SPRING ALL-AREA: Gill repeats as LCR's Baseball Player of the Year

Set for a rematch against Clay in the regional semifinals, Matthew Gill’s teammates received some curious text messages.

They were from the Clay baseball team.

The Blue Devils, who lost to Suwannee 14-2 earlier in the season with Gill on the mound, wanted to see the left-hander again. They wanted revenge.

“The Clay team was actually texting some of our guys saying they wanted the lefty again, so they were asking for me to pitch against them,” Gill said. “That really fired me up. If they wanted the lefty, they were going to get the lefty.”

Bad move, Blue Devils.

Gill played one of the best games of his career, performing not only with his arm but his bat and glove too. He threw a complete game, made a critical double play late in the contest and then finished the night off with the walk-off hit in a 2-1 victory.

“When I came up the hometown crowd was cheering and I smiled at them and I just knew something special was about to happen,” Gill said. “I knew it was my moment. I wanted to be in that moment and luckily I got that moment.”

It was Suwannee’s 14th win in a row. The Bulldogs made 15 with another win over Bishop Kenny in the Region 1-5A championship, marking the first time in program history that they won a district and regional title in the same season.

Gill was a huge reason for Suwannee’s historic 24-5 campaign. He accounted for 63 runs, leading the area with a .453 batting average and 33 runs scored while tying for the area-lead with 30 RBIs. He also homered twice, had 12 doubles and 19 stolen bases with a .486 on-base percentage.

Then there were his performances on the mound, finishing his senior season with a 3.16 ERA with 79 strikeouts in 55 1/3 innings to go with a .932 fielding percentage. And as a result, Gill is the back-to-back LCR Baseball Player of the Year.

“I’m going to miss his presence every day,” Suwannee coach Justin Bruce said. “I knew I had a leader I could count on and a guy that was going to show up every day and find a way to produce and add value to the team. That’s something we talk about all the time. You don’t always think about your high-end players on your team trying to find value to try and help every day, but really if you have a guy that helps your team in one way every game then you really have something. And that’s what Gill was able to do.”

Gill didn’t pitch against Bishop Kenny in the regional championship, but he still delivered that night too. He finished 3 for 4 and scored two runs in the 5-3 victory.

And there he was at the end helping making the final out as well, closing his glove at first base on a throw from teammate Tyson Robinson that sent the Bulldogs into a celebratory dogpile.

“Tyson Robinson was on the mound and he tossed it to me and I kept the ball and I just remember feeling joy,” Gill said. “It was just a surreal moment, and that was our last game ever on that field. After the game we had a big prayer circle and prayed around our field and our safe trip to Fort Myers. And then all the seniors just sat there and enjoyed the moment and soaked it in for the last time being able to play on the field.”

Suwannee advanced to the Class 4A state semifinals, the program’s third time reaching the Final Four. But the Bulldogs’ trip to Fort Myers didn’t go as planned, falling to Island Coast 9-2 in the semis.

It was a late afternoon start that turned into a late night thanks to two rain delays. By the time the second struck at the end of the sixth inning, the final score was already on the board as the Bulldogs waited out the storm in the stadium tunnel.

Bruce admits he was flustered looking back, in disbelief that the Bulldogs were down seven runs as the top-seeded team in Class 4A with only three outs to go. But then one simple sentence from Gill calmed his nerves, one that spoke to the type of person Gill has been for his program.

“I can just remember sitting there and kind of staring off into space and just thinking, ‘man, this isn’t how I thought this was going to go. I wanted to have a better start,’” Bruce recalled. “And then I just looked over and we happened to catch eyes and Gill just whispered to me, ‘Coach, we’re OK. We’ve got this.’

“He was assuring me, and as a coach that’s a big thing because as a coach you’re supposed to keep it together and you’re supposed to be the guy that always has the answers. You’re supposed to be helping your players feel confident and feel like everything is going to be OK. And in that moment, he was the guy helping me and that just speaks to who he is. He’s always trying to pick everybody up and be the positive person.”

Despite a stellar junior season, Gill didn’t have a single college offer entering his senior year. A few small schools eventually gave him a look this spring, and Hillsborough Community College turned out to be the lucky choice.

If the past two years are any indication, Hillsborough struck gold. The JUCO is getting an irreplaceable piece of Suwannee’s program, one that goes down as one of its best ever.

“I came into this season with a chip on my shoulder recruiting wise because I wasn’t offered at the time,” Gill said. “I came in there trying to prove myself, which I think at the beginning of the season hitting wise I was very hot and pitching wise I was doing really good going late into games. All the way through I thought I did everything I could for the team. Everything was working out and I just remember that this was the team to make a run, and I’m glad that we were able to do that for this town.”

 

ALL-AREA TEAM

C/IF/P: Hayden Gustavson

Columbia, junior

Led the Tigers with a .372 batting average, a .500 on-base percentage and 27 RBIs, hitting one home run and 14 doubles with 15 runs scored. The Florida State commit also posted a 2.58 ERA, striking out 28 batters in 21 2/3 innings pitched and had an .899 fielding percentage.

1B/P: Matthew Gill

Suwannee, senior

The LCR’s two-time Baseball Player of the Year was stellar once again with his bat, arm and glove. The Hillsborough CC signee accounted for 63 runs, leading the area with a .453 batting average and 33 runs scored while tying for the area-lead with 30 RBIs. He also homered twice, had 12 doubles and 19 stolen bases with a .486 on-base percentage. Then there were his performances on the mound, finishing the season with a 3.16 ERA and a 4-1 record with 79 strikeouts in 55 1/3 innings pitched to go with a .932 fielding percentage.

2B/SS/P: Brayden Thomas

Columbia, junior

Played up the middle and swung the bat well, hitting .326 with 20 RBIs and 13 runs scored with a .396 on-base percentage. He pitched a bit too, posting a 3.65 ERA with 23 strikeouts in 23 innings to go with a .917 fielding percentage.

SS: Payton Waters

Suwannee, senior

Led the area with five home runs and a .510 on-base percentage, and tied for the area lead with 30 RBIs while hitting .390. The St. Johns River State signee had nine doubles, stole nine base and scored 19 runs while posting a .855 fielding percentage.

3B: Tyson Greene

Suwannee, senior

Hit .340 with two home runs, 16 RBIs and 14 runs scored. The St. Johns River State signee had an on-base percentage of .429 and a .926 fielding percentage.

OF: Matt Dumas

Columbia, junior

Led the area with 22 stolen bases and led the Tigers with 31 runs scored while hitting .348 with a .461 on-base percentage and 13 RBIs. He pitched a little too, posting a 0.64 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 11 innings, and finished the year with a .964 fielding percentage.

OF: Camdon Frier

Suwannee, sophomore

Hit .340 with 19 RBIs and homered twice. The Florida State commit tied for the team lead with 19 stolen bases, had a .409 on-base percentage and an.896 fielding percentage.

OF: Carston Palmer

Suwannee, junior

Scored the second most runs on the team with 30 and stole 14 bases while hitting .301 with 14 RBIs and a .363 on-base percentage. He also pitched 17 1/3 innings with a 2.02 ERA and 21 strikeouts, and didn’t commit a single error all season.

DH: Tucker Hardee

Fort White, junior

Led the Indians at the plate with a team-best .431 average and team-highs of 16 RBIs, two home runs and 15 runs scored. He also stole 10 bases and had an area-best .540 on-base percentage.

UTIL: Josh Fernald

Suwannee, junior

Hit .356 and had a .485 on-base percentage with 21 RBIs, three home runs and 22 runs scored, splitting time as a corner infielder and pitcher. The UCF commit had a 2.88 ERA with a 7-1 record, striking out 72 batters in 48 2/3 innings to go with a .926 fielding percentage.

UTIL: Brent Howard

Columbia, senior

Hit .367 and had an on-base percentage of .453 to go with 22 RBIs, 22 runs scored, 11 doubles and a home run while splitting time between catcher, first base, third base and pitcher where he combined to finish with a .937 fielding percentage. The Jacksonville signee had a 1.96 ERA in 25 innings on the mound, striking out 24 batters.

P/IF: Truitt Todd

Columbia, senior

Was Columbia’s ace down the stretch, finishing with a 1.84 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 53 1/3 innings. The FSCJ signee hit .279 with 22 RBIs and two home runs to go with a .369 on-base percentage.

P: Jonathan Fischer

Fort White, senior

Had an area-best 1.15 ERA, going 8-1 as the Indians’ ace. He struck out 49 batters in 54 2/3 innings and had a .958 fielding percentage.

P: Tyson Robinson

Suwannee, senior

Posted a 4-0 record with a team-best 1.92 ERA. He finished the year with 52 strikeouts in 40 innings.

COACHES OF THE YEAR

Chris Howard, Columbia; Justin Bruce, Suwannee; Rick Julius, Fort White

All three coaches receive recognition for their outstanding seasons as all three led their teams to the state Final Four. Howard’s Tigers finished 22-9 that included a 10-game win streak, winning their first district title since 2019 and their first-ever regional title in Class 5A. Bruce’s Bulldogs went 24-5 thanks to a 15-game win streak down the stretch that included a district title and regional title in Class 4A, the first time the program had accomplished both in the same season. Julius’ Indians bounced back from a 1-4 start to win 12 straight on their way to a 16-7 finish and the program’s first regional title in Class 1A.