Mount Dora Christian Academy sophomore Collin Priest extended his hit streak to 15 games in a row Wednesday morning at the FHSAA baseball state tournament in Fort Myers.
But the Bulldogs (22-7) stranded two runners in the sixth inning and one more in the seventh during a 3-2 loss vs. Orange Park St. Johns Country Day (24-6) in a Class 2A state semifinal game at CenturyLink Sports Complex.
Priest connected on a double to right field in the bottom of the sixth then put MDCA on the scoreboard for the first time when he reached home plate on a double by Mekai Griffin. Kyle Turnage scored on a passed ball in the seventh.
Country Day, which entered the game at No. 1 in the Class 2A MaxPreps rankings, took a 3-0 lead in the fifth inning. That proved to be enough to snap a 14-game win streak for No. 8 ranked Mount Dora Christian.
The game was delayed more than 10 minutes in the top of the second after MDCA leftfielder Dominic Jones and centerfielder Dallas Dale collided while tracking down a deep hit to the gap by Tyce Moore. Jones left the game with an undisclosed injury and did not return.
Country Day pitcher Finn Howell drove in a run on a hit to left field and Connor Moore homered to score two more runs in the next at-bat for the Spartans. Howell struck out nine batters and allowed six hits while pitching all seven innings.
Dale went 2-for-4 for the Bulldogs. Bryan Schutte and Ethan Koller each recorded a hit. Koller is one of five MDCA players on roster from the team that reached the state semifinals in 2018.
Mount Dora Christian was playing in the state tournament in just the second year under head coach Jason Sanders, who spent the 2019 and 2020 seasons as an assistant at Apopka. Sanders served as head coach at Wekiva from 2013 to 2017 and was previously an assistant at Ocoee and Cypress Creek.
FHSAA baseball state tournaments continue through May 26. All games are being streamed online for a fee by the NFHS Network. Admission to games is $9 per day in advance and $12 if purchased on day of event. Tickets are being sold exclusively online via the GoFan app. Parking is $10.
This article originally appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email J.C. Carnahan at jcarnahan@orlandosentinel.com.
