Baseball playoffs: Wheeler, Trinity down Bolles; Creekside, Clay, St. Johns advance

Ethan Wheeler didn't know he would be pitching five-plus innings. But when the call arrived, the Trinity Christian sophomore was ready.

"Coming out of the pen, it's more of a sprint than a marathon," he said. "I just had to get through it and let my defense make plays."

Entering in the second inning and carrying the Conquerors to the finish line, Wheeler excelled in long relief to help Trinity Christian defeat Bolles 6-4 in Saturday night's Region 1-2A baseball semifinal.

One year after Bolles stunned Trinity in regionals, the Conquerors turned the tables. But Bolles didn't make it easy, grabbing an early lead when Spencer Stephens clubbed a three-run homer off Aaron Watson in the first inning.

From there, Trinity (23-6) scored two in the bottom of the frame and soon pulled ahead with three in the second, capped by a Brady Harris home run in the second. Despite some missed opportunities in the middle innings, they never looked back.

"Our guys just showed so much fight to get right back in there and have each other's back," Conquerors head coach Jon Murphy said.

Wheeler allowed one run in the third but quickly settled down, mowing down the Bulldogs (21-8) with eight strikeouts and only three hits allowed in 5 2/3 innings. Committed to Florida, he reduced his season ERA to 0.83 and raised his strikeout count to 66 in 42 innings.

"Last year we had a feeling that we can make it that far [the final four] and that we could win, but obviously it didn't happen," Wheeler said. "This year, I think we're playing with a bit of a chip on our shoulder, trying to get back to where we think we should be."

They'll play at home Tuesday night against Bishop Snyder, which finished off one of Florida's upsets of the year with a 6-5 extra-inning win at Pensacola Catholic.

Tristan Silver knocked in the game-winning RBI in the top of the 10th to stun the host Crusaders (27-2), who stood No. 1 overall in the FHSAA and had won their last 23 games.

Freshman Evan Pieklo drew a go-ahead, bases-loaded walk in the top of the eighth to push the Cardinals (20-8) in front, and Bishop Snyder tacked on two more with a Grant Sheppard RBI single and a wild pitch for a 5-2 lead. Down to their last out with no runners aboard, Pensacola Catholic stayed alive, loading the bases and tying the score on a passed ball followed by Rhyland Richards' two-RBI single.

Bishop Snyder then escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the bottom of the ninth when freshman Jack Rauch forced two pop-ups and a strikeout, setting the stage for Silver's highlight. The hosts got two runners aboard in the bottom of the 10th, but Rauch forced a game-ending pop-up to Aidan King, who struck out 20 batters while pitching Wednesday and is likely to get the starting assignment at Trinity.

Sophomore Cody Boshell led Bishop Snyder, belting a two-run double in the third and pitching six innings of one-hit baseball before being lifted for the seventh due to pitch count limits. Pensacola Catholic tied the score in the bottom of the seventh on two singles, two walks and two wild pitches before Tyler Wilford extinguished the rally.

REGION 1-7A

First, Lake Mary jolted Parker Morton physically. A few minutes later, they wounded his pride.

Then, Parker Morton struck back.

The junior third baseman whacked a go-ahead, bases-clearing double for what proved to be the winning runs, leading Creekside past Lake Mary 6-4 in Friday night's wild Florida High School Athletic Association Region 1-7A baseball semifinal at Freedom Field.

"This is awesome. The team's doing incredible right now," Morton said. "I feel like no one can stop us."

Winners of five in a row, the Knights (19-10) move on to a Monday night road game at No. 1 seed Timber Creek, which rallied past Spruce Creek 5-3 on Eli Buffaloe's walk-off homer.

But Creekside wouldn't have made it without Morton, who got the last laugh in an turbulent fourth inning. In the top of the frame, Morton was sent flying in a bizarre collision at third base with Lake Mary baserunner Hunter Wallace, who went on to score to tie the game 3-3.

Then, with two on and two out in the fourth, Lake Mary (20-8) opted to intentionally walk Rutgers-committed leadoff batter Sean Ashenfelder to load the bases and pitch to Morton — a strategy that backfired dramatically.

"I just felt the disrespect when they walked Sean just to get to me, to get what they thought was an easy out," said Morton, who had entered the game with a .179 batting average. "And I didn't think that."

Morton rocked a double to left field off pitcher Jimmy Kelly to score all three runs for a 6-3 lead as Creekside players — most of them sporting hairstyles dyed blond in time for postseason baseball — swarmed from the dugout in celebration.

The Knights locked down the victory from there with 2 2/3 gritty innings from reliever Quinn Wilfong, assisted by a spectacular diving catch in the sixth from left fielder Zack Jackson.

Creekside had grabbed a first-inning lead on Ty Martineau's RBI triple and Carson McFarlin's RBI single, only for the Rams to exploit two errors to score in the following inning. McFarlin added an RBI double in the third for another short-lived lead.

REGION 1-5A

Merrick Rapoza belted a grand slam on a seven-RBI night and Rylan McMahan hurled an abbreviated no-hitter, helping Clay to a 12-0 shutout that ended the season of Beachside (16-14) in Green Cove Springs.

Rapoza began the night with a two-run triple in the first, slugged his grand slam in the second and tacked on an RBI single in the third. The Barracudas elected to intentionally walk him in the fourth, leaving him a double shy of the cycle.

The run support was more than enough for McMahan. The freshman pitcher, already committed to Florida, worked around four walks to strike out seven batters over five innings.

L.J. Martin also went 3 for 4 with two RBI for Clay (18-9), and Cole Carnell and Parker Lowrance scored three runs apiece.

The Blue Devils advance to a Monday regional final at Tallahassee Lincoln. Lincoln defeated Escambia 7-1 in a game postponed to Saturday because of the severe storms that hit Tallahassee Friday.

REGION 1-4A

South Walton (19-10) ended the title dreams for Bishop Kenny, scoring three runs in the first two innings and downing the host Crusaders 5-2. Seahawk pitchers Coleman Borthwick and Charlie Willcox combined to limit Bishop Kenny (20-9) to five hits. Colin Ulrich went 2 for 3 and Derek Heideman doubled for Bishop Kenny, which had played an 11-inning marathon Wednesday against Baker County.

REGION 1-2A

Overcoming a leadoff homer to start the game by University Christian's Bryson Harnage, top-seeded St. Johns Country Day (22-6) fought back for an 8-3 win. St. Johns scored three runs each in the third and fourth and Gibby Gilliand homered in the comeback, setting up a Monday regional final at home. Right fielder Joseph Ramsey homered in the fourth for UC (18-10).

Next up for St. Johns is a familiar Tallahassee foe: Ace Walker hit a go-ahead two-run double in the bottom of the sixth inning and Tallahassee North Florida Christian (19-6-2) escaped 2-0 to overcome a gritty effort from St. Joseph. Sean Miskowiec went the distance for the Flashes (20-9), striking out 10 and allowing four hits. After two St. Joseph singles in the first, NFC pitchers Garrett Workman, Jace Riggan and Walker Sparkman combined to retire 20 consecutive batters.

REGION 3-1A

Mayo Lafayette completed the four-game season sweep of Union County (15-14), beating the Fightin' Tigers 4-0 to punch a final four ticket. Garrett Taylor allowed two hits in five innings for Lafayette (23-2), while Brayden Richardson and Kagan Hewett each got two hits.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: High school baseball playoffs 2024: Northeast Florida round 2 recaps