FORT MYERS — In almost every measure, the Cinderella squad that was Wesley Chapel was every bit the equal of Mater Academy.
Meeting Saturday morning at Hammond Stadium for the Class 5A championship, the fourth-seeded Wildcats stood toe-to-toe with the No. 2 Lions despite a team batting average 40 points lower than the Hialeah Gardens charter school and five fewer wins on the season.
Both offenses churned out base runners, the pitching dug deep and stepped up big-time when needed, and the defense was consistently flawless and occasionally flashy.
The one difference was production with runners in scoring position, something that Mater Academy was a master of and that Wesley Chapel struggled with.
That difference lifted the Lions to a 6-1 victory and the state championship.
The Class 5A state runner-up Wesley Chapel Wildcats.
The Wildcats delivered what is believed to be the best team finish of any team in school history, thanks to a tough schedule that delivered some lumps during the season but left the Wildcats (19-15) potent in the offseason.
“We set up a schedule to play the toughest competition we can,” explained Wildcats head coach Tripp Merrell. “It’s going to continue to be a thing we do just to prepare for moments like this. I don’t think (Saturday) was too big a moment for us like it was last year (a 10-run rule semifinal loss to Jesuit). I think it’s just that they got the key hit and we didn’t.”
Mater Academy (25-9-1) only stranded one runner in scoring position all day. That runner was senior and Western Oklahoma State commit Alfrin Rosario, who was stuck at second after his first-inning RBI double. The Lions were fearless in clutch situations the rest of the way.
Wesley Chapel, however, just couldn’t take advantage of its opportunities.
Only once did it cash in on a scoring opportunity, when sophomore Nolan Hartley blasted a mammoth drive to left field for a third-inning hustle triple, then scored on cleanup batter Cole Ranchel’s flair single to right.
The Wildcats stranded runners at second and third in both the first and third innings.
They put two runners on in the second and sixth innings as well, failing to move them across the plate.
Eight of the nine batters in the Wildcat lineup reached base, as the team outhit Mater 9-7.
Leadoff man Dylan Pabon joined No. 2 batter Hartley with a pair of hits while junior Zorre Wright (single, HBP, walk) reached three times. Those unfulfilled openings became a barrier to victory but didn’t sap the fight from the Wildcats.
Junior Eli Chana worked five innings of solid relief for the Wildcats, allowing three hits and striking out four.
“My mentality was to throw strikes, not let (Mater) score any more, and fight, fight, fight,” said junior reliever Eli Chana, who worked the last five innings, giving up three runs on three hits with four strikeouts. “Our offense just needed to execute, and we fought as hard as we could, but (the Lions) fought harder and that’s usually how it goes at the end of the day.”
The Wildcats could be back, however. Only pitchers Chase Flemming – who started Saturday along with every winning Game 3 in the regional rounds – and Logan Vande Kamp are graduating.
Hartley already has his plan to help: “Definitely, I can get in the weight room, gain a little bit more power and turn singles into doubles and maybe triples, lay down bunts and prioritize my speed … put the barrel on the ball and get on any way I can.”
Flemming’s parting message is to “just stay working,” he said. “They’re more than capable of getting back here and being on (the winning side) of it, they just have to keep their heads down and work. They’ve got the guys that can do it, they’ve got the coaching to do it, and I’m proud of them.”