MCC defeated Sarasota Booker on Tuesday, 10-0, to advance to the 5A state tournament.
Hunter Barco threw a five-hit shutout, striking out eight to lead Jacksonville Bolles to a 5-0 victory over Melbourne Central Catholic in a Class 5A state semifinal at jetBlue Park Wednesday afternoon.
The freshman lefthander, already verbally committed to the University of Virginia, traded zeroes with Hustlers ace Mark Potter through four innings until the Bulldogs (27-3) used some small ball to their benefit.
It was the final high school regular-season event for Brevard County this school year, though several spring practice football games remain to be played.
Potter walked Barco to lead off the bottom half of the fifth. A sacrifice bunt and an error set the table for Bolles leadoff man Bryce Newman. A perfect bunt down the third-base line forced Hustlers third baseman Ryan Coscarella to make a wild throw to first. That allowed a run to come in. A perfect squeeze bunt by Ty Smith followed, making it 2-0 Bolles after five innings.
MCC opens 5A state baseball play Wednesday
“Bolles put a lot of pressure on us, and we knew they wouldn’t make any mistakes. We did, and it cost us. We had a couple chances, and we couldn’t take advantage of them.” MCC coach Tom Dooley said.
Austin Nickle’s one-out single in the sixth brought Potter to the plate as the tying run, but his ground ball to third resulted in an inning-ending double play.
Bolles tacked on three runs in the sixth, including knocking Potter, a Jacksonville signee, out of the game after 5 2/3 innings.
“From being here winning a state title as a freshman to this year, it’s been a great four years here. I love all of these guys. We’re like family. It was a great ride.” Potter said.
The Hustlers ended the year with a 30-2 record, setting a school record for wins in a season. Bolles will take on the Monsignor Pace-Bishop Moore winner for the 5A title on Thursday night.
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