Gators defeat Wildcats 8-3 for third straight district baseball title By Steve Lee
PDF VersionDADE CITY — Land O’ Lakes got a solid start from Brian Holiday and the bats came alive for an 8-3 win over Wesley Chapel in the Class 6A, District 7 baseball final on May 8. That gave the Gators their third straight district title while the Wildcats earned their first playoff berth since 2015.
Holiday, a sophomore right-hander, allowed two late runs in tossing a four-hitter with 13 strikeouts and one hit batter in six innings for Land O’ Lakes. Conversely, Wesley Chapel’s five pitchers struggled on the mound, allowing nine hits and walking nine.
“You can’t do that with a good team like that,†Wesley Chapel coach Gary Moye said. “Our pitchers have got to do a better job.â€
Despite the offensive production, Land O’ Lakes coach Calvin Baisly was not overly thrilled about 14 runners left on base.
“You get guys on base, I expect them to score,†he said.
Land O’ Lakes (19-5) took a 3-0 lead in the first, highlighted by Patrick Groark’s RBI double and a sacrifice fly by Ethan Frasca. A bases-loaded walk to Groark in the fourth brought home Spencer Stephens, who singled, for a 4-0 lead.
The Gators doubled their lead with a four-run sixth. Chris Ferguson hit a two-run double, Kaleb Jimenez added an RBI run-scoring single and scored on a bases-loaded walk, and Dakota Harris came in on a walk to Frasca.
The Wildcats (12-9) got an RBI double from Austin Coultas in their three-run seventh. They might have had another, but Thomas Byron, who singled, was thrown out at the plate on Coultas’ extra-base hit.
