PORT ST. LUCIE — State championships are always exciting. But Bishop Verot’s 4-3 win over Pensacola Catholic in Thursday, May 19’s Class 3A state baseball title game at Digital Domain Park in Port St. Lucie had an extra heaping of goosebumps.
Senior Hudson Boyd singled home teammate Dan Vogelbach with the game-winning run with two outs in the seventh and final inning. Boyd, who had been 0-for-7 at the state tournament until that at-bat, got a special message relayed during the game.
“This little freshman (Dan Tufariello) said he had a feeling the game was going to come down to me,” said Boyd, who had struck out five times in the past two games. “He said, ‘You can’t be this bad for this long.’ “
Tufariello was right. The Vikings captured the second state baseball championship in the program’s history and the second for Lee County.
Senior relief pitcher Keith Ryan, who hadn’t thrown in a game since April 29, replaced starter D.J. Schleicher with the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth inning and the game tied 3-3.
“I just focused on Frankie (Romano),” said Ryan of the Vikings’ catcher. “I didn’t hear the crowd, the cheers, anything.”
Ryan got Crusaders junior first baseman Chad Westlake to pop out to second base to end the threat. He also retired all three batters in the seventh inning to earn the win.
“He has the biggest heart of anyone on the team,” Vogelbach said of Ryan. “There’s nobody else I’d want on the mound in that situation, bases loaded, two outs.”
Bishop Verot coach Tom LoSauro, a 1979 graduate of the school, said the victory was especially sweet.
“I’ve spent most of my lifetime at Bishop Verot,” he said. “I can’t even call it my home away from home. It’s my home.
“To be able to give back to the program in a way like this, it’s very special.”
FOR THE RECORD
Lee County’s all-time record in state baseball championship games
1966 Pensacola Escambia 3, Fort Myers 2 (Class 2A)
1967 Orlando Bishop Moore 4, Cypress Lake 3 (1A)
1994 Bishop Verot 5, Tallahassee Florida High (2A)
2000 Eustis 3, Bishop Verot 2 (3A)
2008 Jacksonville Bishop Kenny 9, Riverdale 3 (4A)
2011 Bishop Verot 4, Pensacola Catholic 3 (3A)
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Bishop Verot wins 2011 FHSAA Class 3A state baseball title over Pensacola Catholic
Reporting by Dan DeLuca, Fort Myers News-Press / Fort Myers News-Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
