Small-town team, big-time talent: Young Baldwin ready for FHSAA softball semifinal debut

It was the spring of 2016 and Piper Young threw her first pitch inside the dusty circle for Baldwin softball, a sixth-grader getting an early crash course in the challenges of high school competition.

Back then, on a team one year removed from a 7-16 campaign in 2015, she couldn't envision where she would close out her high school career.

The final four? For Baldwin? Really?

"I never would have imagined I'd be here [in the final four] like today," said Young. "I knew we'd be good, but this season's really taken all of us by surprise."

Drive along U.S. 90 due west out of downtown Jacksonville, and pretty soon, the destination is Duval County's small-town team with big-time talent.

Baldwin's softball season is the best in school history — and maybe, getting even better.

Running down the victories with the force of the trains steaming past that U.S. 90 crossing, Baldwin is on a roll entering the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 3A softball semifinals against Clearwater Calvary Christian on Wednesday at Legends Way Ball Fields in Clermont.

If they win, they'll play for a first-ever state championship late Thursday.

They've won a district title, a regional title, a Gateway Conference title and the last six games they've played. Is a state championship next?

"These girls have worked harder than any group I've ever had," Baldwin softball coach Jennifer Shields said. "They wanted this for so long."

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Young but dangerous

The scariest thing for Baldwin's opponents? All signs point to this team contending in the FHSAA playoffs for years to come.

The Indians' normal starting lineup includes a trio of eighth-graders, including Jazmine Ramos-Merced and Olivia Hartung on the infield and Chloe Gotto in left.

"It's awesome. The young girls, they're just out here having fun and they want to compete. They feel they belong out here with the older ones," Shields said.

They haven't wasted any time in proving they're ready for the high school game. Ramos-Merced hit .425 last year while in seventh grade, and this year, she's further added to her extra-base pop.

"The adjustment has been the maturing, like you have to mature to work where they're at and be a team," she said.

Just look at the numbers:

• Ramos-Merced, usually the cleanup hitter, is batting .395 with 10 doubles, three home runs and 25 RBI, tied for the team lead with Kayla Robinson.

• Kendall North, in her freshman year at first base, holds a .370 average with nine doubles and came through with a run-saving play in the regionals against Keystone.

• Sophomore catcher Cali Hartung, a regular behind the plate since seventh grade, might be Baldwin's most consistent batter on the season. She's hitting .443 with 16 doubles and three home runs, including a critical long blast in the Gateway Conference tournament.

In this lineup, there's no relief for pitchers. Nine players have double-digit RBI, and six have multiple home runs, paced by Robinson with five.

"We all kind of just came together," Hartung said.

It's an exciting transition for players like Robinson. As one of just two seniors in the lineup, she's watched Baldwin's next wave grow into the lineup before her eyes.

"It's crazy to see the talent that these young players have, and I'm honored to be able to play with them and grow with them," she said.

Playoff run electrifies town

For Baldwin, the players on the field aren't the only ones experiencing the emotional thrill of the playoff ride.

At last Thursday's Region 1-3A final against Keystone Heights, the crowd lined the block around the softball field and cheered on every hit from rows of trucks parked against the outfield wall.

While Baldwin has built up a consistent dynasty in cheerleading, regularly carrying home the trophies from the FHSAA championships in winter, deep playoff runs in team ball sports are another matter.

Baldwin's last state semifinal in one of these sports came nearly a half-century ago: 1973, in Class 2A baseball, a loss to Monsignor Pace.

Probably the school's highest point in a major team sport came in 1963, when the Indians qualified for the Class B boys basketball final. But Florida High blockaded their path, eliminating them 62-52.

This year, Baldwin turned the tables on the softball field. When they faced off against Florida High earlier this month in a rematch from districts, they won a 12-0 rout. That victory made history: Never before had Baldwin advanced beyond the second round of the softball playoffs.

So when Young recorded the last out against Keystone for one more milestone, a first-ever semifinal visit, the home crowd surged onto the field in a night of exuberance, complete with a sports drink shower for head coach Shields.

School supporters have already arranged for spirit buses to carry fans on the three-hour ride to Clermont for the tournament.

"It's overwhelming, but it feels amazing to have all this support behind us, to know that everybody in this town is going to support us as far as we go," Robinson said.

Taking the next step

For the team in red, success hasn't come out of the blue.

From a .500 record four years ago, Baldwin has grown by the year. Last season, they won 20 games and captured their first Gateway Conference championship, but lost their opening-round playoff game to eventual semifinalist Episcopal.

"Last year, we had the same team, we had the talent, we just struggled to kind of put it all together," Shields said. "This year, from day one, they played together and they wanted it for each other."

If not for two games against nearby opponents, Baldwin would be undefeated going into the final four. They dropped an extra-inning 4-3 loss to Baker County on March 17 and sustained a 5-2 loss against Hilliard in the regular season's final week.

But those losses are the exception for a team that's shown the comeback spirit again and again. Riley Page's walk-off bunt in Gateway play against Paxon. Rylan Gray's game-winner to top Florida High, at the time No. 1 in Class 3A, in the district final. Another go-ahead hit from Gray to come from behind in the first round against Episcopal. Young's big home run to top Keystone last week.

Possibly the symbol of Baldwin's rise is starting pitcher Young. Earlier in her career, she took time to establish her command, allowing more runs than innings pitched in 2018. This season, she's nearly unbeatable, with a 1.32 ERA and 132 strikeouts.

"Being around the older girls while I was younger helped me mature a lot," she said. "My mentality became a lot stronger."

After learning from older teammates in her middle school years, Young is now using her experience and leadership to help strengthen Baldwin's foundation for the long term — and to prepare them to lead this program for years to come.

In the Baldwin softball world, they call it B-Town. In two more games, Baldwin could become Title Town.

"Now, we just want to win it all," Ramos-Merced said.

CLASS 3A SOFTBALL SEMIFINAL

Baldwin (26-2) vs. Clearwater Calvary Christian (22-6)

2 p.m. Wednesday

Legends Way Ball Fields, Clermont

Much like Baldwin, Calvary Christian is also in its first semifinal, although the Clearwater school entered its regional as a No. 5 seed and had to win two of its games away from home. In contrast to Baldwin's balance, the Warriors get the majority of their runs from just a handful of players. The big weapons are Morgen Talley (.487, 9 2B, 8 HR, 33 RBI), who led Canterbury past University Christian in last year's Class 2A final, Payton Cushman (.458, 12 2B, 3 3B) and Irianis Garcia (.349, 8 2B, 4 HR). In the circle, Calvary Christian relies on the one-two punch of Talley (8-3, 1.10 ERA, 119 K) and Mackenzie Bergstrom (12-0, 1.18 ERA, 65 K). All four played last year on the St. Petersburg Canterbury team that edged University Christian for the Class 2A title. Baldwin, though, enjoys superior team depth, from Rylan Gray in the leadoff slot to Riley Page at No. 9 in the batting order. Wednesday's winner would play for the state title at 7 p.m. Thursday against top-seeded Coral Springs Charter or Hernando. 

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 softball: Baldwin Indians in 2022 FHSAA state semifinal debut