Winning weekend: High school baseball rolls into second-round regionals
The Florida High School Athletic Association continues the high school baseball playoffs with second-round regionals on Friday and Saturday in Jacksonville and Northeast Florida. Schedules below are as listed by the FHSAA, but are subject to change.
All games 7 p.m. Friday unless noted
REGION 1-7A
Lake Mary (20-7) at Creekside (18-10)
Pitching depth, most recently a four-inning performance from Matthew Bysheim, continues to come through for a Knights team with many options, including Roman Bascelli, Michael Bysheim and Quinn Wilfong. They'll take on a Rams team that's also used to close games, with four of their last five decided by a single run. The winner will play Monday against Spruce Creek or Timber Creek.
How they got here: Beachside nets first playoff win, Creekside and Clay advance
REGION 1-5A
Beachside (16-13) at Clay (17-9)
The top of the order with Derek Ochoa, Gavin Nickel and Brian D'Errico helped spark the Barracudas in their playoff opener against Columbia. Clay's Preston Andrews hurled a three-hit shutout against Beachside on April 18, although he pitched in Tuesday's 11-7 win over Ponte Vedra, and Parker Lowrance doubled with an RBI in Clay's 4-0 win. The winner advances to the Monday regional final against Tallahassee Lincoln or Escambia.4
How they got here: King stars for Snyder, Trinity and Bishop Kenny advance in extras
All games 7 p.m. Saturday unless noted
REGION 1-4A
South Walton (18-10) at Bishop Kenny (20-8)
How much gas is left in the tank for the Crusaders, who needed 11 innings to beat Baker County Wednesday on a three-run night for shortstop Joshmar Carbonell? South Walton will be the more rested team after a mercy-rule win over West Florida. For the Seahawks, the player to watch is Auburn-committed sophomore Coleman Borthwick (.439, 8 2B, 2 HR, 1.149 OPS). The winner gets Wakulla or Panama City Beach Arnold.
REGION 1-3A
Bishop Snyder (19-8) at Pensacola Catholic (27-1)
The bad news for Bishop Snyder: Aidan King, who hurled a 20-strikeout one-hitter against Providence in an all-time great Jacksonville playoff performance, isn't available to pitch Saturday. But he can still hit, and homered last time out. Pensacola Catholic had to work against Keystone for its 23rd consecutive win, but survived thanks to the latest home run from future Auburn slugger Chris Rembert.
Bolles (21-7) at Trinity Christian (22-6)
A big one. Bolles ousted Trinity in last year's regionals on an ace performance from Clemson signee Chayce Kieck, who can bat but not pitch Saturday after making the start Wednesday. Bulldogs senior Spencer Stephens is hot at the plate with three doubles in his last three games. Trinity had to go to extras against Ocala Trinity Catholic on Wednesday, winning on the latest highlight hit from Jordan Martinez.
REGION 1-2A
University Christian (18-9) at St. Johns Country Day (21-6)
St. Johns won 17-2 in March, but expect a closer contest this time around. UC is playing its best baseball right now, with Bubba Crouch, Mason McLeod and Shawn Robinson all collecting crucial extra-base hits late. The St. Johns batting order gives opponents no easy at-bats at all, lining up future college players like Seth Alford (UNF) and Kolt Myers (Florida). Alford homered Wednesday against St. Francis.
St. Joseph (20-8) at Tallahassee NFC (18-6-2), 4 p.m. Saturday
Coming off a double-digit win over Christ's Church, the Flashes now head to a North Florida Christian squad that's always in the hunt. The Eagles could elect to pitch FAMU commit Garrett Workman (7-1, 1.05 ERA, 76 K), while batters Noah Miller, Stone Russo and Ace Walker have an OPS over 1.000. For St. Joseph, Camden Biskup and Aiden Torrez combined for six RBI on Wednesday.
REGION 3-1A
Union County (15-13) at Mayo Lafayette (22-2)
Are the Fightin' Tigers tired out from their 10-inning battle against Liberty County? They'll have to rebound quickly against the Hornets, who have already stung Union County three times, twice in the regular season and once in the district final. Kacen Thomassen scored the only Union County run against Lafayette a week ago. The winner advances to the final four at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, playing a May 15 semifinal against an opponent to be determined based on the FHSAA ranking formula.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: FHSAA second-round playoffs: Northeast Florida regional preview
