Studstill delivers for Raiders in ninth
When Mason Studstill drove a pitch safely to left field in the bottom of the ninth inning with two out and Rockledge High runners standing on first and third, it sent the Raiders to the Class 6A regional final round, 1-0 over Port St. Lucie.
If it hadn't been for what he had done the first eight innings, his hit would have been a footnote.
Studstill struck out 15 Jaguars, walked two and gave up nary a hit.
"And he didn't get the win," Rockledge coach Greg Clayborne pointed out. Drew Parrish came on in the ninth to handle that, improving to 10-0 on the mound.
As a team, the Raiders picked up a school-record 28th win against one loss. For the senior class, their school-record number of career wins increased to 100.
Rockledge batters struck out nine times against Port St. Lucie and managed just two hits of its own. A Jackson Parker two-out single in the second was the only hit for either team until Parrish gave up a double to Jaguars starter Zach Tagieri in the ninth.
Rockledge's Molly McLaughlin voted Athlete of the Week
All-around, it was a night for pitchers.
"I bet we've said this to both (Studstill) and Drew, but a lot of times, we don't even think it's their best stuff, but because it's theirs, it's good enough," Clayborne said. "He is a bulldog, both he and Drew. It's their internal fortitude."
The four pitchers — two for each team — combined to strike out 25. Clayborne described his team's offense as "awfense. You spell that like 'awful.' We were swinging at pitches above our head. I don't know if they were pressing or if they were trying to be the hero."
Rockledge likely will need more than Studstill and Parrish on Tuesday, when Archbishop McCarthy comes to town. The Raiders knocked the Mavericks out of the playoffs two years ago when they were ranked second in the nation. McCarthy held that ranking again for much of this season before Plantation American Heritage knocked the Mavs off in the District 15-6A final. McCarthy won the rematch in a regional semifinal on Tuesday, 4-3.
State track opens Friday
The FHSAA track and field finals begin Friday in Bradenton and conclude Saturday. All classes will compete over the two days, and Brevard will have several favorites not only for medals but for state titles. At the front of that list is Astronaut high jumper Tristan Schultheis, who holds the county record at 7 feet, 2 inches, just 3/4 of an inch from a Florida high school record.
Contact McCallum at 321-242-3698 or bmccallum@floridatoday.com. Follow @Brian_McCallum on Twitter and facebook.com/FLtoday.brianmccallum.
More Brevard high school athletes sign with colleges
State track and field qualifiers
Class 4A
Girls
Melbourne: Natalie Bress (1,600, 3,200).
Boys
Melbourne: Ian Reesh (1,600); Tyler Roberts (3,200).
Class 3A
Girls
Heritage: Macoyah Barry (long jump); Merritt Island: Ashleigh Asplund (pole vault); Juliana Chaput (pole vault); Viera: Kaitlyn Jensen (discus, shot put); West Shore: Jonelle Plahuta (3,200).
Boys
Heritage: Nicholas Barber (long jump); Joshua Ramirez (300 hurdles); Tre Reid (shot put); Merritt Island: Jimmy Batch (300 hurdles); Steven Cross (1,600, 3,200); Palm Bay: Tyrese Lyons (100); Viera: Nick Bandos (pole vault); Jay Boyd (high jump, long jump); J.P. Caglione (shot put); West Shore: Austin Camps (3,200); Christian Walker (triple jump).
Class 2A
Girls
Astronaut: Jada Barton (shot put); Cocoa: Destiny Charles (100, 200); MCC: Amanda Beach (3,200); Rockledge: Kylee Cobbs-Marcus (100); Sterling Jenkins (triple jump); Keosha Sanders (100); Kaira Simmons (200, long jump, triple jump); 4x100 relay; 4x400 relay; Space Coast: Skye Zeller (800); Titusville: Alyssa Carillo (pole vault).
Boys
Astronaut: Tristan Schultheis (100 hurdles, high jump); Jordan Taylor (400); Cocoa: Jaariq Charles (100, 200); Jeremy Lawson (long jump, triple jump); 4x100 relay; 4x400 relay; MCC: Lavonte Valentine (100); Satellite: John Cacciatore (3,200); Tommy Heideman (shot put, discus); Egan Kattenberg (1,600); Trevor Kattenberg (3,200); Noah Mumme (pole vault); Jacob Payne (pole vault); 4x800 relay; Rockledge: Antoine Green (200); Space Coast: Austin Rodeghier (800); Titusville: Mason Jones (3,200).
Class 1A
Girls
Holy Trinity: Elizabeth Bacon (100 hurdles); Taya Britten (100 hurdles, triple jump); Samantha Folio (1,600, 3,200); Giana Gayles (100 hurdles, 200, long jump); Lauren Gayles (100 hurdles, long jump); A. Pound (100); Jaeda Stewart (400); Paris Vergara (discus); A. Walker (shot put); 4x100 relay; 4x400 relay; 4x800 relay.
Boys
Holy Trinity: Jashaun Corbin (100); Jalen Olomu-Brown (long jump); 4x100 relay.
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