High school baseball: Seacrest's comeback falls short in 2A state championship game

The Seacrest baseball team did what it's done all season – fought hard to overcome a slow start.

In the end, early errors were too much for the Stingrays in the Class 2A championship game. Miami Christian beat Seacrest 3-1 on Thursday night in the FHSAA state finals at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers.

Miami Christian (19-8), the defending 2A champ, scored all three of its runs in the bottom of the first inning. Seacrest committed two errors in the inning, leading to two runs, and made five errors in the game.

“That shouldn’t happen,” Stingrays junior Brandon Espinosa said. “I don’t know what happened. Without those errors, without a doubt we’d have this game. That makes (the loss) tougher.”

Seacrest finished state runner-up for the second time in program history (2014). The Stingrays (21-9) tied a program record for wins in a season but missed out on becoming the fourth Collier County high school baseball team to win a state title.

When Miami Christian went up 3-0 in the first and Seacrest committed four errors in the first two innings, Stingrays fans might have had bad flashbacks from 2014. That year Seacrest got to the state finals only to lose 14-0.

But this Stingrays squad showed it belonged. It also showed its resilience.

Seacrest’s defense and pitching settled down after the first two innings. Starter Andrew Geiger gave up five hits in three innings. The Victors had the bases loaded in the second inning and two runners in scoring position in the third, but both times Geiger didn’t give up a run.

Espinosa did not allow a hit in three innings of relief.

“(After the first inning) we said, ‘Look, fellas, that’s it. Just stop the bleeding right here, don’t let them score any more,” Seacrest program-founding coach Mark Marsala said. “And they didn’t. Our pitchers were excellent tonight.”

The Stingrays never could get their offense going. They finished with two hits. Their only run came after Jordan Martinez reached base on an error in the sixth, then scored on an error.

In the top of the seventh, Seacrest’s first two batters drew walks. The Stingrays had the tying run at first base with no outs.

However, Miami Christian closer Jason Garcia struck out a batter and forced a double play to end the game and win a second straight title for the Victors.

“After the first inning I thought, ‘This might end quick,’” Geiger said. “In the sixth I thought, ‘Here we go. We’re going to come back and take the lead.’”

To get to the state finals is an accomplishment – Seacrest is the only Collier team to do it since Naples High won state in 2009 – especially after the Stingrays’ start to the season.

Seacrest started the year 4-7. Marsala tweaked his practices, having his players take batting practice against live pitching. After that, the Stingrays went 17-2 to reach the state finals.

“We just keep on battling,” Espinosa said. “At the beginning of the year, we gave up too easily. We couldn’t hit. Now, (in the 2A semifinals) we had 13 hits. That says a lot about how far we’ve come.”

HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL

Regional pairings

Finals

Friday, May 17

Class 3A

Canterbury 6, Sarasota-Out of Door 5

Class 2A

Seacrest 5, Seven Rivers Christian 4

Thursday, May 23

Class 6A

Dunedin 4, Mariner 0

State tournament, Hammond Stadium

Wednesday, May 22

Class 2A

Semifinal, Seacrest 9, Wakulla Christian 0

Thursday, May 23

Class 2A championship, Miami Christian 3, Seacrest 1

Friday, May 24

Class 3A

Semifinal, Canterbury 4, North Florida Christian 3

Saturday, May 25

Class 3A championship, Canterbury vs. Lakeland Christian, 4 p.m.

HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL

State tournament, Vero Beach

Class 7A

Thursday, May 23

Semifinals, Creekside 7, Fort Myers 6