Bolles powers into baseball state semifinal against First Academy

Jackson Baumeister still thinks back to that February day, that first game of high school baseball in 21 months.

The Bolles senior pitcher felt apprehensive then. Now, he knows there was no need to worry.

"I was definitely a little nervous going into it, like I might not live up to certain expectations I've set for myself or I might not be as good as my team needs me to be," Baumeister said. "So having a pretty good season up to this point, it's better than I could've ever wished for."

Bolles (25-4) carries championship momentum and a winning tradition into Monday morning's Florida High School Athletic Association Class 3A state baseball semifinal against First Academy at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers.

For the eight-time FHSAA champions — they've lifted the trophy in 1983, 1989, 1991, 2002, 2009, 2010, 2016 and 2017 — a shot at a state championship is almost par for the course.

"Our expectation every year," Bulldogs coach Mike Boswell said, "is to put paint [indicating a new championship] on the wall."

There's good reason to believe 2021 could be another one.

A winning pattern? Bolles has won its last six, with its only losses coming to big-time opposition: twice to Class 2A runner-up St. Johns Country Day, once to Region 1-4A finalist Bishop Moore and once to Class 7A Bartram Trail, which was only knocked out of postseason by eventual state champion Spruce Creek.

College prospects? Well, there's Matt Anderson heading to Richmond, Jackson Baumeister to Florida State, Gunner Boree to Brown, Sully Brackin to Florida, Jaden Flowers to Tallahassee Community College, Jackson Mayo to South Florida, Burke Steifman to William & Mary, Tanner Zellem to Tennessee...

And they're not only loaded with talent, but as Boswell said, they're a cohesive unit.

"It reminds me of my 2016 team," Boswell said. "They play together, they like each other, and good things happen. It's neat to watch that."

That togetherness means even more for the Bulldogs after the COVID-19 pandemic halted last season early, denying them what could have become another deep postseason run.

"Getting the chance to play every single game and getting the chance to be with the guys one last time, it's special," Mayo said.

At the center of the diamond atop the Bolles mound is Baumeister, who continues to dominate like few players in North Florida. For him, the past year-plus has been a battle back to the top, a return to the sky-high potential he displayed as a sophomore when he went 7-0, struck out 82 batters in 44 innings and didn't allow an earned run all season.

Before the 2020 season, he tore the medial collateral ligament in his knee, ending his junior season before it began. He said he initially struggled to find his rhythm in summer, and for a time, he wasn't sure when he would return to his peak.

"I really started to feel like myself the fall of my senior year," Baumeister said. "That's when it all started to come together and I started to really get back into my mechanics."

The result: He's carrying an 0.69 ERA and a 9-2 record, striking out 135 batters in 71 1/3 innings and limiting opposing batters to a .120 batting average.

The obstacles haven't vanished. In the last two weeks, he's been playing with a broken left hand, an injury that hasn't slowed down his pitching but has silenced one of Bolles' most potent bats. Baumeister was batting .318 with four home runs in 44 at-bats and an OPS of 1.195 before the break.

In this lineup, though, there's never a shortage of ways to push runs across the plate.

"It's anywhere up and down our lineup," Boswell said. "Our No. 9 hitter is hitting over .300 and getting on base and doing everything for the team. I feel very confident where we are."

On Wednesday night the key hit came from Mayo, coming through with a two-run home run in the fifth inning that proved decisive in the 2-0 victory over Pensacola Catholic.

But pitching around the USF-bound outfielder, or anyone else in the Bolles lineup, is no solution.

"If someone doesn't want to pitch to me, then someone like Zellem, Sully Brackin, the other big hitters on our team can get things done for us," Mayo said. "It's been big knowing that our team's really well-rounded."

In addition to Baumeister, four more Bolles starters pack an OPS above 1.000 — Zellem at 1.207, Flowers at 1.164, Brackin at 1.156 and Boree at 1.038 — in a lineup with no remotely easy outs.

"A lot of these guys, we've been playing together since we were 12 years old," Baumeister said. "So being able to count on them to step up to the plate in big situations and get it done, it's huge for my confidence and being able to get up on the mound and be myself."

For the senior class of Bulldogs, this week represents the last chance for a title.

As freshmen, Baumeister, Boree and Mayo lined up for Bolles in the Class 4A final in 2018, leading most of the title game before yielding an eight-run sixth and losing 10-4 to Monsignor Pace. 

In their sophomore year, they carried a 14-game winning streak and a No. 1 class ranking into regionals before going down 3-1 to Suwannee. Then came COVID-19 and the abrupt halt to 2020.

After those experiences, Baumeister said, Bolles won't be taking anything for granted Monday.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance for most kids to get a chance to play for a state title," he said. "It means the world."

CLASS 3A STATE SEMIFINAL

Bolles (25-4) vs. Orlando First Academy (29-1)

Hammond Stadium, Fort Myers

10 a.m. Monday

Bolles faces a team near the opposite end of the experience spectrum. First Academy has never before reached a championship game, and last qualified for the semifinal stage in 1997. The Royals carry a 20-game winning streak into the semis, although their strength of schedule is less formidable than that of the Bulldogs. On the mound, the Royals pack a devastating one-two punch in Isaac Sewell (14-0, 1.14 ERA, 105 K/9 BB) and Ben Barrett (10-1, 1.83 ERA, 94 K), committed to Virginia Tech and Florida State, respectively. Key First Academy batters include Khadin Bastian (.388, 4 HR, 26 RBIs, 1.242 OPS) and Greg Pettay (.404, 5 2B, 30 RBIs, 1.146 OPS). Bolles counters with a blend of contact (.311 team batting average), power (23 home runs) and pitching (1.01 ERA), and six Bulldogs have nine or more extra-base hits. A Bulldogs victory would mean a 4 p.m. Tuesday championship game against either Fort Pierce John Carroll Catholic or Miami Westminster Christian.