Island Coast junior Keivn Martinez pitching May 11 in the FHSAA 4A-Region 4 quarterfinals. He pitched the Gators into the state final Monday night. CJ HADDAD

As the Island Coast High School baseball team took to the field in the bottom of the third inning, they looked up at the Hammond Stadium scoreboard to see they had a 9-0 lead.

The No. 4 seed Gators (23-7) were in complete control of No. 1 seed Suwannee (24-5) in a FHSAA 4A State Championship semifinal and on their way to punching their ticket to their first state title game. When all was said and done after two lengthy lighting delays totaling five hours, Island Coast celebrated a 9-2 victory and now has the chance to become the first public school in Lee County to win a baseball state championship.

For head coach Clint Montgomery and his poised and talented group of players that have climbed their way to the final, it doesn’t matter what’s happened in the past, it’s about the present and now, and their journey together.

“If we’re the first one, that’s great. I want to win it for us,” he said. “Not for any other reason than the hard work we put in. To get to this point is a special thing. It’s a great season no matter what happens (Tuesday). But I told them, ‘We made it this far, we might as well go ahead and finish it off and win this thing if we can.'”

The Gators got off to a hot start, plating four runs in the first inning thanks to their aggressive plate approach and a few gaffes from Bulldog fielders.

Emilio Gonzalez’ grounder to the right side scored Eddie Boe Rodriguez to open the scoring. Another error, this time by the Suwannee shortstop, allowed two more Island Coast runners to score before Tommy Bryne singled home another.

“I thought the game started out exactly how you would hope (the game would play out) when you get here for the first time – to score the four runs in the first inning and kind of give us a little momentum there was a great start for us,” Montgomery said.

The Gators plated three more runs in the second, highlighted by a Jake Mueller double to center and additional fielding errors by the Bulldogs (four total in the game).

In the third inning, Rodriguez produced an RBI single to chase Suwannee starter Matthew Gill, and Kevin Martinez brought home the ninth run on a sac fly shortly thereafter.

“We did a good job attacking the next few innings to extend the lead,” Montgomery said. “It worked out really good with the weather delays. If it was a 3-2 game it would have been a lot scarier during those delays, but we had that nice cushion there.”

While the Island Coast offense put pressure on Suwannee pitchers, Martinez was mowing Bulldogs down on the other side of the coin. The junior who has been stellar all season for the Gators (12-1, 1.27 ERA) may have saved his best for the brightest spot. Over six innings, Martinez scattered six hits, allowed two runs, walked one and struck out 11. He even returned from both delays to take the hill for his team until his pitch count expired.

“My whole mindset through it was, ‘I want to finish this game,'” Martinez said. “Lightning delay or not, I wanted to go the full seven.”

Montgomery, who always has high praise for Martinez and his work both on the mound and in the batter’s box, said if his team could score three runs, he knew they’d be in good shape with the Flagler commit on the mound.

“I’m never worried about if we’re going to get a good outing from Kevin,” Montgomery said. “He just did his job and that’s all we can ask him to do.”

Suwannee got on the board in the fourth via an RBI double, but nothing more against Martinez in the inning. Around 5:30, the first lightning delay came into play and the game did not resume until 8:10. The Bulldogs tacked on another run in the fifth and play continued until the top half of the seventh when the second delay occurred at 8:45. Play resumed around 11:20 and by 11:30, the Gators had sealed the deal.

Rodriguez, a senior and Florida Southwestern State College commit, said the team’s chemistry both on and off the field has been key to the Gators current run. Rodriguez went 3-for-4 in Monday’s game, scoring one, driving in one, and making solid defensive plays at shortstop.

“The bond that we have is unexplainable,” he said. “We’re always together. We’re always having a good time. And I think that’s a big contribution to our success this year.”

Island Coast will take on Jensen Beach (25-5, No. 2 seed) for the FHSAA 4A State Championship at Hammond Stadium at 7 p.m. Montgomery said he’s not worried about the length of the semifinal game having any impact on his ball club. Their opponent played following their game, one that didn’t end until 2 a.m.

“Well, they’re going to be here longer than we are,” Montgomery said light-heartedly. “One good thing for us is we’re at home. Not necessarily our home park, but our home (area). I don’t think in a game like tomorrow, (the effects of the delays) matter. I think the guys will come fired up and they’ll be good to go.”

— Connect with Associate Sports Editor CJ Haddad on Twitter: @haddad_cj