There was no wayBuchholz baseballwas going to wake up Saturday to finish off Pace…
When the job could be completed Friday night, even if that meant waiting until nearly 3 a.m. back inGainesville.
It was all worth it, though, because theBobcatsare heading back to Fort Myers!
Buchholzadvanced to the FHSAA Class 6A final four for the third year in a row late Friday night with a 10-6 win over the Patriots. Earlier in the evening, BHS defeated PHS 10-2, meaning the later victory clinched the best-of-three series.
Bad weather in Santa Rosa County impacted the schedule for the weekend. Initially, only game was to be played on Friday night. However, the two squads gained clearance from the FHSAA to start the second game Friday after the conclusion of the first due to worse weather expected Saturday.
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The issue is the first battle didn’t begin until 7:30 p.m. local time. That didn’t seem to alter the ‘Cats and their offense.
Buchholz tallied four runs in the third – from four different players – while FGCU commit Reed Thomas kept the Patriots in check with just six hits and two runs allowed. He nearly went the distance, but he was pulled before the final out for Coen Laffler.
Part of the reason Chris Malphurs took him out was because the ‘Cats build a substantial lead thanks to five runs in the top of the seventh, including two on a triple from Zac Brown and two on a double from Aidan Kastensmidt.
Kastensmidt, the Jacksonville University commit, gained the start in Game 2. He ran into trouble, though, and was pulled in the third inning after allowing five runs.
It didn’t matter.
Because the Bobcats offense simply could not be stopped.