Island Coast clips Jensen Beach 8-7 to win 4A state baseball championship

FORT MYERS — For two teams making their first appearances in a state championship baseball game, Jensen Beach and Island Coast provided a thriller that unfortunately left one team crushed and the other euphoric.

An RBI single in the top of the eight inning from Gator star Kevin Martinez produced the go-ahead run as the Gators defeated the Falcons 8-7 to earn the 4A state title at 1:28 a.m. on Wednesday in front of a raucous crowd at Hammond Stadium playing just 18 miles from the school located in Cape Coral.

Martinez's hit came after Jensen Beach put Eddie Rodriguez on via an intentional walk with two outs and Island Coast's leading hitter entering the game made up what had been a tough night with three strikeouts in four plate appearances.

The Falcons (26-5) mounted one final charge in the bottom of the eighth. Seniors Cade Crews and Patrick Ward lined back-to-back two-out singles but Island Coast's Jake Mueller, an Alabama signee who had not thrown a single inning all season got Patrick Gillen to ground to shortstop for a fielder's choice at second base to end a wild game of ebbs and flows.

"I've seen so much growth in these boys and I'm so excited for what's next for them," Jensen Beach head coach Corey Cooke said. "Sad it's over, everyone's like, you'll be back here next year. I don't want to think about next year. I want to think about this year. I'm not upset we lost, I'm proud and it's emotional. I'm just proud of them."

With the game tied 1-1 in the fifth inning, Island Coast's Emilio Gonzalez gave the Gators (24-7) a 3-1 lead with a two-run single off Ward and one batter later, Jordi Guerrero rocketed a two-run home run to put his team ahead 5-1.

After the Falcons got a run back in the bottom of the fifth while not capitalizing with the bases loaded and nobody out after a runner was picked off first base halting their momentum, Jensen Beach surged in the sixth inning.

Ty Velardo and Kyle Derrenbacker drew back-to-back walks to start the inning and Dylan Fatovich dropped a perfect bunt single to load the bases up with Island Coast bringing back in their starting pitcher Jake Billings to the mound after being removed the prior inning.

Senior Matt Kautz launched a bases-clearing double to the gap in left-center field to tie the game at 5-5 with the Falcons still in business.

After Lonnie Brown drew a walk and Cade Crews placed another bunt to perfection for a single, Ward brought in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly and Gillen's hit a fly ball to right that fell for an RBI single gave the Falcons a 7-5 lead needing three outs for the state title.

With Ward in his fourth inning of relief on the mound, Island Coast responded as Mueller's RBI double with one out drove in Rodriguez, who reached on a fly ball to shallow center to lead off the seventh that wasn't caught with the Falcon defense playing deep in an unfamiliar setting larger than their home field.

"We had them, maybe if get that first out there maybe we get it done," Cooke said. "We had our outfield playing deep, it wasn't anybody's fault. We had them deep and that ball fell in."

Gonzalez singled up the middle to score pinch runner Jason Richardson to knot the game up at 7-7.

Mueller, Island Coast's home run leader on the year with eight, was called upon to pitch with the Gators extremely short-handed on arms and fired a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh to send the game to extra innings.

Martinez's go-ahead single in the eighth off Velardo, who entered in relief of Ward, brought in the final run of the night as the two teams combined to score 13 runs in the final three innings.

Jensen Beach's game plan entering what initially was supposed to be a 7 p.m. start Tuesday on the field was to roll with Derrenbacker on the mound to start and see how far he could do before turning to Ward.

As they had done in their 5-0 regional final win against Bishop Moore on May 17, Derrenbacker worked hard to allow only one run in three innings, striking out five before Cooke brought Ward in.

Getting so close to putting the cherry on top of the Falcons' best season in school history, Cooke tried composing himself with his emotions to begin to look back at how enjoyable of a ride he had with a group led by eight seniors.

"The accolades we get are great, but its the growth you see in these boys, the spirit and the fight they showed, those are all things we talked about all year," Cooke said. "We've had tough games, tough moments and battled back. To see us do that on the biggest stage and to not give up, I wanted it for them. They wanted it bad. It just didn't happen for us."

For seniors including Ward, Gillen, Derrenbacker, Kautz, Brown and Crews who all were regulars in the starting lineup all year, the memories of competing in the state's biggest platform and playing two games that both ended well after midnight in Fort Myers will be ones they'll never forget.

"We broke every single record in school history this year and you've got to love that," Crews said. "You can't be mad about anything. We had a bunch of lineouts tonight, we were putting good swings on the ball. It was an awesome game. I give a ton of credit to (Island Coast), they just hit so well."

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Island Coast denies Jensen Beach in extra innings to win 4A state final