Commodores advance to Final 4 in Port Charlotte, FL

Commodores have secured their spot in the final four in the FCSAA DI Baseball Championship Rounds in Port Charlotte, FL, May 9th-12th.

The Gulf Coast Commodores had a tough start in their game against Miami Dade, but they never gave up. With strong at-bats and smart base running, the team fought back to win 10-8 in an exciting, back-and-forth game.

In the top of the 1st inning, Miami Dade took an early lead by hitting a solo home run and a double, scoring two runs. They added another solo home run in the top of the 3rd, putting the Sharks up 3-0.

In the bottom of the 3rd, the Commodores started to fight back. Andrew Johnson hit a ground ball single to center field. Bray Touchstone followed with a strong hit to left field, moving Johnson to second base. Jackson McKenzie was walked, loading the bases. Then Drew Prosek came through with a single to left field, bringing Johnson home. With the bases still loaded, Brody Langlotz was walked, forcing in another run as Touchstone crossed the plate. After that, Colton Masse walked as well, scoring McKenzie. The Commodores tied the game 3-3 by the end of the inning, but the lead didn't last long. In the top of the 4th, Miami Dade hit a three-run home run over the left field wall, taking back the lead 6-3.

In the bottom of the 4th, Gulf Coast added another run, after Touchstone and McKenzie were both walked, Prosek hit another strong single to right field, bringing Touchstone home and cutting the lead to 6-4.

In the 5th inning, the Commodores kept the pressure on, after Masse was walked, and Carrington Aaron was hit by a pitch. With runners on base, Johnson smacked a hard ground ball single to right field, scoring Masse and making it a close game at 6-5.

Miami Dade answered in the top of the 6th with two more solo home runs, extending their lead to 8-5.

But Gulf Coast wasn't done yet. In the bottom of the 6th, Prosek led off with a hit to left field. Masse then crushed a deep ball to right field for a double, bringing Prosek home to narrow the score to 8-6.

The bottom of the 7th was where everything changed. Colton Wombles started things off with a single to left, then Johnson grounded into a fielder's choice, advancing Wombles to second. Touchstone was walked, putting two runners on base. Prosek stepped up and delivered the play of the day — a single to center field that scored Johnson. On the throw home, Touchstone scores on an overthrow error by the center fielder, Prosek hustle around the bases, the Sharks threw the ball away again allowing Prosek to sprint home after an error on the catcher, giving Gulf Coast a 9-8 lead.

In their final at-bat, the Commodores added one more run. Langlotz was walked, and Aaron singled to left field, moving Langlotz to third. Then, Wombles hit a fly ball that turned into a double play, but Langlotz tagged up and scored the team's 10th and final run.

The defense held strong in the final inning, and Gulf Coast walked away with a thrilling 10-8 victory over Miami Dade.

Reese Marcum collects the win for the Commodores after allowing 3 hits and zero runs over two-thirds innings, striking out four and walking two.

Ryan Apaliski collected the save, while Ezequiel Rojas and Jacob Price both appeared in relief for the Commodores.

Player Highlights:
Drew Prosek: 4-5, 4 singles, 3 RBIs
Andrew Johnson: 2-5, 2 singles, 1 RBI
Jackson McKenzie: double
Colton Masse: 1-3, double, 2 RBIs
Colton Wombles: 1-1, single, RBI
Brody Langlotz: single, RBI

Next up for the Commodores is the Double Elimination Championship Round in Port Charlotte, FL. May 9th-12th.

Friday, May 9

• Game 1: (1) Florida SouthWestern vs. (5) State College of Florida, 1 p.m. est
• Game 2: (2) Gulf Coast State vs. (6) Central Florida, 5 p.m. est

Saturday, May 10

• Game 3: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 1 p.m. est
• Game 4: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 5 p.m. est

Sunday, May 11

• Game 5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 1 p.m. est
• Game 6: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 5 p.m. est

Monday, May 12

• Game 7, if necessary, 10 a.m. est

You can watch the games on https://team1sports.com/fcsaa/ 

 Relive the excitement!  Thank you Commodore Productions for your outstanding work throughout the 2024-25 season!