JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Clay, St. Johns Country Day, Trinity Christian and Union County are all headed to the high school baseball regional finals.
The Blue Devils swept Escambia in Region 1-4A, winning 6-3 to move on to the third round next week. In Region 1-2A, Trinity Christian got a combined 14 strikeouts from Ethan Wheeler and Tyler Ellis to beat Episcopal 9-4 and move on.
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Reigning 1A state champ St. Johns got homers from Gibby Gilliand and Nick Bowden, and three hits from Hunter Rodgers in an 8-7 walk-off win over North Florida Christian in nine innings.
In 1-1A, St. Joseph responded with a 14-2 romp over host University Christian to send things into a decisive third game. Camden Biskup had three hits and Patrick Mullahy drove four runs. Dayton Taylor, Cullen Garner and Sean Miskowiec all went deep for the Flashes.
In the Rural class, Union County hammered Branford 12-0 to sweep the series.
In 1-2A, Bishop Snyder and Bozeman are going to a third game after the Cardinals won 4-3 on Tuesday night.
Monday’s recap
St. Johns Country Day and Trinity Christian got out to quick starts with dominant pitching performances, while Clay had a spectacular walk-off homer in the opening game of the high school baseball regional semifinals on Monday night.
Clay’s LJ Martin, the No. 9 hole hitter for the Blue Devils, belted a homer in the bottom of the seventh inning to deliver a stunning 2-1 win over Escambia in Region 1-5A. It was Clay’s only hit of the game and happened to be the game winner. Rylan McMahan struck out 12 in 4.2 innings of work for Clay.
Brayden Harris continued his stellar postseason run, striking out 15 and allowing just one hit as the Spartans beat Tallahassee North Florida Christian 8-0 in the first game in Region 1-1A. Harris has thrown 13 innings in the playoffs, whiffed 33 and allowed just three hits. He also belted a two-run homer. Nick Bowden also went deep for the Spartans, the reigning Class 1A state champs.
At Trinity Christian, home of the Super 6 No. 1 Conquerors, Aaron Watson threw 7.2 innings of four-hit ball with eight whiffs and Trinity edged Episcopal 1-0 in nine innings in Region 1-2A. Ethan Wheeler went 1.1 innings in relief and struck out three. Wheeler also scored the lone run on an RBI ground ball by Jarod Flowers. The win overshadowed an excellent performance by Episcopal’s Dominic DeLoreto, who tossed 7.1 innings and whiffed eight.
Regional semifinals
Best of three series
Region 1-7A
(4) Creekside (18-11) at (1) Spruce Creek (27-2)
Game 1, Wednesday, at Spruce Creek, 6:30; Game 2, Thursday, at Spruce Creek, 6:30; Game 3 (if necessary), Saturday, 7 p.m.
Region 1-6A
(3) Tocoi Creek (19-8) at (2) Pace (22-4)
Game 1, Wednesday, at Pace, 7 p.m.; Game 2, Thursday, at Pace, 7 p.m.; Game 3 (if necessary), Saturday, 7 p.m.
Region 1-5A
(5) Columbia (17-10) at (1) Niceville (25-4)
Game 1, Wednesday, at Niceville, 7p.m.; Game 2, Thursday, at Niceville, 7 p.m.; Game 3 (if necessary), Saturday, 7 p.m.
Region 1-4A
(2) Clay (21-9) beats (3) Escambia, 2-0
Game 1, Monday’s result, Clay 2, Escambia 1; Game 2, Tuesday’s result, Clay 6, Escambia 3.
Region 1-3A
(1) South Walton beats (5) West Nassau, 2-0
Game 1, Monday’s result, South Walton 11, West Nassau 3; Game 2, Tuesday’s result, South Walton 8, West Nassau 0.
(2) West Florida (24-6) at (3) Suwannee (23-7), series tied 1-1
Game 1, Monday’s result, West Florida 5, Suwannee 2; Game 2, Tuesday’s result, Suwannee 9, West Florida 8; Game 3, at Suwannee, Thursday, 7 p.m.
Region 1-2A
(1) Trinity Christian beats (5) Episcopal, 2-0.
Game 1, Monday’s result, Trinity 1, Episcopal 0; Game 2, Tuesday’s result, Trinity 9, Episcopal 4.
(2) Bishop Snyder (23-7) at (3) Bozeman (25-6), series tied 1-1
Game 1, Monday’s result, Bozeman 2, Snyder 0; Game 2, Tuesday’s result, Snyder 4, Bozeman 3; Game 3, Thursday, at Bozeman, 7 p.m.
Region 1-1A
(1) St. Johns Country Day beats (5) North Florida Christian, 2-0
Game 1, Monday’s result, St. Johns CD 8, NFC 0; Game 2, Tuesday’s result, St. Johns CD 8, NFC 7 (9 innings)
(2) University Christian (20-9) at (3) St. Joseph (24-8-1), series tied 1-1
Game 1, Monday’s result, UC 8, St. Joseph 2; Game 2, Tuesday’s result, St. Joseph 14, UC 2; Game 3, Thursday, at St. Joseph, 7 p.m.
Rural
(2) Union County def. (3) Branford, 2-0
Game 1, Monday’s result, Union 9, Branford 1; Game 2, Tuesday’s result, Union 12, Branford 0.
Regional quarterfinals results
Best of three series
Region 1-7A
(1) Spruce Creek beats (8) Atlantic Coast, 2-0
Game 1, Wednesday’s result, Spruce Creek 4, Atlantic Coast 1; Game 2, Thursday’s result, Spruce Creek 10, Atlantic Coast 0.
(4) Creekside beats (5) Timber Creek, 2-1.
Game 1, Wednesday’s result, Creekside 3, Timber Creek 0; Game 2, Thursday’s result, Timber Creek 5, Creekside 2; Game 3, Saturday’s result, Creekside 2, Timber Creek 1.
Region 1-6A
(1) Gainesville Buchholz beats (8) First Coast, 2-0
Game 1, Wednesday’s results, Buchholz 5, First Coast 1; Game 2, Wednesday’s result, Buchholz 9, First Coast 2.
(4) Tate beats (5) Fletcher, 2-1.
Game 1, Wednesday’s result, Tate 3, Fletcher 0; Game 2, Thursday’s result, Fletcher 8, Tate 0; Game 3, Saturday’s result, Tate 8, Fletcher 3.
(3) Tocoi Creek def. (6) East River, 2-0.
Game 1, Wednesday’s result, Tocoi Creek 5, East River 2; Game 2, Thursday’s result, Tocoi Creek 1, East River 0.
Region 1-5A
(5) Columbia beats (4) Mosley, 2-0.
Game 1, Wednesday’s result, Columbia 2, Mosely 1; Game 2, Thursday’s result, Columbia 10, Mosely 0.
(2) Lincoln def. (7) Ponte Vedra, 2-0.
Game 1, Wednesday’s result, Lincoln 3, Ponte Vedra 1; Game 2, Thursday’s result, Lincoln 7, Ponte Vedra 0.
Region 1-4A
(4) Choctawhatchee beats (5) St. Augustine, 2-0.
Game 1, Monday’s result, Choctaw 6, St. Augustine 5; Game 2, Tuesday’s result, Choctaw 12, St. Augustine 10.
(2) Clay beats (7) Bishop Kenny, 2-0.
Game 1, Monday’s result, Clay 3, Bishop Kenny 2; Game 2, Tuesday’s result, Clay 9, Bishop Kenny 1.
Region 1-3A
(5) West Nassau beats (4) Fernandina Beach, 2-1.
Game 1, Monday’s result, Fernandina Beach 6, West Nassau 5 (10 innings); Game 2, Tuesday’s result, West Nassau 5, Fernandina Beach 4; Game 3, Thursday’s result, West Nassau 5, Fernandina Beach 4.
(2) West Florida beats (7) Paxon, 2-0.
Game 1, Monday’s result, West Florida 8, Paxon 2; Game 2, Tuesday’s result, West Florida 16, Paxon 6.
(3) Suwannee beats (6) Baldwin, 2-1.
Game 1, Monday’s result, Suwannee 9, Baldwin 4; Game 2, Tuesday’s result, Baldwin 8, Suwannee 2; Game 3, Thursday’s result, Suwannee 6, Baldwin 5.
Region 2-3A
(3) Villages Charter beats (6) Palatka, 2-0
Game 1, Monday’s result, Villages 8, Palatka 3; Game 2, Tuesday’s result, Villages 10, Palatka 2.
Region 1-2A
(1) Trinity Christian beats (8) Maclay, 2-0
Game 1, Monday’s result, Trinity Christian 3, Maclay 2; Game 2, Tuesday’s result, Trinity Christian 10, Maclay 0.
(5) Episcopal beats (4) Providence, 2-0
Game 1, Monday’s result, Episcopal 3, Providence 2; Game 2, Tuesday’s result, Episcopal 7, Providence 2.
(2) Bishop Snyder beats (7) Keystone Heights, 2-0
Game 1, Monday’s result, Bishop Snyder 8, Keystone Heights 3; Game 2, Tuesday’s result, Bishop Snyder 9, Keystone Heights 0.
(3) Bozeman beats (6) Bolles, 2-1.
Game 1, Monday’s result, Bolles 17, Bozeman 5; Game 2, Tuesday’s result, Bozeman 9, Bolles 3; Game 3, Thursday’s result, Bozeman 4, Bolles 3.
Region 1-1A
(1) St. Johns Country Day beats (8) Covenant School, 2-0
Game 1, Monday’s result, St. Johns Country Day 10, Covenant School 0; Game 2, Tuesday’s result, St. Johns Country Day 15, Covenant School 0.
(2) University Christian beats (7) Rocky Bayou Christian, 2-0
Game 1, Monday’s result, University Christian 11, Rocky Bayou 1; Game 2, Monday’s result, University Christian 10, Rocky Bayou 0.
(3) St. Joseph beats (6) Christ’s Church, 2-0
Game 1, Monday’s result, St. Joseph 7, Christ’s Church 0; Game 2, Tuesday’s result, St. Joseph 7, Christ’s Church 6.
