FLEMING ISLAND - Fleming Island High's young baseball squad, under the direction of long-time assistant coach Mike Martino, now head coach after a tumultuous season last season under then-coach Gil Morales, ventured into
dangerous territory over Spring Break, though, in Spring Break party haven Panama City, with little time for beach and sun festivities.
"We had a pretty quick schedule out there with games on both Monday and Tuesday packed in," said Martino, now 8-2 after the weekend stint at Bozeman High with a tournament opener against host Bozeman; at the time number one in Class 1A and fourth in Florida before a 5-2 nine-inning loss to Newberry High on March 15. "This is a very young team even our seniors have very little experience against teams like Bozeman."
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Florida (All Classes) Rankings
As of March 18

1. IMG Academy (9-1), recent 3-0 win over St. Johns Country Day School, Previous No. 2, No. 1 Independent
2. Stoneman Douglas (8-1) defending 7A champions, previous No. 1, No. 1 7A
3. North Broward Prep (10-1)
4. St. Johns Country Day School (8-1), Previous No. 3, No. 1 2A
5. Bishop Verot (9-0)
6. Monsignor Pace (Miami) (9-0)
7. Chiles (6-2), No. 1 6A
8. Doral Academy (10-1), No. 2 6A
9. Newberry (9-1) Beat Bozeman March 15, No. 1 1A
10. Trinity Christian Academy (7-1)
13. Bozeman (9-1) dropped nine places, previously No. 2, No. 2 1A
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Also at the Bozeman tournament, Oakleaf coach Matt Carter came home with two losses and a final game win as a setup for a Tuesday matchup against St. Johns Country Day School then a Thursday clash with Fleming Island.
For Martino, facing Bozeman first on their visit was a learning experience that, he hoped, would give the boys a look at what elite baseball is and that they can get there.
"Bozeman had a lefty pitcher that was consistent near 90 miles per hour and we had no leverage on him," said Martino, noting a no-hit performance by Bozeman senior pitcher Trey Power, who registered nine strikeouts on the Golden Eagle batting lineup and hit a first-inning double that he scored off on a shortstop error to put Bozeman up 2-0 quickly. "They got the quick score, but we played them even for the next four innings until they got a bunch of hits in the fourth."
Fleming Island got baserunner Josh Murray to third in the fourth with a possible scoring scenario, but Power shut down the effort with strikeouts to Ryan Kiley and Aaron Hawkins.
The follow-up at bat for Bozeman got a single, a walk and a fielders choice grounder putting a baserunner at third before a 2RBI double put Bozeman up 4-0 with two more errors scoring the game 5-0 and another single to 7-0 before Martino switched starting pitcher Keegan Leckband out for Mason Schnell who got dinged with back to back RBI doubles to 10-0 and a final RBI single to 11-0.
"The kids responded after that first night and they continued to play scrappy and make plays in the next two games," said Martino. "Their pitcher is a college commit with a consistent 87-88 with a nice slider."
Martino noted that the late Monday game was followed by an early Tuesday morning game against Tennessee's Anderson County with a Wednesday game against another Tennessee team, Knoxville Central.
"We got up Tuesday, got four quick runs and beat Anderson 4-0," said Martino, noting a barrage of singles in the second inning; Declan Dunleavy, Miguel Cruz, Tanner Upton and Caden Swartz. "Declan had a really good week at the plate and our pitchers were strong."
Fleming Island continued its trend with a 2-1 win over Knoxville Central and a 4-1 win over McMinn County before coming home and taking a 6-0 game against Middleburg on Monday.
"When you have a young team, they like each other, they are playing hard, and all the ingredients are there to have a good season," said Martino, now five years with Fleming Island. "This was a good showing to see elite play because we have to handle the adversity of playing good teams in the second half of the season."
Oakleaf trip to the Panhandle did not pan out as well as Fleming Island with losses to McMinn County (8-0), Knoxville Central (2-0) before an 11-2 win over Anderson County.
The Oakleaf path gets no rest with St. Johns Country Day on Tues., March 19 and Fleming Island on Thur., March 21.

Upcoming game schedules

Tuesday, March 19
Oakleaf (4-5) at St. Johns Country Day School (8-1)
Bradford at Keystone Heights (6-1)
Orange Park (2-5) at Beachside
Ridgeview (4-4-1) at Andrew Jackson
Jr. High: Lake Asbury at Lakeside 4:15 p.m.

Wednesday, March 20
Keystone Heights at Ridgeview
Buchholz at St. Johns Country Day School

Thursday, March 21
Beachside at Middleburg (4-4)
Orange Park at Paxon
Clay (6-3) at Trinity Christian Academy (5-3)
Oakleaf at Fleming Island (7-2)
Keystone Heights at Yulee

Friday, March 22
Ridgeview at Clay
Orange Park at Middleburg

Monday, March 25
Eagles View at Fleming Island

Tuesday, March 26
Baldwin at St. Johns Country Day School
Orange Park at Palatka
Flagler at Ridgeview