstead hosted a 6A-II tilt against Belleview and went down, 4-3. The Rattlers (22-5) scored twice in the first and once in a third, putting the Eagles (20-7) in an immediate hole.
Dakota Blevens went 2-for-3 with a run scored for the home team, while Noah Siem, Dominic Marrone and Luke Laferty each had a run batted in. Springstead committed four errors.
“We didn’t play clean in the first two innings and that hurt us. That gave them a couple of runs and that was our demise right there,” Springstead head coach Shawn Laferty said. “We were better this year than last year. We have a lot of kids coming back. I think the program will be stronger and better.”
Hernando traveled to Orlando-Bishop Moore Catholic in 5A-II, and was dealt a 10-1 defeat. However, the Leopards (17-12) only trailed 4-1 before giving up six runs with two outs in the sixth.
Tyson Libengood walked to lead off the second inning and pinch runner Dalton Black scored on a wild pitch to account for Hernando’s run. Cameron Price and Brad Ellis tallied the Leopards’ only two hits.
“Any time you make the playoffs, it’s a good year, a solid year,” Hernando head coach Tim Sims said. “We learned a lot. I’m very proud of them.
“The way we played during the course of the year, it was a rollercoaster year, up and down. I’m very proud of the way we played in the district championship and this one. We played complete games. We played mentally hard the entire time. You don’t want to lose games, but I’m very proud of the way the season ended and especially the last 15 innings.”
Weeki Wachee played in its first-ever regional game, going down in a 6A-II matchup at Citra-North Marion, 5-1. Austin Seeman paced the Hornets (6-22) with two hits, including a double, but in a reoccurring theme for county clubs, Weeki Wachee gave up four unearned runs.
“We were nervous,” Weeki Wachee head coach Patrick McHugh said. “The pitching was a little too emotional. Offensively, we didn’t execute very well. Then the defense let us down a little, too.
“It’s a huge steppingstone. It proved to us we can go out and compete with some of the best in the state.”
Follow Chris Bernhardt Jr. on Twitter @cpbernhardtjr.