STATE FINAL FOUR Semifinal Game - Shorecrest vs Jay

Monday, May 24
Shorecrest 5, Jay 3

In the first game at Port St. Lucie in the State Final Four tournament the Chargers played small ball in the 1st inning against Jay. John R. led off with a base hit, stole 2nd. Brent R. bunted for a base hit. Marc B. lined a base hit into right field to drive in the 1st run of the game. Jon O. bunted for a base hit and drove in a run. Jason K. bunted for another hit to score another run and Tyler L. doubled down the left field line to drive in the 4th run of the inning to give the Chargers a 4-0 lead. In the 2nd inning Jay fought back scoring 2 runs to cut the lead to 4-2. Andrew R. reached on an infield error to start the 4th inning. Jake B. sacrificed and reached on an error with Andrew R. going to 3rd base on the play. The 5th run of the game scored on a ground ball double play to give the Chargers a 5-2 lead. Jay scored a run in the 6th inning and with a runner on 1st base Marc B. came in to pitch in relief and retired the 1st hitter on a ground out to 2nd. The next hitter got a base hit. Marc B. then struck out the next batter to end the inning with runners on 1st and 2nd. The Chargers ended the inning with a 5-3 lead. Jay tried to lead in the bottom of the 7th inning and had runners at 1st and 2nd base with the tying runs on base. Marc B. came through and got a strike out to end the rally and to end the game to give the Chargers a 5-3 lead and they advanced to the State Championship game to be held on Tuesday, May 25.

Tyler L. was the winning pitcher working 5 1/3 innings of outstanding baseball. He had a great command of his pitches and was able to keep the hitters off balance by changing speeds. He allowed only 1 earned, 5 hits, 3 strikeouts and didn't walk a batter. Marc B. picked up the save with 2 clutch strikeouts.

The Chargers made a number of great defensive plays on defense. Andrew R. made an outstanding play turning a double play on a ground ball. He also made a good play on a ground ball that took a bad hop to throw the batter out. Jon O. made a great defensive play at 1st base on a ground ball. Brent R. made a very good play at shortstop as well.

Leading hitters for the Chargers were:
John R. with 1 single, 1 double, 1 run scored and 1 stolen base
Brent R. with 1 hit and a run scored
Marc B. with 1 hit, 1 run scored and 1 RBI
Jon O. with 1 hit, 1 run scored and 1 RBI
Jason K. with 1 hit and 1 RBI
Tyler L. with 1 double and 1 run scored
Spencer H. with 1 hit

All in all it was a great win for the Chargers, they played extremely hard and battled all the way. They are looking forward to playing in the Championship Game.