By PATRICK YASINSKAS
BROOKSVILLE — In the final analysis, the only thing conclusive and the only thing that really mattered was that Nature Coast’s baseball team defeated Hernando on Friday night in the regular-season finale for both teams.
The final score? Well, that’s a very long and complicated story.
Although the scoreboard showed Nature Coast with a 10-4 lead when the game was stopped by lightning and heavy rain in the top of the sixth inning, Florida High School Activities Association records will show the game as a 7-4 victory by Nature Coast.
The Sharks, who finished their regular season with a 17-7 record, had just taken a 10-4 lead on a three-run home run by Jackson Hoyt — the first of his stellar high school career, which has been highlighted by his exploits on the pitching mound. But soon after Hoyt, who has signed with the University of Florida and is a potential early-round pick in this summer’s Major League Baseball Draft, drove a pitch over the right-field wall, lightning flashed, and heavy rain began falling.
The game was delayed briefly before officials and coaches from both teams decided there was no chance of the weather clearing up. Continuing the game Saturday was not a possibility because FHSAA rules required the regular season to end Friday night. Hernando athletic director and assistant baseball coach Jeff Laing said state rules require the official final score had to revert to the last inning that was played to completion.
Either way, the Sharks were in control all the way on Hernando’s Senior Night at Emerson Field. Nature Coast, which ended the regular season on a three-game winning streak, jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI double by senior center fielder Joey VanCleave and a sacrifice fly by sophomore left fielder Beckett Monroe.
From there, the Sharks, who also defeated Hernando, 6-2, earlier in the week, rode a gritty pitching performance by Joe Rozsa Although the Leopards tagged Rozsa for nine hits, Nature Coast’s lead was never in serious danger. Rozsa normally plays first base and had pitched only sparingly this season, but coach Dan Garofano elected to put the ball in the hands of the senior left-hander to finish the regular season after using senior aces Hoyt and Raymond Groetsch earlier in the week.
Carrying a 2-1 lead into the third inning, Nature Coast — with plenty of help from Hernando’s pitching and defense — gave Rozsa all the cushion he needed. The Sharks scored five runs in the inning while recording only three hits. They took advantage of four walks, a hit batsman and two wild pitches to jump out to a 7-1 lead. Senior catcher Brady McMurdo and freshman right fielder Aiden O’Nolan each drove in runs in the inning.
“You have to do he simple things all the time,” said Hernando coach Tim Sims, whose team finished the regular season at 14-11. “And we didn’t do the simple things. We didn’t play catch, and we didn’t throw strikes.”
The Leopards did have a couple of offensive bright spots. Junior Austin Knierim hit a two-run home run in the third inning and senior designated hitter Cody Whitelaw hit a solo shot to lead off the fifth inning.
Although the Sharks swept the Leopards in the regular-season series, the two teams haven’t seen the last of each other. They’re scheduled to meet again Tuesday night in the opening round of the Class 3A-District 7 playoffs. Nature Coast, the defending district champion, is the No. 2 seed and Hernando is the No. 3 seed. Hoyt is expected to pitch that game and the Leopards are expected to counter with junior left-hander Cadyn Williams.
“It was nice to finish on a little bit of an upswing, but what we did in the regular season doesn’t matter anymore,” Garofano said. “Everybody is 0-0 now.”
Top-seeded South Sumter is scheduled to host No. 4 seed Crystal River in the other district semifinal on Tuesday. The winners are scheduled to play Thursday night on the home field of the highest-remaining seed.
“It’s a good thing that we play again,” Sims said. “We’ll see if we can play catch and throw strikes on Tuesday night.”
