Familiar frustration sets in for Jesuit

Tigers' 8-1 loss to Miami Monsignor Pace ends a fourth straight fruitless trip to state.

By SCOTT PURKS and BRANDON WRIGHT
Published May 20, 2006

SARASOTA - It was their worst loss ever because it came in the final game of their high school careers and it was in a Class 4A semifinal, the same place they had lost the previous three years.

It also was a brutal beating, 8-1 to nationally-ranked Miami Monsignor Pace (27-4) on Friday, which in the first inning smacked back-to-back homers, scored four runs and dominated Jesuit (24-7) the rest of the way.

And yet, after all that, there was Jesuit starter Sam Dyson, centerfielder Ryan Lockwood and shortstop Justin Menendez lined up in the postgame press conference, frustrated and hurt, but answering the questions like men.

"It really hurts this time because this was our senior year and we were supposed to be the leaders," Lockwood said. "But once again, though we felt confident coming in, we just couldn't get it done."

"It's incredible but we haven't caught a break in four years," Menendez said. "Nothing ever seemed to go our way."

Lockwood added: "But we also didn't make any breaks for ourselves either. We never made anything happen."

Perhaps the most frustrated was Dyson, who after losing last year's semifinal 6-3 by giving up 11 hits, came into Friday's game riding a stellar senior season (10-0, 0.94 ERA, 89 strikeouts in 75 innings).

This year's semifinal line, however, was worse: four innings, seven hits, seven runs (five earned), one walk and four strikeouts.

"I made some mistakes," Dyson said. "I got some balls out over the plate, and when you make mistakes against hitters like that you get hurt."

The first hurt was dished out by Pace shortstop Adrian Cardenas, who in his first at-bat smacked a fastball high to left. Then, as Jesuit's outfield did, watched it float in the wind over the fence.

"I thought it was going to stay in," Lockwood said, "but the wind carried it and carried it."

Pace's next hitter, Chris Marerro, hit a fastball on a dead line over the right-centerfield fence: all-in-all a textbook scenario of what Pace coach Tom Duffin had written up.

"We wanted to jump on them quickly and make them think, "Whoa, these guys came to take care of business,' " Duffin said. "Our plan was to lay off Dyson's high fastball (clocked this season up to 95 mph) and wait for good pitches."

Cardenas said they prepared all week for a 90 mph-plus fastball, but what they got was more like high 80s and the occasional 90.

"When we saw how he was throwing, we started licking our chops," Cardenas said. "We knew we were going to hit him after we scored those first runs."

SARASOTA - Pembroke Pines Flanagan (28-3) scored the only run of the game in its final at-bat, defeating Hialeah (23-7) 1-0 to advance to the Class 6A championship today at 4 p.m. No. 9 batter Glenn Witkowski's single knocked in Mitch Massard in the bottom of the sixth inning and Flanagan's D.J. Swatscheno (9-2) took care of the rest. Swatscheno tossed a complete-game two-hitter, striking out nine and walking none.

In a faceoff between two of the state's best prep pitchers, Sarasota's Eric Erickson and DeLand's Michael Main, Erickson and the Sailors fared the best, winning 7-0 in the Class 6A nightcap. Erickson (12-1) earned the complete-game victory, giving up just three singles.

Main, a junior who after coming back from an injury hadn't given up an earned run in 25 innings, threw six innings Friday night, striking out 13 but allowing four runs on five hits. In Class 4A, Jacksonville Bishop Kenny (27-3) scored a run in each inning and went on to a 10-0, five-inning semifinal win against Orlando Bishop Moore (29-2). Bishop Kenny plays Miami Monsignor Pace tonight at 7 for the state championship.

[Last modified May 20, 2006, 01:58:12]