Stoneman Douglas wins Top 10 Florida showdown at Jesuit
Stoneman Douglas junior Gio Rojas struck out nine in his four innings on the mound against Jesuit, earning the win allowing one run on five hits. Rojas was also 2-for-3 at the plate with a double, RBI single and run scored (photo provided by Mike Gallagher).
By Brandon Wright, Features Writer
TAMPA – Stoneman Douglas loaded up its charter bus and headed north from Broward County for Spring Break. And while the Eagles might have traded baseballs for the beach, it was clear Stoneman Douglas was in a partying mood early.
The Eagles scored all seven of their runs in the first four innings and held on from there as the nationally-ranked Stoneman Douglas defeated Jesuit 7-4 Tuesday night.
“Obviously we’re getting to play the defending state champions (Jesuit) and Sickles (the Eagles’ opponent tonight), who has been to the mountaintop,” Stoneman Douglas coach Todd Fitz-Gerald said. “At the end of the day, it’s just preparing us for the stretch run just like it’s preparing (Jesuit) for the stretch run.”
Stoneman Douglas, ranked No. 2 in the state, beat Lakeland’s Santa Fe Catholic 5-0 Monday on the first of its three Spring Break games. The Eagles, winners of sixteen straight, became the first public school in Florida history to win four straight state championships when they captured the 7A 2024 title.
No team in state history has won five straight.
“We talk about one game at a time,” Fitz-Gerald said. “We play a very tough schedule and try to play the best teams we can to get us ready for that stretch run.”
How talented and deep are the reigning champs? Eight of nine starters are committed to play in college with that number ballooning to 13 in total on the roster. The Eagles’ (17-1) eighth batter in the order is headed to play for Florida next season.
Two first-inning wild pitches gave the Eagles the early lead, and Bennett Gary cleared the bases with a double in the second to seal up the win for Gio Rojas, who pitched four innings on the mound, allowed one run and struck out nine.
“That’s a really good team right there,” Jesuit coach Miguel Menendez said. “You have to give them credit.”
Jesuit (13-5) was not without its opportunities early. The Tigers left 13 runners on base for the night and twice struck out to end an inning with the bases loaded through the first four frames.
“You could tell this was two programs used to winning and have high expectations to win the state championship every year,” Menendez said. “But way too many guys left on base.”
Christian Sheffield finally breathed some life into the Tigers in the sixth. The junior righty drove home a run with a sharp single to right. On the play, Sheffield reached second on an error, which also allowed courtesy runner Chris Hemmings to score, cutting the lead to 7-3.
Kaden Waechter then drove home Sheffield with a sacrifice fly to deep right, but that would be as close as the Tigers would get.
“We just couldn’t get that one hit here or there,” Menendez said. “But there are no moral victories here. Just learning.”
Menendez, however, praised his team’s resilience, despite facing a six-run deficit to the No. 5 team in the nation.
“We showed the heart of a champion by battling back,” he said. “We like to say we win or we learn. Hopefully we learned something tonight that’s going to make us a better team down the road.”
Menendez also got some good work out of the pen, especially from Hector Rivera. The junior righty gave up one hit in two innings of work and fanned five.
“Keane Hyer and Rivera came in a really big spot there and kept us in it,” he said. “They gave us a shot.”
Outcome aside, Jesuit got some great news with the return of shortstop and five-hole hitter Waechter. The FSU commit had missed the entire year with a knee injury sustained in the preseason.
“That’s a really good team right there and I’m pretty sure they’re going to go ahead and win it all again,” Waechter said. “If we don’t leave those 13 guys on base, I think we come out on top.”
Waechter walked in his first at bat of the season, drove in the Tigers’ first run on a third-inning fielder’s choice and collected his first knock of the year on a fifth-inning single.
“I was out for seven weeks in total,” Waechter said. “I feel good now and I have about a week and a half more before I can pitch.”
Cannon Murtagh collected three hits, doubled and scored twice for Jesuit and teammate Vincent DeCarlo added a pair of singles.
⚾
Parkland Stoneman Douglas 7
#2 Jesuit 4
D 231|100|0 – |7|12|3
J 001|003|0 – |4|9|2
W – Rojas (7-0); L – Andersen (3-3); S – Courtney
2B – Diaz 2, Gary, Rojas (D); Murtagh (J). Records – D (17-1); J (13-5).
