ORANGE PARK - St. Johns Country Day School's baseball schedule is no cupcake festival and coach Tom Lucas got a handful of tension late Friday night with a 12th-inning sacrifice fly from Collin Briggs the answer to a home run festival against Georgia 3A powerhouse Calvary Day as the Spartans in a 6-5 win on the St. Johns campus.

"Anybody on this team, top to bottom, is capable of getting the job done," said senior outfielder Kody Daneault, one of the top seniors on the team. "We trust every guy on this team to do their job and that's going to get us through tough games like this against top teams."
Briggs's hit to centerfield was preempted by catcher Hunter Rodgers being hit by a pitch to first and a double blasted by Nick Bowden moving Rodgers' pinch runner Connor O'Steen to third. Briggs lifted his ball to deep centerfield to score O'Steen for the win.
Lucas, now 13-2, watched as his team ebbed and flowed through a series of innings with baserunners in place, but the tough Calvary defense prevented any runs before the final stanza.
"We had some opportunities, but they are a really good team," said Lucas. "They made some plays, good for our guys to see the game at this level. We had guys begging to get on the field to make plays."
St. Johns, about to head to North Carolina for the USA Baseball National High School Invitational for an April 10 game against California's Huntington Beach Oilers, is just about where Lucas needs them to be. Huntington Beach currently is 14-5, ranked 11th in California and the 2023 NHSI champion, also 2016. The 2024 roster of teams includes four state finalists; Bishop Gorman (NV), Casteel High (AZ), Farragut (TN) and St. Johns (FL). Among the teams set to play are eight teams nationally ranked by MaxPreps.
Note: Trinity Christian Academy, out of Jacksonville, is also slated to play.
In 2022, St. Johns finished as the tournament runner-up, losing a 5-3 game to Florida's 7A champion Stoneman Douglas High School. En route to the NHSI final in 2022, St. Johns beat Servite (CA), Don Bosco Prep (NJ) and Huntington Beach.
Against Calvary Day, the Cavaliers struck first with a solo homer against Spartan starter Jack Ensell.
A second Calvary homer in the second rocked the Spartans with a third run coming off a barrage of singles.
Down 3-0 now, St. Johns got on the scoreboard off a Seth Alford single followed by a Rodgers double to go to 3-1.
Two field errors by St. Johns allowed them to fall behind 4-1, but the Spartan bats again woke in the third to answer with a Kolt Myers double-scoring Preston Cole, who was on with a single.
St. Johns kept putting baserunners in play and getting nifty defense to keep the game close.
In the sixth, Alford homered with Gilson on base to tie the game 4-4 before Calvary pitcher Will Hampton whiffed Rodgers and T.J. Sunderhaus.
With Trevor Bradley now on the mound, St. Johns closed a quick sixth inning with two strikeouts and got another double-play grounder in the seventh, but Calvary answered again with similar tactics.
The only blemish on the three-in, three-out innings was Bowden being hit by a pitch in the eighth, but Hampton responded with two strikeouts.
Calvary struck first in extra innings with a solo homer in the ninth, but senior Kyle Boylston bashed his own in the ensuing inning to keep the game locked 5-5.
"At the end of the day, a game like this shows that we are mentally tough," said Boylston. "We had some good baserunning and kept putting guys in play. Everyone on this team, from 1-9, can make the impact play. Our losses ( back to back to IMG Academy and Oakleaf) are a good punch in the mouth that makes us respond."
In the 11th, St. Johns loaded the bases with Boylston walking, Daneault singling and Gilson walking, but Alford hit into a trick double play; line drive to pitcher with a great stab and throw to third to catch Boylston halfway to home.
Kolt Myers locked down the 12th with three strikeouts before Briggs' winning fly ball. Hampton finished with 10 strikeouts for Calvary with St. Johns foursome finishing with 17 Ks, five by Bradley and Alford.
Calvary Day stayed in Clay County an extra day and got a 17-5 win over Oakleaf on Saturday. Trinity Christian beat Calvary 11-1 on Saturday.

First Round Matchups
2024 NHSI National High School Invitational (April 10)

Bishop Gorman (NV) 10-6 vs. Chaparral (AZ) 10-9
SJCDS (FL) 13-2 vs. Huntington Beach (CA) 10-6
Puyallup (WV) 9-1 vs. Corona (CA) 15-2
Trinity Christian Academy (FL) 16-1 vs. Apex Friendship (NC) 7-7
Harvard-Westlake Academy (CA) 15-3-1 vs. Key West (FL) 8-9
Wesleyan Christian Academy (NC) 9-1 vs. Casteel (AZ) 12-4
St. Johns College HS (DC) 12-2 vs. Hagerty (FL) 13-3
Orange Lutheran (CA) 14-4 vs. Farragut (TN) 11-4