Allen’s biggest hit puts Sickles in state semifinal
Sickles junior Justin Allen smashed a fifth-inning grand slam to push the Gryphons past Strawberry Crest in the Class 6A State Semifinals.
By Mike Camunas
Creative Director
Click here for our complete photo gallery from this game.
CITRUS PARK — Caden McDonald didn’t think it was a good idea.
And Justin Allen, well, he agreed with his batterymate.
“They walk me, and I’m like, ‘I don’t know if that’s a good idea,'” the junior right-handed pitcher, McDonald, said.
“I think that it’s on them, you know?” the junior catcher, Allen, concurred. “You walk one of our best guys and you got me behind him — I’m gonna get it done; I’m trying to get it done for him.”
That’s exactly what Allen did.
In the bottom of the fifth inning of the Class 6A region final on Tuesday evening, Allen took to the batter’s box after watching his pitcher, McDonald, get intentionally walked to load the bases with two outs. Looking at a quick 2-0 count, Allen crushed the next pitch for a grand slam over the centerfield wall, breaking the scoreless tie Sickles (24-6) had with Strawberry Crest (20-9).
The Gryphons would add another run, then defeat Strawberry Crest 5-0 to earn a state final four appearance where they’ll face Doral Academy (23-4-1) at 1 p.m. at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers on Friday.
This is Sickles’ first final four appearance since 1999 and just the second in program history.
“It feels amazing, being one of only two teams in school history to make it that far,” Allen said, “but we know we’re not done yet. We’re going for something bigger and we’re going to try to get it when we get down there (to Fort Myers).”
On Tuesday, it was a tightly contested game with McDonald and Chargers starter, Zach Redner, both cruising on the mound. In fact, Redner was the only one to get any hits off McDonald: the two Strawberry Crest had in the game.
Strawberry Crest junior Zach Redner.
After 50 pitches and just one hit allowed, Redner was lifted for Alexander Philpott, who would get the Chargers through the fourth. It was the fifth that proved troublesome after one-out, back-to-back walks of Nico Berg and Carter Christy, respectively. After a flyout, Strawberry Crest coach Eric Beattie put McDonald on without hesitation.
“Hindsight is always 20/20, right?” said Beattie, now in his 13th season at Strawberry Crest. “You go with your gut and with your best options and you let your gut and experience go into every decision you make. You live and die with it.”
It was, however, Allen that killed the Chargers season.
“It’s gotta be the biggest hit of my career,” Allen said with a wide smile.
“We have him hitting behind McDonald for a reason,” said Sickles coach Eric Luksis, who is in his sixth season at the helm, “and Justin goes and has the biggest hit of his life.”
The Gryphons would add another run in the sixth on an RBI single by Wes Durda, which scored pinch runner, Jacob Dial. After the grand slam, though, Strawberry Crest couldn’t muster much against McDonald, who did what he’s been doing all season: dominating on the mound.
“Last time against them (on April 8 for a 6-0 win), I had 10 strikeouts, but tonight I only had four,” McDonald said, “so I really just wanted to slow the game down and make them put the ball in play. And they did that. I really took into account that when they hit it to the wall, it was just a long fly out.”
Sickles junior Caden McDonald earned his ninth win.
McDonald was pulled after 75 pitches to save him for the final four, while Luke Fikar got the final two outs on four pitches.
Sickles junior Luke Fikar picked up the final two outs of the game.
The game proved bittersweet for both coaches, both of whom are former University of Tampa players. Luksis started out his coaching career as an assistant for Beattie at Strawberry Crest for two seasons (2015-16).
“That’s where it all began for me,” Luksis said. “(Beattie) taught me a lot and is a big reason for where I am today here at Sickles. We’re great friends and he’s been a mentor to me. Ultimately, we talked the day before (the game) and said, ‘Well, buddy, one of us is going home and one of us is going to the final four,’ and we were both okay with one of us representing Tampa and the 813.”
“Eric Luksis — I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t want to play hard for that guy,” Beattie added. “I’m proud of Eric, I’m proud to know him and I’m proud of what he’s done at Sickles baseball.”
Now, the Gryphons are looking towards unfinished business, for the season is not done. There’s still another game to go, with hopefully a second in Saturday’s championship game.
“We’re going to enjoy the moment, but there’s still four teams left and still a prize out there that we want,” Luksis said. “It’s a really nice feeling and these guys have worked hard all year long. … There’s something different about this team, though. They’re built to win and we still have one more job to do.”
Click here for our complete photo gallery from this game.
⚾ Class 6A-region 2 Final ⚾
Sickles 5
Strawberry Crest 0
SC 000|000|0 – |0|2|0
Si 000|041|x – |5|5|0
W – McDonald (9-2); L – Philpott (4-2)
2B – Redner (SC); HR – Allen (Si). Records – SC (20-9); Si (24-6).
