The Ponte Vedra Sharks are one win away from a district baseball title after the Sharks stormed back to defeat the Orange Park High Raiders 10-7 in a semifinal matchup and will face tournament host Englewood High in the District 4-5A Championship on Thursday, April 17 at 6 p.m.
The Sharks had high hopes coming into the tournament as the top seed but quickly found themselves down 5-1 after the first inning.
However, the Sharks remained calm and showcased the poise and approach that helped guide them to a 13-9 regular season record by slowly chipping away at the deficit.
They responded to the early onslaught with two runs in the second inning, one more in the third, four in the fourth and a couple in the fifth to shift the momentum in the game and completely turn the contest upside down in their favor.
The comeback bid was made complete during the four-run fourth inning, which was fueled by clutch hits by senior Cole Rambler and sophomore Caleb Stanton.
Rambler doubled in the frame, which set a school record for doubles in a career with 18. He also had a team-high three RBIs.
Rambler was one of four Sharks to double on the night, including Stanton, Jack Brady and Luca Candella.
Aspen McAdoo slammed the door on a potential Raiders’ rally of their own as he came in after they cut the Sharks’ lead to one but he wound up shutting them out from there to earn the save.
The Sharks wound up outhitting the Raiders 11-9 in the contest which allowed them to overcome a couple of fielding errors.
Sophomore C.J. McKenzie got the win for the Sharks with a solid outing where he struck out eight batters over four-plus innings of work.
Englewood won a pitcher’s duel, 2-1, over Beachside in the other semifinal matchup and the No. 2-seeded Rams face off against the Sharks in the district championship for an automatic bid into the postseason.
The Nease Panthers lost in the semifinal of their district tournament 3-0 to top-seeded Fletcher and the Panthers wrapped up the season with a record of 9-17.
