- December 23, 2024
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Kevin Maya gave up two triples to the Hawks. Both players would score. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Dalton Schell watches the flight of the ball off the bat. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Tristan Miller had two of FPC's five hits. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Carson Flis drove in the Bulldogs' first run. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Connor May (6) hit a double and scored two runs for the Bulldogs. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Spruce Creek's Konner Zimmerman, Reed Johansson, Julian Braga and Tyler Boyesen with the Five Star Conference championship trophy. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Spruce Creek and FPC players walk through the handshake line after the game. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Kevin Maya allowed four runs on eight hits. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Flagler Palm Coast came from behind to win its first two games in the Five Star Conference tournament. The Bulldogs almost did it again in the conference championship game.
Down 4-1 in the top of the seventh inning, Connor May doubled. May and Cody Clymer scored on an error as FPC pulled to within one run. But the Bulldogs’ rally ended there as Creek took home the Five Star championship trophy with a 4-3 victory Thursday, April 20, at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex.
“The guys have been playing well all year. They really have,” said first-year FPC coach Kyle Marsh, whose squad fell to 12-11. “I challenged them with a tough schedule, and they took it head on. They’ve been showing up.”
But they were facing one of the hottest teams in the state in the Hawks (15-8), who won their 11th straight game. FPC became just the fourth team during that stretch to score more than one run against the Hawks.
“Marsh has done a great job over there,” Creek coach Matt Cleveland said. “Those guys are so hard to beat. Every time we’ve played them, they’re tough as nails.”
The Hawks have now beaten the Bulldogs two out of three times this season. Marsh led Spruce Creek to a state championship in 2012, and the Hawks seem poised to make another deep playoff run this year.
Creek starter Shane Lavin allowed one run on three hits in five innings against the Bulldogs. Reliever Devon Crown allowed two unearned runs in the seventh.
Bulldogs starter Kevin Maya gave up four runs on eight hits and a walk in 5.2 innings. He gave up bases-empty triples to Gavin Williams in the fourth and Jake Hall in the sixth, and both players wound up scoring.
Hall’s run on a passed ball turned out to be the difference in the game.
“I think Kevin Maya threw amazing,” Marsh said. “I think he had his stuff working. He was throwing strikes, and he gave us a chance to win.”
The guys have really stepped up to the plate. The big thing I preach is you play seven innings, you get three outs an inning. Don't stop till the last out.” — KYLE MARSH, FPC baseball coach
FPC took an early 1-0 lead against Lavin on a first-inning RBI single by freshman Carson Flis. But the lefty shut the Bulldogs down over the next four innings.
FPC got to the conference championship by scoring four runs in the sixth to upend University 12-10 and then putting together another four-run inning to defeat New Smyrna Beach 7-5.
“The guys have really stepped up to the plate,” Marsh said. “The big thing I preach is you play seven innings, you get three outs an inning. Don't stop till the last out. And tonight, I don't think they did. I think they were ready to play all seven innings. We just have to clean up some things defensively and get back to working on approach at the plate. But the guys are definitely going in the right direction.”
The Bulldogs play their final regular-season game on Friday, April 28 at DeLand. They will likely host a first-round district game on May 1.
