'They belonged here': Spruce Creek falls to undefeated Stoneman Douglas in state semifinal

FORT MYERS — The Spruce Creek Hawks just stood there, up against the dugout rail, for one second. Then, two. Then, three.

The first few players filtered onto the field. The rest followed. They walked to first base and hugged Jake Hall, who flew out to end Tuesday's 7A state semifinals game against Stoneman Douglas.

The Eagles, the undefeated top seed, won 5-1 at Hammond Stadium to advance to Wednesday’s championship against Plant. It was the same score at the same venue as the 2021 state title contest between Stoneman Douglas and Spruce Creek.

“I didn’t think we played our best baseball tonight, but it’s a different experience than playing on a high school field,” coach Matt Cleveland said.

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“... I look at it as, we would've had to play great. We played some great games recently, and tonight was just kind of good. But I’m proud of them for the way they battled. This team has a lot of heart.”

The fourth-seeded Hawks showed that early, manufacturing a run in the first inning.

Sophomore Devon Crown led off the game with a walk on four pitches. He put himself in scoring position by stealing second and advancing to third on a throwing error. The next two hitters struck out, but with sophomore Julian Braga in the box, Crown trotted home on a wild pitch.

The Eagles answered right back in the bottom of the inning. Leadoff batter Alex Rodriguez reached on a hit-by-pitch. Two stolen bases later, he scored on a single by Rylan Lujo.

Spruce Creek had an opportunity in the second inning. It put its first two hitters on base but stranded them there on two strikeouts and a groundout.

Stoneman Douglas took its first lead in the third. It loaded the bases with no outs, and Matthew Ossenfort brought in a run with a sacrifice fly. Hawks starter Shane Lavin wiggled out of the jam without any further trouble.

Lavin worked three innings of two-run ball and finished with seven strikeouts.

“I think the best thing I did today was just keep my composure,” the junior said. “I knew coming into this game it was going to be one of the toughest battles I’ve ever faced, and the atmosphere was so different than other games. I just had to work with that.”

Senior Nick Lorenz entered in the fourth and went three innings, as well. The Eagles got to him in the bottom of the fifth.

Devin Fitz-Gerald kicked off the frame with a triple down the right-field line, and Christian Rodriguez, who also served as their starting pitcher, drew a one-out walk. They both crossed the plate on Ossenfort’s two-run double off the right-field wall.

Stoneman Douglas padded its lead to 5-1 with an RBI groundout a batter later.

Following a leadoff single in the top of the fourth, Spruce Creek was held without a hit. Rodriguez pitched a complete game, giving up two hits and one walk while fanning eight.

“I told Christian Rodriguez after the game, ‘I appreciate greatness, and you’ve been great’” Cleveland said. “We watched him as a sophomore. The composure he has and the competitiveness he shows, that’s a tough mountain to climb.

“And I don’t know if anybody has hit as many balls hard off him as we did. We hit a lot of balls hard and right at guys.”

After opening the year 0-5, the Hawks ended with a 20-11 record. They claimed 16 of their last 19 games.

“Once we got it rolling, we played really well,” Cleveland said. “Super proud of these guys. I told them the whole year, even when we were 0-5 and 1-6, ‘You can go to the state Final Four. You’re good enough talent-wise.’ I think they showed that tonight. They belonged here. It wasn’t a fluke.”

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: FHSAA baseball: Spruce Creek falls to Stoneman Douglas in semifinal