District Champions

The defending state champion Jesuit High School baseball captured the District championship Thursday (April 23) at Hyer Family Park, holding on for a 5-4 win over Robinson.

The Tigers (19-8) will host a Region Quarterfinal on Thursday (April 30) at 7:00pm against Lakewood.

Jake Jones ’17 had a big night for Jesuit, driving in the Tigers’ first run of the game and giving Jesuit the lead for good with a two-run home run on his next at bat.

In the bottom of the 6^th, Jones’ sacrifice bunt attempt led to critical insurance runs, as two wild throws by Robinson (14-10) eventually resulted in two more Jesuit runs and a 5-2 lead.

Robinson took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first with help from an error, but Jesuit starter Bobby Hearn ’15 took command for the next 5 2/3rds innings. Things got a little dicey with two outs in the 7^th when Robinson scratched out three straight hits, and Ronnie Ramirez ’15 came on to register the final out.

Baseball, under first-year coach Miguel Menendez, is the last of Jesuit’s 12 sports teams to compete in District play for the 2014-15 school year. For the second straight year, the Tigers captured 11 of 12 District titles.

Click here for a Tampa Bay Times story about the District title game.