Northeast Florida high school baseball first round: Providence, Fernandina Beach, SJCD win

Providence baseball coach Mac Mackiewitz was just waiting for his bats to break out.

"We had about 10 games in a row in the middle portion of the year where we hit like this, and we hadn't done that in the last week or two," he said. "I was just hoping regardless of if we won or lost, I was just hoping we could swing the bats, and man, they did."

It took a while, but Providence's bats came to life in the sixth inning to win the rubber match of the season series against Episcopal, 9-5, in Wednesday's Florida High School Athletic Association Region 1-3A baseball quarterfinal at Ray Knight Field.

One week earlier, in the district final, it was Episcopal (17-11) that scored seven runs in the seventh inning to down the Stallions. This time, Providence exploited Eagle errors and tallied six in the sixth to smash open a tied game.

Landing the heaviest blow was Dylan Hale, whose drive to the gap eluded the Episcopal outfield and allowed two runners, then finally Hale himself, to circle the bases for a 9-3 edge.

Outfielder Andrew Johnson, 3 for 5 on the night, had pushed Providence (15-12) in front with a single to plate Skout Ekholm, and another error from a Brett Dennis grounder scored two Stallions. That was more than enough for Dennis, who came on in relief and struck out nine Eagles in 4 2/3 innings.

"He works fast and he's just very aggressive, and that's what you saw tonight," Mackiewitz said. "Almost every hitter was 0-2, 1-2."

Sixth-seeded Providence advances to a Saturday home game against The Villages, which ousted second-seeded Florida High.

Fernandina Beach, the last team into the Region 1-3A playoffs, erupted for eight runs in the first three innings to topple top seed Bishop Snyder 11-5.

Sean Benjamin, Caden Hartman and Jamieson Keith all doubled for the Pirates (15-9) and Quinten Dye knocked in three runs. Nick Wrubluski homered in his final game for Bishop Snyder (16-5).

Tuesday night's games: First Coast, Columbia move on

Thursday's look ahead: Northeast Florida high school baseball regional second-round preview (5A)

REGION 1-4A

Franco Chaluja came through with the walk-off hit in the bottom of the seventh to lead Bishop Kenny to the 7-6 win over visiting South Walton (14-11).

The Crusaders (20-6) trailed 6-1 before rallying for five runs in the bottom of the sixth, sparked by RBI hits from Jack Newman and Josh Biringer. Bishop Kenny will move on to play Saturday against Panama City Beach Arnold.

Clay outdueled and outlasted Alachua Santa Fe 12-9 in 10 innings in a Region 1-4A quarterfinal that felt as much like a marathon, at times, as a baseball game.

In the 10th, Alec Burke’s three-run double capped a five-run surge for Clay that put the Blue Devils (18-10) in front, 12-7. Santa Fe (20-7) could only muster a pair of runs in the bottom half before being closed out for good.

Santa Fe, which had fought from 5-0 down, nearly won in the bottom of the seventh but Clay center fielder Max Williams fired a blistering laser to home to retire Santa Fe's Matthew Geelhoed at the plate. Immediately after his game-saving throw-out, Williams led off the top of the eighth with a bang — a solo home run that flew far beyond the centerfield fence. But Santa Fe tied the score after two dropped flies in the bottom of the inning.

The Blue Devils and Raiders have played a combined 33 innings in their last three contests, dating back to a 14-inning slugfest in 2021. Wednesday’s instant-classic was more of the same.

Top seed Suwannee got a scare, falling behind by three runs before fighting back to defeat Baker County, 11-5. Tyson Greene homered and Easton Kirby added a double and three RBI for the Bulldogs (22-4), who stretched their winning streak to 13 games. The Wildcats' year ends at 13-13.

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REGION 1-2A

Bradley Hodges doubled twice, while Finn Howell and Jordan Taylor recorded three hits apiece as 2021 state runner-up St. Johns Country Day began its playoff march, 13-0 over visiting Tallahassee St. John Paul II (13-9).

The Spartans (22-4) scored seven runs in the first, while Jacob Thomas and Isaiah Mamea combined on a five-inning no-hitter.

Maddox Lee doubled with three RBI and Alonzo Austin and Ashton Nugent also doubled for Trinity Christian, overcoming host St. Joseph 10-1.

Landon Moore yielded only two hits for the Conquerors (20-8), who advance to meet St. Johns Country Day. Evan Rodriguez homered for the lone run for St. Joseph (10-17).

Brady Wright homered and University Christian (22-6) held off a ninth-inning comeback for a 5-4 victory against Wakulla Christian (18-3). The visitors advanced the go-ahead run into scoring position before Caden Worbington entered to seal the save with a groundout.

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: Jacksonville-area second round scores, winners Wednesday