- Saint Francis Catholic Academy advanced with a 20-0 win over Peniel Baptist and will play Oak Hall in the district championship game scheduled for April 16 at 5 p.m.
- All it took was one play for the Oak Hall baseball team to get the momentum it would need on Tuesday afternoon in the FHSAA Class 1A-District 5 semifinals.
- 2 seed Eagles threw out the go-ahead run at the plate in the top of the fourth inning and scored 10 unanswered runs in a 15-5 win against No.
- Oak Hall defeated Countryside Christian 15-5 with an eight-run fourth inning, taking a 13-5 lead and securing a semifinal win.
All it took was one play for the Oak Hall baseball team to get the momentum it would need on Tuesday afternoon in the FHSAA Class 1A-District 5 semifinals.
The host and No. 2 seed Eagles threw out the go-ahead run at the plate in the top of the fourth inning and scored 10 unanswered runs in a 15-5 win against No. 3 seed Countryside Christian.
OHS (7-10) will play at Saint Francis Catholic Academy at 5 p.m. on Thursday for the district title. The top seed Wolves (20-4) advanced with a 20-0 win in four innings against No. 4 seed Peniel Baptist Academy (Palatka).
With two outs in the top of the fourth inning and the score tied 5-5, the Minutemen (9-8) sent cleanup hitter Brayden Dalton to the plate with CCS sophomores Lucas Gruenwald and Hunter Burgess at second and first base, respectively.
Dalton, who was batting .372, singled into left field. However, Eagles’ left fielder Owen Jeroloman fielded it and threw out Gruenwald at the plate to end the inning.
“Big time play by Owen,” said OHS coach Kevin Maris. “He comes up and throws that nice, clean one-hop to the catcher. It just doesn’t get much better than that, and then only beat him by a half a step or more. Beautiful throw, easy catch by the catcher (senior Cameron Currier), nice tag, and it doesn’t get much better than that, with a nice put out from Owen.”
Momentum shifted to the Eagles after the Minutemen had scored three runs in the top of the fourth to tie it.
Oak Hall batted around, took advantage of a couple of errors, and erupted for eight runs on five hits to take a 13-5 lead.
Sophomore Brayden Farmer (1-for-3, DBL, RBI, 2 RS), who started the game on the mound, led off the bottom of the fourth with a walk against reliever Eli Orozco.
Farmer stole second, went to third on a throwing error by the catcher, and scored on the throw in from center field for a 6-5 lead, and the Eagles never trailed again.
Junior Owen Lichstein (1-for-3, triple, RBI, RS) tripled in a run, and with two outs, a bunt single by Currier turned into a 3-base error on a throw from third to first.
Later in the inning, Farmer doubled in a run and junior B.J. Johnson doubled down the left field line to plate another run.
“We had some nice bunts that we needed to have at a given time, and last two or three weeks, we’re starting to put the offense a little bit back together and starting to come into our own a little bit, which is nice to see, and it’s a good time, tournament time,” Maris said.
Oak Hall, which was facing a must-win against Countryside Christian, is on the bubble as the No. 8 seed heading into Thursday’s rematch against the Wolves.
Eight different players had at least one of the Eagles’ 12 hits.
Jeroloman led the way with three hits, including an infield hit in the bottom of the first inning that drove in a run as the Eagles overcame an early 1-0 deficit and eventually took a 3-1 lead.
They added two more in the third on a throwing error and an infield hit by freshman Chase Wilson, who came in and closed the door on the mound with 1.1 innings of scoreless relief.
He struck out two and retired the side in order in the top of the fifth inning.
“We’re really young, and you know, we’ve battled all year,” Maris said. “We had seven guys, seven positions that had new players that really weren’t varsity players or becoming a varsity player, and it was a new position, so we kind of went through some growing pains early in the season, and we’ve took some bumps and bruises along the way, but we’re starting to tie things together a little bit.”
The Wolves (20-4), who defeated the Eagles, 3-2, last April to win their first district title in program history, will go for the sweep in 2026 after 7-1 and 10-2 victories during the regular season.
“I think that our key is to just throw strikes,” Farmer said. “I think that if we can pick up where we were hitting here and just throw strikes, not walk people… ground balls, fly balls, we make plays on that, and then we have to carry that on to hitting. If we get hits, we score runs, and we’ll put up a fight against the Wolves for sure.”
FHSAA Baseball district tournament results
(teams in the Mainstreet coverage area in bold)
All games at 7 p.m. (unless noted) & subject to change
Class Rural-District 6 at Higher Seed
Monday, April 13 (Quarterfinals)
5 Taylor County (Perry) 3, 4 Hilliard 2
3 Branford 10, 6 Hawthorne 4
2 Lafayette (Mayo) 3, 7 Fort White 2
Tuesday, April 14 (Semifinals)
1 Union County (Lake Butler) 19, 5 Taylor County (Perry) 1 (4)
2 Lafayette (Mayo) 14, 3 Branford 4 (5)
Thursday, April 16
2 Lafayette (Mayo) at 1 Union County (Lake Butler) (Championship game)
Class Rural-District 7 at Higher Seed
Tuesday, April 14 (Quarterfinals)
5 Chiefland 19, 4 Bell 11
3 Dixie County (Cross City) 25, 6 Bronson 0 (4)
2 Williston 20, 7 Wildwood 1 (4)
Thursday, April 16 (Semifinals)
5 Chiefland at 1 Trenton
3 Dixie County (Cross City) vs. 2 Williston
Friday, April 17
Championship (TBD)
Class 1A-District 5 at Higher Seed
Tuesday, April 14 (Semifinals)
2 Oak Hall School 15, 3 Countryside Christian 5 (5)
1 Saint Francis Catholic Academy 20, 4 Peniel Baptist Academy (Palatka) 0 (4)
Thursday, April 16
2 Oak Hall School vs. 1 Saint Francis Catholic Academy, 5 p.m. (Championship game)
Class 2A-District 4 at Higher Seed
Tuesday, April 14 (Quarterfinals)
4 Keystone Heights 11, 5 Interlachen 9
3 P.K. Yonge 5, 6 Crescent City 1
Wednesday, April 15 (Semifinals)
4 Keystone Heights at 1 Trinity Catholic (Ocala)
3 P.K. Yonge at 2 Newberry
Friday, April 17
Championship (TBD)
Class 3A-District 3 at Higher Seed
Tuesday, April 14 (Quarterfinals)
4 Wolfson (Jacksonville) 10, 5 Stanton (Jacksonville) 2
Wednesday, April 15 (Semifinals)
4 Wolfson (Jacksonville) at 1 Suwannee (Live Oak)
3 Paxon (Jacksonville) at 2 Baldwin
Friday, April 17
Championship (TBD)
Class 3A-District 5 at Higher Seed
Tuesday, April 14
1 Palatka 14, 4 Eastside 0 (5)
2 Santa Fe (Alachua) 14, 3 Bradford (Starke) 4 (6)
Thursday, April 16
2 Santa Fe (Alachua) at 1 Palatka (Championship game)
Class 5A-District 3 at Fleming Island (Orange Park)
Tuesday, April 14 (Semifinals)
1 Columbia (Lake City) 4, 4 Ridgeview (Orange Park) 0
2 Fleming Island (Orange Park) 4, 3 Middleburg 1
Thursday, April 16
2 Fleming Island (Orange Park) at 1 Columbia (Lake City) (Championship)
Class 5A-District 5 at Higher Seed
Tuesday, April 14 (Quarterfinals)
4 Matanzas (Palm Coast) 8, 5 Mainland (Daytona Beach) 2
Wednesday, April 15 (Semifinals)
4 Matanzas (Palm Coast) at 1 Seabreeze (Daytona Beach)
3 Belleview at 2 Gainesville
Friday, April 17
Championship (TBD)
Class 6A-District 2 at Higher Seed
Tuesday, April 14 (Quarterfinals)
5 Forest (Ocala) 4, 4 Oakleaf (Orange Park) 3
Wednesday, April 15 (Semifinals)
Forest (Ocala) at 1 Buchholz
3 Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine) at 2 Bartram Trail (St. Johns)
Friday, April 17
Championship (TBD)