Jesuit Advances For A Chance At Another State Title

The Tigers celebrate after adding on another run during their big win over Wesley Chapel in Friday’s 5A state semifinal.

Vincent DeCarlo is the starting catcher for the Jesuit Tigers, and it is perfect casting.

Friday morning DeCarlo and his fellow Tigers found themselves down early to the Wesley Chapel Wildcats, in a Class 5A state semifinal at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers. With his starting pitcher, Aidan Knowles, struggling to find his command, and ghosts of program pasts at the state tournament threatening to creep into mind, DeCarlo reeled his teammates in and provided the calming force that stabilized the team.

Suddenly, the tumblers clicked back in place, the Tigers found their groove and they danced to their own music they created at the plate. Jesuit stormed back to earn an 11-1 win, advancing to Saturday’s 5A title game against the defending-champion American Heritage Patriots.

“I think that is part of being a catcher, you are kind of the quarterback on a team,” DeCarlo said. “This is our third year in-a-row being here, and my third year, and I’m really close with the guys on the team. I have been playing with most of them since I was twelve, and I know exactly what each guy needs and how to calm them down. As one of the captains on the team, I really try to take an emphasis on doing that, so when we are in the high-pressure situations we can just calm down and play our game. At the end of the day, we have a talented roster, and if everybody does their job it is not going to be a problem.”

Jesuit (25-6) now has a chance to win its seventh state title. This is no small task against the Patriots (21-10), who have won three state championships themselves, but this Tigers team has proven all year that it can overcome any obstacle.

“The game got off to a shaky start on our end,” Jesuit Manager Miguel Melendez said. “They got a couple base hits early and had a chance, and I thought Aidan did a really good job of settling in and limiting the damage to one run. We felt pretty confident that one run wasn’t going to beat us today. The offense broke through in that fourth inning and we were able to put the game away. Now we’re one of the last two teams standing.”

Dean Spoto delivered an RBI single during the Tigers’ monster fourth inning.

As expected for a team making its first appearance at the state tournament, and doing so against a familiar foe with championship pedigree, Wesley Chapel was aggressive from the start in looking to take control right away. The Wildcats (20-11) jumped out to that 1-0 lead in the first inning when Mills Carrillo drove in Dylan Pabon.

But the Tigers answered back to seize momentum with two runs in the second. After adding another run in the third, they busted things wide open with seven runs in the fourth that effectively sealed the victory.

“Once we got the big inning, it makes it harder for them to play the style they want to play and we were able to relax from there,” Melendez said.

Everyone was hitting and getting in on the action, as the Tigers collected eight hits total. They were also effective in clutch moments, with seven RBI coming from five different players in all. DeCarlo and Zane Pestalozzi both drove in a pair, Jack Earnest had a big RBI double, and Jacob Lozano reached base all three plate appearances and scored twice.

Knowles went the distance on the mound, completing five full innings in the game that was shortened due to the mercy rule. He allowed one earned run on three hits and two walks, with six strikeouts. Pitching in his final game of his high school career, he closes the season with an 8-1 record and a chance to win one more state title with the Tigers.

Noah Sheffield reached base three times, going 1-for-2 with a walk, while also getting hit by a pitch and scoring three runs.

Having been here so many times before, including several trips to states over the past few seasons, the Tigers know what to expect when they come here. They prepare the team for the scenarios and adjustments that will be necessary, while working to integrate that into their altered routine within the schedule of the state tournament.

“We have our routines and things that we do,” Melendez admitted. We’ve stayed at the same hotel every time we come down here, and we try to keep our routine as close to normal as possible. It is a little difficult, because it is a tight time frame. It is actually one of the things we practice, is to stay on that timeline. Us being here so much the last few years is an advantage, because I don’t think people appreciate how quickly that time goes. All of a sudden you look up and it is the fourth inning of the game. It is never going to be normal, because they know what they are playing for.”

One of the big things that the team also loves to do the night before the title game is to share a chicken parm team dinner together. Leaving the stadium following Friday’s win, their order was already placed at Carabbas. It is one of those special parts of these stories we don’t always know about, and certainly the opportunity to dine together on a traditional meal while reminiscing in the game and preparing for the finale is a part of this memory that these guys will forever remember and cherish, when it is all said and done.

Obviously, there is the chance that Jesuit could have much more still to celebrate, too.

Aidan Knowles is embraced by teammates after completing his final outing of his stellar high school career.

Leave a comment using your facebook account!