FORT MYERS — They knew they were making history.
It couldn’t be ignored, nor would the players brush it off.
The Land O’ Lakes baseball team was at the state tournament for the first time in the program’s 50-plus year history — with a coach who hadn’t been on this stage in four decades.
In the end, no excuses were necessary, so only emotions followed the Gators’ brisk exit from the FHSAA Class 6A state tournament.
History, however, was full of memories despite Land O’ Lakes (25-8) falling 4-1 to back-to-back 6A champion Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas in the semifinals at Hammond Stadium on May 15.
“It’s definitely memorable. I’m glad I decided to transfer here,” said senior center fielder Ethan Barclay, who transferred from Wiregrass Ranch and had two hits in the game. “I wouldn’t want to go anywhere else. We got great coaching. We got great players. We have great history now, so I wouldn’t do anything different. It was a pleasure to be able to play for Land O’ Lakes.”
Senior ace Nick Schwartz said he won’t forget all the memories from the team’s run. Schwartz pitched a complete game, allowing four runs on four hits with seven strikeouts, but took the loss.
“We were with each other six days a week for multiple hours, so you really start becoming a family,” he said. “So … it’s gonna be hard next year (and) years after that.”
Senior shortstop Jose Leger, who had one of the Gators’ four hits in the game, said it was a special season.
“Everybody just grinded every day. (We) never had an off day, just grinded every single day. Through fall, in the weight room, we played a lot, we had no off days, so we just kept playing, but as a family,” he said. We would just play for fun, play as kids. So we were just going to take everything (we could get) and make it as memorable as possible.”
There were memories galore.
The Gators won another district championship. They ousted perennial powerhouse Plant in the first round. They won the program’s first region final game, en route to a 17-inning, two-game marathon walk-off to reach the program’s first state tournament appearance guided by legendary coach Calvin Baisely, with his 42-years and 700-plus wins of experience.
On top of all that, there was a 10-game win streak after a 4-3 start that had many thinking this team being state-bound was out of the question.
“You know,” an emotional Baisley said in a postgame press conference, “(the) lesson to be learned (is) you just keep working and getting better. We just had to shuffle some pieces around, and once it all started to click, it really was a lot of fun to watch these guys play.”
The fun was abundant, too.
Like when Leger hit a game-tying, lead-off homer in extra innings in the Game 3 of the region final. Or when Brody Marks, the junior catcher, hit a three-run homer in Game 2 of the region final series.
The fun continued with the defense, such as stellar plays by Leger and freshman third baseman Donovan Barrios and junior second baseman Dominic Figueroa. Or when senior left fielder crashed headfirst into the outfield wall to make a catch on the first batter of the first game of the region final series.
But, sadly, the fun faded.
In Fort Myers, the Gators couldn’t string together runs against Raiders starter Julian Diaz (CG, 4H, R, 5K, 3BB). And St. Thomas Aquinas’ defense was just as stellar, especially in the infield, as pinch runner Micah Palmer was tagged out trying to take home in the fifth inning on a bang-bang play.
Baisley, however, will always remember the history and be proud to have filled out his first state tournament lineup after 42 years.
“I got a lot to be proud of with these guys,” Baisley said. “It’s been a great season for them, but (in the semifinal game), the bounces just didn’t go our way. That’s the way it goes. That’s baseball. Obviously, there’s multiple layers of emotions going on right now. It’s the end of the season. It’s a tough loss … but I’m proud of these guys.”