High school baseball: Lafayette advances, Newberry falls in Class 1A state semifinals

The Gainesville area was well-represented in Fort Myers Wednesday as a pair of area teams made semifinal appearances in the FHSAA's Class 1A state tournament.

Both the top-seeded Lafayette Hornets and the second-seeded Newberry Panthers made their way down to Hammond Stadium. However, they produced games that couldn't have been more different; the Hornets survived an high-scoring affair, 9-6, while the Panthers fell in a 1-0 pitcher's duel. While Newberry's season is over, Lafayette advanced to Thursday's Class 1A state title game where the Hornets will play the Chipley Tigers at 4 p.m. from Hammond Stadium.

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Here's a quick recap from Wednesday's semifinals.

Lafayette advances to title game after 9-6 win over defending champs

The Hornets turned to 6-foot-6 senior Matthew Jenkins to start on the hill with a trip to the state championship game on the line at Fort Myers' Hammond Stadium.

Jenkins, who led the Hornets' staff in strikeouts coming into the Class 1A semifinal with 77, tallied eight more in a poised performance that held the Holmes County lineup to one hit through his 4.2-inning outing.

Meanwhile, Jenkins was helped along by Lafayette's lineup, which scored four quick runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.

The Hornets jumped on Blue Devils' starter Nathaniel Conner early as senior Hunter Vann drew a walk and was immediately driven home by a triple by Jenkins, who proved himself a two-way asset Wednesday.

With two outs, the Hornets continued to pour it on, capitalizing on RBI singles from seniors Lane Brock, Coen Severance and Austin Herron.

Lafayette and Holmes County traded scoreless half innings in the second before the Blue Devils earned their first run in the top of the third, only to be outdone by another four-spot from the Hornets.

Lafayette's four runs in the bottom of the third inning were primarily the result of Holmes County pitching woes. Conner tossed a pair of walks, only to be relieved by sophomore Colby Powell, who hurled four more walks, which pushed across three more runs.

A sac fly from Jenkins would allow the Hornets' fourth run of the inning to come across, giving Lafayette a comfortable 8-1 lead heading into the fourth.

Lafayette would score its last run in the fifth before giving up four unanswered runs in the sixth and seventh innings. But unfortunately for the defending champs, the hole the Blue Devils found themselves in early was too deep to climb out.

Newberry falls to Chipley in extras

The Panthers' battle with the Tigers was everything anyone could want out of a state semifinal.

The two teams were neck and neck in all categories during Wednesday morning's semifinal, which forced the game to need an additional inning to be decided. At the end of the eighth frame, it was Chipley that did just enough to squeak out a 1-0 win and end Newberry's season.

The Tigers out-hit the Panthers 7-6 and it was that last Chipley hit that made the difference. Junior David Carley barreled up an 0-1 offering from Benjamin Beck for an RBI double, giving Chipley a 1-0 lead.

With their season on the line, the Panthers were retired in order as Neal Adams struck out the first batter and Connor Goddin forced a ground out and line out to end the game.

Newberry junior Braxton Brady did it all with a 2-for-3 performance and 7-inning outing on the hill that saw him give up six hits, one run and strike out six. Sophomore Tristan Woodrome also contributed for the Panthers with a pair of hits.

The Panthers finished their season 16-9. Meanwhile, Chipley (21-7) moves on to Thursday's title game, where it has a 4 p.m. date with Lafayette.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Lafayette baseball advances to to state title game while Newberry falls