Baseball Regionals: Top-ranked Pace 'stunned' by Winter Springs, Jay is the last area team left

Here is a roundup of baseball regional games from Wednesday, May 10, 2023:

Region 1-6A Quarterfinals

No. 8 Winter Springs 10, No. 1 Pace 4

With its lofty record and rankings, Pace High’s baseball team was experiencing a special, dream kind of season.

That made what happened Wednesday night so stunning.

Winter Springs hit a trio of multi-run homers and received strong pitching from two sidearm-throwing relievers to produce a 10-4 victory against the Patriots, thus shocking the home crowd and pulling off the state’s biggest first-round upset in their Region 1-6A quarterfinal game.

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Pace (24-3) was the top-ranked team in Class 6A, ranked No 4 in the state by MaxPreps and No. 20 among the nation’s prep baseball teams.

“What can I say?” said Winter Springs coach Mike Bradley, smiling, after his team made a seven-hour drive to face Pace. “We had to win the district to get in, then we had to face the No. 1 (6A) team in the state, ranked in the nation… our guys just believe in themselves and we had one good approach after another at the plate that led to those runs.

“I mean, we’re playing with house money, right? We were the 12th-ranked team. We weren’t supposed to beat  (Oviedo) Hagerty (High), we beat Haggarty and what a great opportunity it was to come up here and complete against one of the best teams in the state.

“If you believe in yourself, who knows what can happen?”

Well, this happened. After Pace had a 2-0 lead into the fourth inning, Winter Springs, which is located 15 miles from Orlando, reversed the advantage when the Bears starting pitcher Max Murray drove in a run and scored on Matthew George’s 3-run homer off Pace starter Nate Caston.

An inning later, the Bears (17-9) blew open the game when Marco Gonzalez and Jacob McKenzie both hit 2-run bombs. They pounded out 12 hits. The top four hitters in their batting order – Sam Downey, Marco Gonzalez, Logan Hughes and Jacob McKenzie, combined to score eight of the 12 runs and each reached base three times apiece.

McKenzie and Gonzalez each drove in three runs.

“I was worried about it,” said Pace coach Jason McBride. “I thought these guys (Winter Springs) could swing the bat coming into it. They have seen some pretty good arms throughout the year. I worried about them hitting it and they came out and swung the bats well (Wednesday).

“They hit it. Sometimes that is just way it goes.”

During a quick meeting with his players, McBride, who experienced his own high-lows when he played at Pace, consoled his team by reminding how well they played all year.

“They competed all year,” he said. “That has been our motto all year… to play hard all seven innings. Just head down, play hard. And we played hard (Wednesday). Those guys (Bears) just hit it

(Pace players) have nothing to be ashamed of. They competed for seven innings. Even that last inning, we competed at the plate and that says a lot about them.”

The game began well for Pace. Senior Jackson McKenzie blasted a fastball from Winter Springs’ Murray over the centerfield wall in the first inning. He then hit a fly ball that was dropped in the third inning – one of four errors the Bears made – allowing Glenn Brooks to score for a 2-0 lead.

But with the bases loaded, Murray got a double-play ball to end the inning and it became a pivotal moment. The Patriots also left the bases loaded in the fifth inning with one out.

“We were one or two hit from maybe breaking the game open for us,” McBride said. “We just didn’t get the hit we needed.”

Tucker Ricks followed Caston on the mound and got Pace out of the fourth inning. But in the fifth, the first four Bears batters reached base, two of those on home runs.

“(Ricks) left one up in the (strike) zone and the guy hit it out.” McBride said. “The other (home run), that guy just hit it. I thought Tucker threw okay. They just hit it and I am okay with that. Just don’t walk ‘em and not make errors.”

Winter Springs pitchers Andrew Lepine and Brady Schwartzberg, both sidearm throwers, combined to limit Pace to four hits in the final five innings.

“Those were the first side-armers we had seen all year, and I thought those guys did a great job throwing strikes and neutralizing us,” McBride said.

Here are three other takeways from Wednesday’s playoff game.

Taking solace

Following the game, McBride reminded his crestfallen seniors of their career achievements that included three consecutive District 1-6A championships and reaching the state championship in 2022.

Five of the nine starters in the lineup Wednesday were seniors.

“These seniors had a great career here,” McBride said. “They won district their sophomore year and almost won a state title as juniors. These guys led our team well. We are going to miss this group of seniors.

“Nothing came easy for them and they had a great season.”

No travel lag

Winter Springs’ team left the school at 6 a.m. Wednesday to make the long trek to Pensacola. The team arrived in Pensacola around 1 p.m. and headed to the University of West Florida’s Jim Spooner Field for a workout.

The team was spending the night in Pensacola, then driving on to Tallahassee where the Bears face Tallahassee Leon on Saturday.

“The way we look at it, like I’ve told the boys, baseball is fun. Let’s just have fun,” Bradley said. “Our boys weren’t intimidated. We know (Pace) has been here (playoff success) so many times. For us, we’re playing with house money and we’re riding the wave.”

Pitching future

Part of Pace’s lookahead to next season begins with its entire returning pitching staff.

Wednesday’s starter Nate Caston will be in line for the top starter role.

“He’s been a workhorse for us all season,” McBride. “He has more innings than anybody. His pitch is his breaking ball and I thought (Wednesday) he lost his pitch in the fourth inning. It just didn’t have that bite.”

Overall, McBride said his entire team’s season accomplishments far outweigh disappointment from the loss.

“I’m proud of my guys,” he said. “They fought all year. You build a relationship with these guys and that’s the part that hurts more than anything.”

― Bill Vilona

No. 5 Leon 6, No. 4 Tate 5

A late home run made things interesting, but the higher-seeded Aggies could not complete a late-inning comeback on the road against the Lions.

Trailing 6-3 entering the top of the seventh, Tate trimmed its deficit to one following a two-run shot by Cade Kelly. However, Leon, who hosted by virtue of winning its district, held on to advance to the next round.

The visitors put up a run in each of the first three innings, highlighted by a solo home run from Jay Davis in the third.

The Lions answered two innings later by scoring all of their runs in the fifth. They scored their first run on a bases-loaded walk before Chase Davis tied the game with a two-run double.

The team soon went ahead when a hard line drive to second base scored Phillip Garcia from third. After a sacrifice fly from Anthony Grant increased the advantage, Ian Swanson capped the spurt with an RBI double.

Tate finishes the season with a 18-8 record.

― Patrick Bernadeau

No. 2 Buchholz 10, No. 7 Gulf Breeze 2

The Dolphins could not keep pace on the road against a Bobcats team that stuck early and often.

Buchholz scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning before adding four more in the third, another in the fourth and three in the fifth.

Gulf Breeze plated one in the fourth and another in the fifth on a bases-loaded walk.

Seven players recorded hits for the home team, led by a 3-for-4 performance by Donny Hiebert. Anthony Wilkie and Cedaris Smith each drove in a pair of runs. Wilkie also got the win on the mound, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks with five walks.

Stats were unavailable for the Dolphins, who finished the season at 16-10.

― Patrick Bernadeau

Region 1-1A Semifinals

No. 4 Holmes County 3, No. 1 Northview 2 (F/8)

The top-seeded Chiefs landed one counter punch, but couldn't land a second during their home loss to Blue Devils.

Holmes County, who entered the night with a 9-18 record, broke a scoreless tie with two runs in the top of the seventh. Northview (17-7) responded with a pair in the bottom of the frame.

The visitors plated a run in the eighth and kept hosts off the scoreboard to close out the victory.

Starting on the mound, Jamarkus Jefferson put together a splendid outing for the Chiefs. The senior pitcher allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits and four walks with eight strikeouts through seven innings of work. He was also one of players on his team to produce a hit.

Northview received two hits apiece from Kaden Odom, Cason Burkett and Terrell Bridges. Odom had the team's lone extra-base hit with a double.

― Patrick Bernadeau

No. 3 Jay 9, No. 2 Paxton 6 (F/9)

The 2023 state baseball postseason has been one to forget for Pensacola-area programs.

Of the nine local teams that advanced to regionals, eight have been eliminated. However, the Royals are the last team alive, and they needed to sweat out extra innings to do it.

Jay scored scored five runs in the top of the ninth to capture an thrilling road win against Bobcats and earn a berth into regional finals.

The two teams were tied 4-4 at the end of regulation.

Justin Smarr led the visitors' offensive attack. The junior went 3-for-4 at the plate with a double, a walk and three RBIs. Tomas Ravendo, Wyatt Peaden and Nathan Smarr added two hits.

Meanwhile, Eli Lowrey navigated through the Paxton lineup with relative ease. The senior tossed six scoreless innings, allowing five hits and two walks with seven strikeouts.

In search of their first Final Four appearances since 2010, the Royals are host to Holmes County at 7 p.m. Saturday.

― Patrick Bernadeau

Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached at (850) 503-3828, on Twitter @PatBernadeau or via email at pbernadeau@gannett.com

Bill Vilona is a retired Pensacola News Journal sports columnist and now senior writer for Pensacola Blue Wahoos. He can be reached at bvilona@bluewahoos.com.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: No. 1 Pace baseball blasted, upset by Winter Springs at regionals, Jay advances