John Carroll Catholic comes up short in 3A state semifinal

FORT MYERS — All teams that reach Fort Myers — where a baseball state champion is crowned — have one arm to lean on that can shut down even the toughest of lineups.

For John Carroll Catholic, they couldn't solve Westminster Christian senior right-hander Joel Pinero Jr. in their biggest game of the season.

The FIU signee and son of MLB veteran pitcher Joel Pinero dazzled with an 11-strikeout no-hitter and sent the Warriors to the 3A state championship game with a 3-0 victory to end the Rams' season at Hammond Stadium.

John Carroll had a golden opportunity to get on the scoreboard in the top of the first as the Rams had runners on second and third with one out, but Pinero struck out back-to-back hitters to get out of the jam.

"My mental focus there was at an all-time high especially in a state semifinal game," Pinero Jr. said. "I was just wanted to attack hitters and I wasn't going to let anyone else get on."

John Carroll right-hander Braden Calise matched Pinero most of the day but in the third inning the Warriors broke through.

With runners on second and third and two out, junior Rene Ramirez lined a single to right after a lengthy at-bat to put Westminster Christian ahead 2-0.

The Rams (18-11) had runners reach in the second and fourth innings, but never took away the outer half of the strike zone that Pinero continued to hit with his fastball.

More:It might only be spring but there's football action. Here are impressions across the Treasure Coast

More:Tim Tebow jersey leads sales on NFL shop less than 24 hours after signing with Jaguars

More:State of Florida Recruiting H.Q. Daily Briefing: South Carolina offers 2023 recruits

Having already seen Pinero pitch on March 11 in a game the Warriors won 1-0, Rams head coach David Parra had wanted his hitters to key in on taking away where the Westminster Christian ace zoned in on, but saw his lineup unable to do so.

"We went into the game looking to take away that outside strike and we never, ever did," Parra said. "Guys were still worried, he'd run a couple balls in sometimes on accident, sometimes on purpose and did it just enough in there to keep that out there. That's baseball."

Calise entered the sixth inning still having allowed just the lone hit to Ramirez until FIU signee and Warriors catcher Jayden Melendez rocketed a solo home run just inside the foul pole in left field to put the Rams behind 3-0.

Calise, a Louisville signee, finished his final high school outing striking out three and over his final five starts this past month allowed just 21 hits and five earned runs to lead the Rams to the state semifinal.

"I thought we had the facilities to make a run and finish it off but we just fell a little bit short and sometimes that just happens," Calise said. "I think it's going to be now about how me and Jay (Allen) bounce back at the next level and how the team recovers next year. We have a lot of good young guys that can get back here next year and the years to come."

It also marked the end of a remarkable career for Allen, who across three different sports has enjoyed one of the best careers for any Treasure Coast-area athlete in recent memory.

Selected as TCPalm's Male Athlete of the Year last year, Allen was both First Team All-Area in football and basketball this season and is committed to Florida for baseball while being a top prospect in the 2021 MLB Draft in July.

Reflecting upon his time as a Ram, Allen felt being at any other school wouldn't have allowed him to do all the things he achieved.

"It's been a long ride, it's been pretty amazing just to do some of the accomplishments that I've done, not many people get to go to a school and play sports and excel in all three of them," Allen said. "Being grateful that John Carroll let me do that, at any other school I don't think I could have played three sports, being around the coaches, them communicating. It's definitely been an amazing ride."