BOCA RATON — On a team with five Division I commits, it was two unheralded players who came up big for St. Andrew’s in the deciding game of the Region 4-2A baseball finals.
Senior right-hander Chase Lambalot, making his first postseason start, pitched six strong innings and junior shortstop Matt Spina delivered the go-ahead hit as St. Andrew’s defeated St. John Paul II Academy 6-4 on Wednesday, May 7, to complete a two-game series sweep.
The victory sends the Scots (22-6) to the state tournament beginning May 20 in Fort Myers. It is believed to be the school’s first-ever trip to the final four.
“I’m incredibly proud of this team,” said first-year coach Joey Housey, who took over a program that had suffered nine losing seasons in the previous 10 years. “We had phenomenal performances at the right time. … It’s really a special moment.”
Housey was especially proud of Lambalot, who spent the year as a spot starter and reliever behind the Big Three of Emery Coleman (FIU commit), Michael Tight (Cornell) and Carter Derks (FAU). During the regular season, Coleman and Tight made most of the starts, with Derks often coming in to shut teams down in the later innings.
But when Coleman left with a severe elbow injury in the second round of the regionals, Housey knew he’d need a third starting pitcher at some point. After Tight beat the Eagles on Tuesday, he turned to Lambalot, who’s still looking for a college home.
Lambalot gave up three runs in the first, then settled in and allowed only one more run over the next five innings. He gave up five hits, walked one and struck out three in his longest outing of the season.
“Chase has been waiting for his time to really shine,” Housey said. “We’ve talked about staying ready in the postseason, where a lot of weird things happen. These are tight games, high-stress moments, but today was Chase’s day to shine and he did an outstanding job.”
Trailing 4-3 entering the fifth inning, the Scots pieced together a rally with the help of their second unlikely hero.
With one out, Aaron Orozco walked and Tight singled. Housey called for a double steal, and the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Orozco just beat the throw to third with a head-first slide. Spina, the No. 6 hitter, then lined a fastball from starter Jack Wilhoit to right-center to score the tying and go-ahead runs.
“Our bottom of the lineup is as strong as it’s been all season,” Housey said. “There are guys that can beat you. … Matt’s a guy who comes out here every day ready to compete, he trains incredibly hard, he’s always in it. I’m happy for him to have that moment.”
Spina accounted for a valuable insurance run in the top of the seventh when he hit a sharp two-out grounder that went through the second baseman’s legs for an error, allowing Connor Berman to score from third.
With a 6-4 lead, Housey turned to Derks to close out the game for the second day in a row. He struck out Connor Cavo on a 3-2 breaking ball, hit Derek Dohler with a pitch and got Scotty Crowe to ground into a double play, sending the visiting Scots pouring out of their dugout to celebrate.
“We knew Carter was going to come in and make the save,” Spina said. “He’s done it so many times this year and we all trust him.”
The victory capped a remarkable 6-0 run through the regionals for the sixth-seeded Scots. They swept No. 3 seed Davie-University and No. 7 Miami-Westminster Christian before taking care of No. 5 St. John Paul (20-12-1).
It also changed the image of a program that has always seemed to be long on potential but short on results.
“It’s surreal,” said Spina, who’s in his third year with the Scots. “It’s just incredible thinking about how last year we were 8-10, and then coming back this year with all our seniors, all our boys coming back, and being able to do this is just unbelievable.”
St. Andrew’s players give credit to their rookie coach
The players credit the turnaround to Housey, a former pitching coach at Keiser University who’s a first-time head coach.
“It definitely starts with coach Housey, for sure,” said Derks, who has been a part of the program since seventh grade. “I can’t really put into words how I feel, but I knew that we had it in us all along.”
“We kind of just started trusting each other, trusting the coaches,” Lambalot said. “We love each other and that shows more on the field than any amount of talent.”
For St. John Paul, the loss brought a memorable season to a disappointing end. The Eagles pulled out of a second-half slump in time to peak for the playoffs, knocking out No. 4 seed Miami-True North Classical and No. 1 Cardinal Newman before running into the Scots.
“We left a lot of guys on base and they got two-out hits when they had to,” coach Pete Graffeo said. “To me, that was the difference. They earned it, they deserve it, but I’m proud of my guys the way they grinded all year.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: High school baseball: St. Andrew’s continues remarkable turnaround, advances to state
Reporting by Rick Robb / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
