ORMOND BEACH — Seabreeze pitcher Tommy Hayes started throwing a curveball on April 17 after watching a breakdown of New York Mets pitcher Nolan McLean on TikTok.
Later that night, Hayes pitched six innings and tossed a season-high 11 strikeouts with zero earned runs to lead the top-seeded Sandcrabs to a 7-2 victory over No. 3 Belleview in the District 5-5A title game at Ormond Beach Sports Complex.
“I’ve just been working on some new pitches this past week because I was just kind of (throwing) fastball, sweeper, changeup,” Hayes said. “I was bringing a curveball this week, and I started throwing it today, and it felt really good.”
Hayes kept the Rattlers (14-6) hitless and struck them out seven times in the first three innings with his traditional arsenal that includes a fastball that tops out at 92 miles per hour along with his aforementioned sweeper and changeup.
While Hayes kept Belleview off the bases, Seabreeze (11-14) scored three in the bottom of the first inning through a two-RBI double from Jacob Imhoff and another RBI on an infield single from Joshua Sheffield.
Seabreeze hitters that got on base in at least half of their at-bats included Austin Upchurch (2 for 4), Merrick Campbell (1 for 2 with two walks), Nathaniel Anderson (1 for 3 with a walk), Mason Sisk (0 for 1 with a walk), Cole Sager (0 for 1 with a walk), Sam Hebert (1 for 1) and Wrigley Zweifel (0 for 2 with two walks).
“Especially with Tommy Hayes on the mound, when you get up three runs, it’s not that we go into autopilot or cruise control, it’s just adding to that confidence that now our hitters can go to the plate and execute what they’ve been able to do all season long,” Seabreeze coach Jeff Lemon said.
Belleview’s Ja’Mere Frymire recorded the Rattlers’ first hit of the evening in the top of the fourth with a single up the middle, but it was negated when Lazaro Martinez hit into a 5-4-3 double play. Still, Belleview found some momentum when Hayes walked Logan Chen and allowed pitcher Larry Quartararo to reach base on an errant underhand toss to first.
Liam Driskell singled to score Chen in Belleview’s next at-bat before the Sandcrabs got out of the inning with a 3-1 lead.
But then Seabreeze plated four runs in the bottom of the fourth to lead 7-1, and the Rattlers weren’t able to mount a comeback. Upchurch drove in half of the runs on a double to left field, tying him with Imhoff for a team-high two RBIs.
The closest Belleview got was when it loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the sixth inning, trailing 7-2 after scoring another run in the fifth. Gilbehert Mendoza, a .344 hitter, stepped into the batter’s box with the potential to rally the Rattlers, but Hayes sent Mendoza and Belleview’s three stranded runners to the bench with his 11th and final K of the night.
Hayes didn’t throw the curveball much, but he threw it on back-to-back pitches during Mendoza’s at-bat.
“I thought I’d rely on that because it was in my back pocket,” Hayes said. “Those were the only two I threw that game, and they were back-to-back.”
Parker Chieppa pitched a scoreless seventh inning to clinch the Sandcrabs’ second consecutive District 5-5A title, which they also won against Belleview in 2025. It’s also the third district championship Seabreeze has won in four years.
“This is what it’s all about,” Lemon said. “Putting tons of work, tons of hours, and to see these guys so excited at the end of something like that, that’s what it’s all about.”
The Sandcrabs improved to 11-14 with the victory and have punched their ticket to the regional quarterfinals, which begin on April 24.
“With these guys, man, this is probably the best 11-14 team in the state of Florida if I’m being honest with you,” Lemon said.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Seabreeze baseball wins 2nd consecutive District 5-5A title
Reporting by Zach Allen, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
