- November 27, 2024
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Jordan Pontious stood in the on-deck circle, hashing out a swing that had already provided him with a pair of singles, including a fourth-inning knock that gave the Sandcrabs a 4-3 lead in their 6A region quarterfinal against Leesburg Thursday at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex.
The bases were loaded for Seabreeze in the bottom of the seventh, trailing 7-5 with two outs, and Pontious was eyeing a shot at redemption — a chance to make amends for an error he committed in the top of the frame. It never came. Two straight Seabreeze strikeouts ended the 11th-hour rally.
In the top of the seventh, Leesburg’s Ryan Halstead pulled a 0-2 Zach Ballas offering towards third base and Pontious, who couldn’t corral the short hop. The ball careened into left field, allowing the winning runs to score.
“In my head, I was just trying to keep the ball in the infield and block it up,” Pontious said. “But I just didn’t get it done.”
Now, Seabreeze’s 12 seniors are all done. This season, they brought home a 5-6A district title with a 14-4 win over New Smyrna Beach on April 24.
“You look back, and they come in as ninth graders, and to have a group of guys stay together for all four years says a lot about the program itself,” Seabreeze coach Anthony Campanella said. “It says a lot about team camaraderie. We had a great group of guys, we just fell short.
Junior Jack Daniels started for Seabreeze (14-13) and tossed four and two-thirds innings. He’s one of the Sandcrabs’ few contributors who will have an entire offseason to stew about the loss.
“Crappy,” Daniels summed it up. “I feel bad for the seniors. But it gives me a boost for next season to come back harder, and obviously stronger, and I hope I see these guys again to have another chance at them.”
Ballas pitched two and a third innings in relief, allowing two unearned runs. He inherited runners on first in third with the score tied 5-5 in the fifth inning, but induced a ground ball with just two pitches to end the threat.
Seabreeze looked like it would go quietly during its last ups, but then, the inning took on a Casey at the Bat-esque vibe. Nick James broke a sickly silence among the Sandcrabs’ patrons when he fisted a one-out single up the middle, and Kyle Commette — by no means a cake — followed up with an opposite-field single to left. When Christian Vinciquerra drew a walk, Campanella knew his team had one last shot.
“I like our chances,” he said. “We’re coming back, and we put up some crooked numbers up there. I figured if we get a base hit, we tie this baseball game. It just didn’t happen, and that’s baseball.”
For Pontious and 11 other Sandcrabs, it was one heckuva way to spend the last four years.
“I’ve been with these kids for a very long time, I love my team, and I wouldn’t change them for the world,” Pontious said.
