PREP BASEBALL: Columbia falls to American Heritage in Class 5A state semifinals

FORT MYERS — Unlike a year ago, Columbia hung in during a second straight state semifinal.

Hayden Gustavson tied the game early with a solo home run, a shot that kept the contest knotted with American Heritage-Plantation all the way until the fifth inning. But a lofted single by Mateo Serna, and an errant throw two innings later, sent the Tigers home early again without a chance to play for a state title.

Serna’s 2-RBI single in the fifth gave his team the lead for good, and after the Tigers got a run back in the sixth, an errant throw by Gustavson from the mound allowed in two more insurance runs to help lift the Patriots to a 5-2 win in the Class 5A state semifinals on Monday at Hammond Stadium.

As assistant coach Joey Edge, pitcher Josh Fernald, shortstop Brayden Thomas and Gustavson sat for the postgame interview, you could see the emotion pouring from their faces. Edge was the interim coach again for Columbia as head coach Chris Howard served the second of a two-game suspension due to his ejection in the regional semifinals.

“This is the most emotional I’ve been after a game I’ve coached,” Edge said. “I had a special bond with this group. It’s tough, it’s tough because coach Howard isn’t here. I think that makes it harder because he deserved to be in this moment.”

Heritage (20-6) will play for its third state title Wednesday against Jesuit — a 3-1 winner over Sebring — thanks to the performance of Talan Holiday. The sophomore pitcher limited a Columbia offense that entered hitting better than .335 as a team to only four hits — two from Gustavson — and nearly went the distance throwing 104 pitches in 6 1/3 innings where he struck out seven.

Columbia’s only other run came via a fielder’s choice from Fernald, which scored Matt Dumas after he walked and advanced all the way to third on an error. Thomas hit a one-out single in the seventh, but freshman Spencer Krasner came in and finished things off when Grant Bowers grounded into a game-ending double play.

The Tigers hit seven balls into the outfield that were tracked down by Patriots.

“I thought we hit the ball well all game. We just hit it to people,” Edge said. “I can think of probably five to six barrels that we hit that just didn’t fall our way, and sometimes that’s baseball. It doesn’t go your way. But I thought we did a really, really, really good job of competing every pitch. Sometimes the ball doesn’t bounce your way.”

Fernald tossed 91 pitches in five innings for Columbia (24-6) and went throw for throw with Holiday until Serna’s 2-run hit in the fifth. The UCF signee, who has battled a knee injury for a chunk of the season, finished with a final line of three earned runs on five hits, three walks and a hit batter with seven strikeouts.

It was the only start Fernald lost all season. He entered with a 9-0 record and a 0.16 ERA, having allowed just one earned run in 45 innings prior.

“I didn’t feel my greatest today,” Fernald said. “I’ve felt a lot better before. I didn’t feel really live but I was trying to battle through. I gave it all I had today.”

Heritage took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Andrew Ortiz hit a two-out single to score Spencer Butt, who walked and advanced to second on a single from Lucas Ramirez. But Columbia answered right back in the bottom half of the frame thanks to Gustavson, who rocketed a pitch to left field that landed on top of the wall and stayed put for a solo home run.

That was already a much better start than the year before when the Tigers only tallied two hits a 6-0 loss to Eau Gallie in the state semis. It had Gustavson believing the return trip to Fort Myers would be different.

“I felt really good,” Gustavson said. “We came in with a different mindset this year and we had a better game plan coming into this game than we did last year. After that at-bat I thought we had a good shot of winning the game. We still did. We were in the game the entire time.”

But Fernald ran into trouble right away in the fifth. He hit Chris Levy with a pitch to start the inning and then allowed a single to Jordan Rich before both runners stole bases to move into scoring position.

That’s when Serna delivered the game-deciding hit, lifting a ball that dropped into the outfield to easily score both runners.

“It was unfortunate” Fernald said. “I thought I made a pitch and he just put a really good swing on it.”

The Tigers cut the deficit to 3-2 in the sixth inning when Dumas scored on Fernald’s fielder’s choice, but a baserunning miscue prevented them from possibly tying the game. Courtesy runner Bynton Edge, who entered at second base after Ayden Phillips reached on a Heritage throwing error, took off on Fernald’s ground ball to Butt at shortstop and Butt was able to turn and tag him in time before he could return to the base.

Holiday then struck out Camdon Frier to keep the Patriots in front.

“I would’ve liked for him to wait and see the throw,” Joey Edge said. “I think you get caught in a situation when you’re young where you make a mistake, and it sucks. It happens, but it sucks that it happened. I would’ve like for him to see if the ball was in the dirt and then run, but at that point we needed him to be in scoring position and after that he was not in scoring position.”

Two insurance runs in the seventh were then massive for Heritage. Gustavson, who took over for Fernald in the sixth, allowed a leadoff bunt single to Chris Levy and Rich then hit a grounder back to Gustavson. Aware of Rich’s speed, Gustavson rushed the throw to first base and it sailed all the way down the right field line.

By the time Frier could reach it and send it back into the infield, Levy had scored and Rich was standing on third. Rich then came home on a sac fly from Butt.

“I picked it up and I was getting ready to throw it hard but I thought if I threw it hard I was going to throw it away,” Gustavson said. “So I tried to be accurate with it. I had time to throw it and it just slipped away from me. I wish I could get it back…I was getting ready to throw it and I looked up and he was still halfway down the line. I took a little extra second to throw it when I should’ve just gone off my instincts.”

It was a tough finish to a career for the five seniors in Columbia’s starting lineup. All of them are going off to play in college — Carston Palmer (St. Johns River), Fernald (UCF), Gustavson (State College of Florida), Dumas (Lake Sumter State College) and Thomas (Savannah State).

“We battled,” Edge said. “I’m proud of the guys for battling. We played hard. It’s a special group. It was a tough ending but I know for a fact that they’re going to go on to do bigger and better things, so I’m proud of every one of them and I’m excited for their futures.”