Youth baseball: South Fort Myers juniors capture state title

Naples

The South Fort Myers junior division Little League squad captured the state championship last weekend with a 3-2 win over Palma Ceia. The members of the team are: Scotty Edwards, Kendall Battle, Jake O'Connell, Keaton Kenworthy, Jace Jones, Jake Wilson, Kevin Riscassi, Mike McAloose, Alex Horton, Dylan Peck, Will Wiltshire, Matt Ciccone, Jameson Moschella and Preston Heben. The manager is Steve Cunningham, with Dave Peck and Kendall Battle serving as assistants. South Fort Myers will next compete in the regional tournament, to be held in Fort Myers from August 4-8.

The South Fort Myers junior division Little League team won the state championship in dramatic fashion last weekend, rallying late for three of its four victories.

The South Fort Myers 13 and 14-year old squad showed the character of a much older squad, gutting out wins when things looked bleak.

The comeback kids got things started in the first game of the tournament, with Dylan Peck’s two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the seventh lifting South Fort Myers to a 3-2 win over Windermere.

“Dylan’s our nine-hole hitter, but he came up big in that spot with a line-shot to win the game,” South Fort Myers manager Steve Cunningham said. “I’m very proud of these kids, it’s truly a unique group. The high schools that get these players are going to be blessed. These kids can play.”

South Fort Myers won its second game against Jacksonville-Callahan, 11-3, for its only blowout of the tournament.

The South squad then took on a team from Palm Bay, again falling behind early. South Fort Myers finally went ahead 4-3 in the top of the seventh, but Palm Bay loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom half.

Reliever Alex Horton came into the pressure-packed situation, inducing a game-ending fly-out to send South into the championship game against Palma Ceia.

Again, South Fort Myers battled through adversity to score a victory. With the game tied at 2 in the bottom of the sixth, Palma Ceia loaded the bases with nobody out. South third baseman Jace Jones came up with a clutch defensive play, corralling a screamer of a ground ball, stepping on third and throwing home to retire the runner for a double play.

South Fort Myers took the lead with a run in the top of the seventh, when Palma Ceia again loaded the bases with two outs against starter Jake O’Connell. Cunningham brought Jones in from third base to close it out, and the reliever was up to the task. He struck out the final hitter, and South was crowned state champions.

“What an unbelievably played tournament by all the teams involved,” Cunningham said. “Some of the most intense, competitive baseball games I’ve ever been involved with. Very good pitching throughout, and we were behind late in three of the four games we won. The kids never quit, they always believed they were going to find a way to win those games.”

South Fort Myers now advances to the regional tournament, to be played August 4-8 in Fort Myers. South Fort Myers squares off against a team from Georgia in its tournament opener August 4 at 1 p.m.

“We get to sleep in our own beds, which is nice,” Cunningham said. “I’m sure we’ll have a nice crowd to watch us play. The kids are looking forward to it.”