A year ago, Island Coast managed to pull off a stunning charge to the District 6A-11 baseball championship game after winning just seven regular-season games and ended up losing one-run contests in the district final and the regional quarterfinal.
Another unlikely run is not out of the question this season. District 6A-11 has been so tight this season that Cape Coral, Island Coast, Cypress Lake, Ida Baker, Mariner, North Fort Myers along with Port Charlotte have combined to play 44 games decided by two runs or less.
With a district so balanced and a top-line starter for each team, it will depend on each pitching staff’s No. 2 or 3 arms with the opening round contests likely pitting each staff’s best against each other in order to just reach the district semifinals.
The top-seeded Seahawks sit in the catbird’s seat after earning a first-round bye and being able to set up their pitching alignment. Cape Coral has the luxury of choosing between senior aces Matt McDade, who sports an 0.56 ERA and in his final two starts posted back-to-back complete-game shutouts against third-seeded Cypress Lake and second-seeded Island Coast, or Andrew Jaffarian, who threw a complete-game shutout against fifth-seed Ida Baker on March 10.
McDade, who also sports a .407 batting average at the plate, won a district championship as a freshman and wants to end his Seahawks career the same way.
"After winning a district championship my freshman year, I've been chasing that feeling ever since," McDade said.
"We just want to put ourselves in a good position to make a run. Locking in a playoff spot is our top priority so everyone will be ready to go when needed. It's a huge advantage for us knowing that we have everyone well rested and ready for Tuesday."
Island Coast head coach Clinton Montgomery and his Gator club head into this season’s district tournament with a much different attitude coming off of last year’s surge to the state playoffs. The Gators ran out to an 11-1 start and have been led by their rotation headlined by junior Chase Chatman. The FGCU commit has posted double-figure strikeout totals four times this year, including a complete-game, 10-strikeout performance in a 6-0 win over Cypress Lake April 20.
“Going into this year's tournament, the higher seeds aren’t necessarily the hottest teams coming in and Port Charlotte is a dangerous team that can really swing the bat,” Montgomery said.
“This week, it’s anybody’s ballgame. I don’t know if there’s a powerhouse team in this district, the teams at the bottom can beat people too. What we did last year I think has given our team that feeling of playoff baseball and being able to win games at this time of the year. It’s just a different atmosphere around these games and the bottom line is, you’ve got to win two games to get into the state tournament.”
Third-seeded Cypress Lake boasts the district’s most prolific offense as the Panthers have scored 78 runs in district play and 170 runs on the season. A deep lineup that features sluggers Yariel Diaz (five home runs) and Janmikkel Bastardo (three home runs) also has possibly the most accomplished pitcher in the area on the season in Robert Wegielnik, who has thrown two no-hitters and a one-hitter
Panthers head coach Tony Ficarro hadn't made his mind up with who he will use on the mound in Cypress Lake's first-round matchup with sixth-seed North Fort Myers Monday, potentially saving Wegielnik for a district semifinal game.
Running the risk of not getting out of the first round and leaving your top arm unused is something that Ficarro will have to decide.
"It can make or break you, if you don't go with your No. 1, everybody's like why did you save your No. 1?" Ficarro said. "Sometimes you have to take a chance in baseball, it's just how it is with a situation like this. It all depends on what type of team shows up, you've got to peak at the right time."
One of the hottest teams heading into tonight's first round is Mariner, as the Tritons closed the regular season winning 11 of their last 16 games after a 1-7 start. The fourth-seeded Tritons will host last year's district champion Ida Baker, who despite only winning five of their 12 district matchups, have only allowed 83 runs in their 24 games.
North Fort Myers (8-16) enters tonight's game against Cypress Lake losers of eight straight, but have shown promise throughout the season after a 5-0 start. The Red Knights have nine losses that have come by two runs or less.
District 6A-11 schedule
Monday
(7) Port Charlotte vs. (2) Island Coast, 7 p.m.
(6) North Fort Myers vs. (3) Cypress Lake, 7 p.m.
(5) Ida Baker vs. (4) Mariner, 7 p.m.
Tuesday
Port Charlotte-Island Coast winner vs. North Fort Myers-Cypress Lake winner, 7 p.m.
Ida Baker-Mariner winner vs. (1) Cape Coral, 7 p.m.
Thursday
Championship, 7 p.m.