Jay baseball team recognized by Pensacola Blue Wahoos for state championship victory

The Jay baseball team had seen adversity in its 28 games of the season.

Whether it was a tough one- or two-run loss, weather delays or whatever the case may be, the Royals had battled through it. They withstood just about everything, especially at the end of the year, to find themselves in the Class 1A state championship game in Fort Myers.

Bad weather rolled through the area and pushed the entire day back, and Jay didn’t wind up playing until about 8 p.m. That was after the 1A championship game was originally slated to start at 4 p.m.

So, what was one more case of adversity to end the season?

Jay head coach Duane Raley, a self-described “schedule guy,” was concerned purely based off that. When was the team going to eat before the game? How were coaches going to keep the team occupied?

“We wanted to make sure we kept them busy. We took extra time and went to the cages,” Raley said. “We didn’t push them, but we let them relax. … It was work, but it was relaxing work, just trying to keep them focused.”

Then the Royals went down early, 2-0, after the first inning against Bozeman. Again, just some more adversity. Jay had gone through it before. Why not in the state championship? Jay clawed back with six unanswered runs – including a big three-run fifth inning – and got out of a seventh-inning jam thanks to an incredible play from Landon Golden in right field for the final out in the bottom half of the inning.

The play wasn’t routine, Golden said. It was drifting away and he eventually got there to record the out. But 2024 hadn’t been “routine,” so to speak. It was fitting that it took one more wild play to allow Jay to secure its first state championship since 1970.

Jay was honored at the Pensacola Blue Wahoos' game on Wednesday prior to the first pitch, and the Royals took in batting practice, watching the pros do what they do best.

“Right now, these guys probably think they could walk out here and play with these teams. They’re pretty confident,” Raley said, laughing, while the Blue Wahoos hit some batting practice before the game. “My principal told me today, those kids think they can beat the New York Yankees right now. … You can go a long way with tough, gritty kids.”

‘Why not us?’

It was a mixed response whether or not players and coaches felt like “underdogs” in the state tournament. After all, the Royals played the No. 1 and 2 teams in the state for Class 1A. Jay was ranked No. 13 going into the state tournament.

Brady Godwin and Ethan McDonald said the team felt like underdogs just a bit. The others, like Landon Golden and Nick Baxley, knew they had a state championship run in them once they hit the field in Fort Myers for the first time.

It was just a little bit of a bumpy road to get there.

“After the first inning was over, we went down 2-0, then we started to rally back a little bit. Once we rallied back, we started to get a few runs on them. I felt like they were going to quit, and I let the guys know just to keep pushing it,” McDonald said. “That’s what happened.”

“Obviously, you get down in the fourth inning, and we’re still down 2-0 in the state championship. And you get a little bit like, ‘You know, are we going to do this?’ Once they scored the first one, I was like, ‘All right. We’re ready to go now.’ Just had to get the first one across the board,” said Justin Raley, one of Jay’s assistant coaches and Duane’s son. “They never doubted. Once we got it going, it felt so good. …

“After we beat Lafayette in the (state semifinals), I was like, ‘You know what? Why not us? We might be able to do this thing.’”

In both the state semifinals and state championship, the Royals had to claw their way back to victory. Against the Hornets, it was three unanswered runs at the end of the game to seal the deal. Against Bozeman, it was six unanswered after trailing 2-0 after the first inning.

At that point, both coaches pointed to a tough regular-season schedule, where Jay purposely went against bigger schools – Class 4A, 5A and 6A teams – to see teams that had two or three good pitchers.

That proved to pay dividends down the stretch.

“We wanted our guys to see good competition, to see adversity. When they got to the final four, when we got to the playoffs, adversity wasn’t a big deal. You saw that both games,” Justin Raley said. “They weren’t scared of adversity. They battled.”

“We just knew that if you’re down, you can always come back. If it’s 10-0, 5-0, it doesn’t matter,” Baxley said. “You can always come back and win.”

‘As exciting as anything I can imagine’

Every play was a big one in Fort Myers – and that included Golden’s game-clinching play in right field. That also included a few big hits from McDonald in both games.

McDonald finished the two-game set with five hits (two of which were doubles), two runs and three RBIs. He also started the championship game on the mound with 3.2 innings pitched and five strikeouts, allowing just two runs (one earned).

“Just as a leader on the team, I can’t ask other guys to get the job done, and not get it done myself,” McDonald said. “It’s a long overdue state championship for me.”

“That’s what happens when you’re not the biggest, the fastest or the strongest. When you’re not labeled the best, you’ve got to find a way to win,” Duane Raley said. “Ethan’s a competitor. He gets it done. If you go back and look at the big hits he got, he’s that guy. … The team followed Ethan.”

Those big plays also included Godwin’s relief effort on the mound with 3.1 innings pitched. He knew he just had to pitch strikes. He had the velocity throughout the year, he just had to get command of location. “It just had to translate,” Godwin added.

Ultimately everything, clearly, worked out after the play in the right field to end the game. Players immediately all ran together in front of the pitcher’s mound and dogpiled. The Royals were state champions.

“I didn’t even believe that we won at that point,” Baxley said. “It felt great.”

“It’s my last time I’ll ever be on a baseball field. It was an amazing feeling,” McDonald said. “I can’t even describe it.”

The Raleys witnessed it from the dugout. Justin said he was shaking a little bit during the last at-bat, undoubtedly sure of what was to come. He joked that the players “have got to get better at dogpiling.” But in the moment, it didn’t matter. He couldn’t describe the words to watch the team celebrate.

“I was the last one up the steps, and I just had to stand there and watch it. … That was wild. I’ve played baseball my whole life, I’ve coached when I wasn’t playing. I’ve always wanted to do that,” Duane said. “I’ve never been a part of it. Just being a part of it was about as exciting as anything I can imagine.”

Ben Grieco is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached on X (@BenGriecoSports) and via email at BGrieco@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola Blue Wahoos recognize Jay baseball team for state championship