Northeast Florida high school baseball Saturday: Bishop Kenny, Fernandina, SJCD advance

Clayton Freeman, Florida Times-Union

May 15, 2022 at 8:18 AM·4 min read

Maybe all Jack Newman needed was to fall behind on the scoreboard for a moment.

"When the kid hit the ball up the middle and scored two runs," Newman said, "it just gave me more adrenaline to keep firing, and I probably came out throwing harder after that."

Newman responded on the mound and at the plate to spark a four-run third inning for Bishop Kenny, defeating Panama City Beach Arnold 5-3 in Saturday's Florida High School Athletic Association Region 1-4A baseball semifinal at Bob West Stadium.

The junior left-hander cracked a go-ahead two-run double during a breakout inning for the red-hot Crusaders (21-6), winners of 12 consecutive games and now returning to the FHSAA third round for the first time since 2011.

Arnold didn't make it easy. The visiting Marlins (22-7) took the lead in the top of the third on Colton Dorsey's two-run double.

Bishop Kenny players congratulate runner Garrett Corbett (second from right) after he scored a run in the second inning against Panama City Beach Arnold.

But Bishop Kenny racked up the runs in the third against Arnold reliever Ethan Gil. Josh Biringer tied the score with a single to left to score Andrew Tabor, and Aidan Charletta added an RBI single, sandwiched around a crushing double from Newman that nearly cleared the fence.

"I was really confident, like 100 percent I wanted to hit a bomb," Newman said.

Newman, who worked five innings, and the defense did the rest for Bishop Kenny. Infield glove work paid off in the fifth: After Arnold had trimmed the lead to 5-3, Crusaders third baseman Cal Leonard fielded a bouncer and fired a strike to catcher Franco Chaluja to retire Marlins runner Brayden Black at home.

Arnold never threatened again, and Dakota Dicks nailed down the save in two innings of work.

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The Crusaders advance to a road game at No. 1 seed Suwannee, which edged Clay 2-1 in a Live Oak thriller. Matthew Gill's two-out single in the bottom of the seventh placed Carston Palmer with the winning run.

Camdon Frier went 3 for 4 and Gill pitched a five-hitter for the victory for the Bulldogs (23-4). The visiting Blue Devils (18-11) had tied the score in the fifth on an RBI from Jacob Anderson.

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The Pirates sail on.

Sean Benjamin and Jamieson Keith clubbed home runs, Todd Rushing pitched five shutout innings and Fernandina Beach — the last team into the Region 1-4A playoffs — extended its journey by defeating host Ocala Trinity Catholic 5-2.

Harrison Blalock added an RBI for the Pirates (16-9), who scored two apiece in the third and fourth. Anthony Cordero homered for the Celtics (19-9).

Fernandina Beach will have to travel yet again on Tuesday. Reuben Barron pitched five scoreless innings and homered for the game's only run for No. 7 seed The Villages, ending the playoff run of host Providence 1-0.

Barron hit a solo shot in the sixth to break a scoreless deadlock. Providence (15-13) got two runners aboard in the sixth inning and one in the seventh, but couldn't score against reliever Anthony Karoly as the Buffalo (19-7) held the Stallions to three hits.

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It only takes a moment for St. Johns Country Day's bats to transform a ballgame.

The 2021 state runners-up scored in each of the first four innings and exploded for six runs in the sixth, defeating visiting Trinity Christian 12-5 in the teams' third meeting of the spring.

Jordan Taylor went 3 for 5 with a home run, Finn Howell went 3 for 3, Tyce Moore knocked in three runs and Bradley Hodges reached base in all five plate appearances for the nationally-ranked Spartans (23-4).

Trinity Christian (20-9) stayed close for much of the night using the long ball, getting home runs from Noah Couch, Alonzo Austin and Maddox Lee.

St. Johns' next opponent is Tallahassee North Florida Christian, which clawed back from a six-run deficit and defeated University Christian 8-6 to end UC's season in the Sunshine State's capital.

Kaseman Pressley and Josh Schuchts both homered as NFC (20-5) tallied four runs in the third and three in the fourth. For UC (22-7), Seth Alford hit a home run and Trenten May collected two hits.

Clayton Freeman covers high school sports and more for the Florida Times-Union. Follow him on Twitter at @CFreemanJAX.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: High school baseball: 2022 Jacksonville second-round playoff winners, Saturday

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