Baker rallies to nip FM in 5A-15
There was the dramatic two-run double by Miles Rubinski in the seventh. Second baseman Blake Fraser made a remarkable catch in the eighth, and Michael Gulotta gave a superb performance, both on the mound and at the plate.
Even more than those signature plays and performances, the Ida Baker Bulldogs used a spirited team effort Tuesday night, rallying from a 6-2 deficit to defeat the Fort Myers Green Wave 7-6 in nine innings at Terry Park.
It was by far one of the more memorable wins in Baker’s four-year history and actually its first ever District 5A-15 Tournament win.
“It has to be at the top, although you really can’t put a value on it,” said Rubinski, a senior. “It was a great team effort.”
The other three District 5A-15 quarterfinal games ended before the conclusion of the Fort Myers-Baker game, which figured to be a close battle between the fourth-seeded Wave and fifth-seeded Bulldogs.
In other action, the top seed Mariner (22-4) blanked Lehigh 4-0; second-seeded Gulf Coast topped seventh-seeded Cape Coral 7-2; third-seeded Barron Collier defeated North Fort Myers 11-0.
As those games wrapped up, word spread around Terry Park of the thrilling extra-inning game.
The Bulldogs (11-15) led 2-0 after the top of the second inning, but the Wave scored the next six. Before the start of the sixth, Baker coach Chad Turner had a message for his team.
“I pulled all the guys by the dugout and said you give me everything you have for two innings and you’re going to come out with a win,” Turner said.
Gulotta, a junior, played a big part in the comeback. He went 4-for-5 at the plate, which included an RBI triple in the sixth. He also pitched 4 1/3 shutout innings in relief.
Trailing 6-4 entering the top of the seventh, the Bulldogs managed to send the game to extra innings. Jake York and Dustin Mishka each walked and with two outs, Rubinski delivered a game-tying RBI double.
Defense played a key role at the end. In the bottom of the eighth, the Wave (14-12) had a runner on with one out when Fraser leaped and made a spectacular catch on a line drive and tossed to first for the inning-ending double play. The Bulldogs scored the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth when Rubinski’s grounder went through the legs of the shortstop, scoring Fraser.
Fort Myers’ John Kohlhauff started and pitched into the ninth, throwing well over 100 pitches.
The Bulldogs advance to face Mariner in Wednesday’s semifinals. Barron Collier and Gulf Coast meet in the other semifinal Wednesday.
Baker and Mariner have played three times already this season with the Tritons winning twice.
Junior Taylor Walker led the Tritons with a complete game in their win over Lehigh. He struck out eight and allowed six hits.
Sophomore Alex Santana had an RBI single and scored two runs, but the Tritons were reasonably quiet offensively against Lehigh starter Richard Whiteleather. He also pitched a complete game with eight strikeouts, allowing four hits.
“We had a poor approach (at the plate),” Mariner coach Steve Larsen said. “Our pitcher threw well. We played solid defense. I think we’re better than 4-0, but (Lehigh) did play hard.”
The Seahawks remained within striking distance against Gulf Coast, but never could string together much offense against Sharks starter Kevin Lindheim, who fanned 15.
The Seahawks (6-17) tied the game 1-1 in the second. Freshman Cain Spangler led off with a single and freshman Jason Carmichael drove him in with a double to deep center.
In the bottom of the second, Gulf Coast scored three runs with two outs and in the sixth the Sharks took advantage of some wild pitching, which resulted in three more runs. Those two innings created too big of a deficit for the Seahawks.
Barron Collier took command against North (6-19) with consistent offense and a dominant pitching effort from Brian Alexander.
Lehigh 000 000 0 – 0 6 1
Mariner 020 110 x – 4 4 2
W – Walker. L – Whiteleather.
Ida Baker 020 002 201 – 7
Fort Myers 003 120 000 – 6
W – Gulotta. L – Kohlhauff.
2B – Rubinski. 3B – Gulotta.