Hagerty stuns Lake Brantley in region semi
Lightning struck multiple times in Lake Brantley’s Class 7A, Region 1 semifinal baseball game Friday night but that wasn’t the only thing that shocked the Patriots.
Taking advantage of multiple Lake Brantley errors, nifty baserunning and clutch pitching, Hagerty held off the Patriots 5-4 in a marathon, 5 ½-hour game that was delayed three times by lightning and came down to the final batter.
The Patriots (24-5), who came in ranked No. 2 in Florida High School Athletic Association 7A rankings, scored 2 runs in the bottom of the seventh and had the bases loaded before Hagerty’s Cameron King struck out Connor Fosnow to win it.
Other Friday winners were Windermere High (25-3), which topped Plant City Durant 9-1 in 7A Region 2; and Orange City University (25-5), which won 6-2 over Spruce Creek in 6A.
Hagerty, 16-11 overall but 4-0 in the postseason, will travel to face St. Johns Bartram Trail in the regional final on Tuesday. Bartram beat Apopka in another semifinal.
“It felt great, a great team win,” said King, who only allowed 2 hits in2 innings of relief for starter Talan Bell and was mobbed by teammates after the final strikeout.
“It’s a huge win for our program,” Hagerty coach Mike Sindone said. “We’re really proud of our guys. We stress team every day.”
Bell held Lake Brantley in check for 4 innings, allowing only 4 hits, and that allowed Hagerty’s offense to string together a 5-2 lead after five innings. The Huskies scored in each of the first four innings, including 2 in the first. King had 2 hits and scored twice, including a huge solo home run in the fourth inning that gave the Huskies a 5-0 lead.
“Our mentality is just trying to get one or two [runs] per inning,” Sindone said. “We’re just basically trying to trade, trying to get one more, get one more. Keep trying to score, keep the pedal down.”
Hagerty’s early success overshadowed a solid performance by Lake Brantley pitcher Stephen Cherapanya, who struck out 9 batters in 5 innings of relief. UF signee Luke Heyman had 3 hits, including a double, for the Patriots.