FORT MYERS — South Walton baseball got its redemption against Miami Springs. Now, for the third straight year, one win is all that seperates the Seahawks from the program’s first state title.
Fueled by a gutsy, 11-strikeout performance from Coleman Borthwick where he stranded nine amid a season-high eight hits allowed, a three-run second frame from South Walton and a six-out save by Parker Granse, the Seahawks avenged last year’s 2-1 state championship loss to the Golden Hawks with a 6-2 win in Wednesday’s 3A state semifinal at Hammond Stadium.
That’s six wins down, one to go for Borthwick’s top-seeded crew, who is 29-4 and unbeaten in the postseason with a 72-6 run differential. Wednesday’s two runs allowed were the most all postseason by the Seahawks, and it could’ve been much worse had Borthwick and Granse not combined to hold Miami Springs’ bat to a 2-for-14 clip with runners in scoring position.
Borthwick stranded the bases loaded in the fourth inning with a groundout to third and then, after allowing three straight hits and a run to start the fifth, induced a force out at third and got back-to-back strikeouts to end the night with 11 Ks. His last pitch of the night was his 100th, capping off a campaign where he went 10-0 with a 0.21 ERA and 121 strikeouts in 65 2/3 innings.
Borthwick got all the support he needed in the second frame from some Seahawks small ball.
Declan Fowler got things started with a one-out walk and Carter Hawk moved him to second on a single to left. After a Jayden Cunningham pop out, Hudson Quinn hit a high dribbler off the plate up the middle that left the second baseman with no play at second or first. Fowler took advantage of the second-baseman’s bobble and beat the throw home to put the Seahawks up 1-0. After an intentional walk to Borthwick, Whitney drove in a pair with a two-out base knock to left.
The next inning Granse reached on a bunt single and stole second, moved to third on a Didier flyout to right and scored on a suicide squeeze by Fowler. Cunningham later drove in Fowler in the sixth on an RBI double and was driven home on a single to left by Borthwick for the final insurance run.
That run support proved valuable with Miami Springs threatening late.
Down 4-1 in the sixth, Miami Springs put runners on first and second after reliever Griffin Loy hit back-to-back batters. In came Granse, who escaped the game by getting a strikeout, an RBI groundout and another K to end the threat. In the seventh he allowed two hits before stranding the tying run on deck by inducing a blooper to left that was snagged by a lunging Vaughn Howard. Howard’s glove was a constant on the night, the junior getting a tough force out at third in the fifth with runners on first and second with no outs before Borthwick escaped the jam. His snag for the final out also left Granse’s left arm available to pitch in Thursday’s state championship after falling short of 30 pitches.
Now South Walton prepares for the winner of third-seeded South Sumter and second-seeded North Broward. First pitch for the 3A state championship is 7 p.m. (EDT) Thursday at Hammond Stadium.
This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: South Walton baseball avenges loss, advances to 3A state title game
Reporting by Seth Stringer, Northwest Florida Daily News / Northwest Florida Daily News
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