Flagler Palm Coast defeats Pine Ridge for Five Star Conference title, seventh straight win

PORT ORANGE — Kyle Marsh did not think Thursday was his Flagler Palm Coast Bulldogs’ best game of the season. It may not have been even their best performance of the Five Star Conference Tournament.

But, hey, he’ll take it. Especially when his team is on a streak like this.

The fourth-seeded Bulldogs rattled off their seventh victory in a row, claiming a local title in the process. They toppled No. 3 Pine Ridge 9-6 in the Five Star finals at Spruce Creek High School.

“I think we settled in a lot more than what we did at the beginning of the game,” said Marsh, a second-year head coach. “The guys battled some adversity in the beginning.

“A lot of guys that were struggling at the beginning came through with a couple clutch hits at the end of the game. It was good to see them kind of flush the bad at-bats at the beginning and come through in the end.”

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The score was tied 3-3 after three innings. Flagler Palm Coast (12-10) used a four-run fourth inning to jump ahead for good.

“Another great (opponent), and we had one bad inning,” Pine Ridge coach Eric Dearborn said. “One bad inning, gave up four runs. You can't give up a crooked number and beat a good team.

“And you can never erase an inning, but if you get rid of that one, it's a whole different result. So we played good baseball for six of seven innings. To be a great baseball team, you've got to play seven.”

The runs flowed early.

In the top of the first inning, the Bulldogs plated their first run just three batters into the game. Senior Connor May reached on a throwing error, taking second base in the process. After a sacrifice bunt advanced him to third, he came home on a grounder to third by sophomore Carson Flis.

The throw beat May, but the ball popped loose as he slid into home plate.

In the bottom of the first, the Panthers (12-9) picked up their first two runs with their third hitter. With one out and a runner on second, senior Derrick Walker ripped a ball into left field. It snuck by the left fielder, who was charging with the intent to launch a throw toward home plate. Instead, the first run scored and Walker hustled around the bases, too.

Pine Ridge played add-on in the second inning. Senior Bobby Clupper trotted home from third on a wild pitch. That pushed its advantage to 3-1.

Flagler Palm Coast knotted it at 3 in the top of the third. After senior Cody Clymer drew a leadoff walk, sophomore Marion Clayton brought him home with a double to deep right field two batters later.

Clayton stole third. Sophomore Nole Hemmerle put down a sacrifice bunt to score him.

The fourth inning is the one Marsh thought flipped the game.

The Bulldogs loaded the bases with no outs and captured their first lead since the first inning on a sac fly by May.

The next batter, Clymer, lined a hit into right field, which tacked on two more runs, boosting their advantage to 6-3. And for good measure, Clayton slashed a single into left to wave Clymer around.

Pine Ridge got two runs back in the bottom of the fourth. Junior Kenny Capria and senior Alek Rentas each collected RBI singles, trimming the deficit to 7-5.

Flagler Palm Coast provided itself some insurance in the fifth on a failed pickoff attempt by the Panthers and the seventh with a base knock by junior Logan Shudy.

Pine Ridge possessed its comeback chances in the fifth and sixth, though.

Junior Adam Kleinfelder took the mound for the Bulldogs. In the fifth, Kable led off with a double, and senior Mathias Oliver followed with a walk. The ensuing batter, junior Humbert Casillas, tried a sacrifice bunt, directing it right back to Kleinfelder, who fired to third base to nail the lead runner.

He retired the next two hitters on a punchout and groundout.

In the sixth, the first two reached base again. This time, Kleinfelder did allow a run. Sophomore Sam Figueroa produced it with a sacrifice fly.

But Flagler Palm Coast stopped the damage there.

In the seventh inning, Kleinfelder set the Panthers down in order.

“I like coming in, getting the save,” Kleinfelder said. “It's a big moment. And sometimes you get a win. I thrive under pressure.”

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Prior to Kleinfelder, sophomore Jordan Gonzalez started and went 1⅓ innings. He surrendered three runs. Senior Dalton Roberts also turned in 2⅔ innings of two-run ball.

Clayton was the only Bulldog with multiple hits. Clymer and Flis each tallied two RBIs to pace the squad.

“I preach to them every day that it's another game,” Marsh said. “It's another game because the more and more I try to do things, it's just more pressure for them.”

For Pine Ridge, Kable doubled twice. Capria joined him with two hits.

The Panthers utilized two pitchers — junior Loren Cheatham and senior Tyler Wright. Cheatham allowed eight runs in 4⅓ innings. Wright held Flagler Palm Coast to one run across 2⅔.

To get to the title game, Pine Ridge defeated No. 2 DeLand 7-5 in the semifinals Tuesday.

Flagler Palm Coast upset top-seeded Spruce Creek 5-3. The Hawks beat the Bulldogs in the 2023 Five Star championship.

“We wanted our get-back last game, and we got it,” Kleinfelder said. “Then, we won the chip this year.”

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: High school baseball: FPC beats Pine Ridge for 2024 Five Star title