The Ponte Vedra Sharks baseball squad won the District 4-5A championship with a convincing 10-0 victory in six innings over Englewood High in front of the home faithful on May 4.
The Sharks wasted little time as they jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with a couple of runs in the first inning and then continued to pile it on with two runs in the third, four in the fourth and a pair in the sixth.
Junior Caden Eidam had a stellar night at the plate going three-for-four with a triple, two RBIs and two runs scored. It was Eidam’s fourth triple of the season, which is a new school record.
Sophomore Jack Ottesen also had two hits including a triple and drove in a team-high three of the Sharks’ 10 runs in the contest.
The Sharks chewed up the basepaths all game long and finished with a third triple, as junior Nathaniel Wicker got in on the extra base action.
Junior Matt Hoag controlled things for the Sharks on the mound, as he allowed no runs and no hits in 5 1/3 innings, while just walking two batters and striking out 11.
Hoag set the school record during the contest with 87 strikeouts in a season.
Senior Eric Anderson came in and got the last two outs, both strikeouts to close the door on the win.
The Sharks’ path to the district title included having a bye in the first round of the district tournament after entering as the No. 1 seed and then defeating Riverside High 17-2 in the semifinals May 2.
The Sharks outhit the Generals 12-4 in the game as Ottesen drove in three runs and sophomore Austin O’Hara had a perfect night with hits in all three of his plate appearances.
With the district championship, the Sharks clinched a spot in the state playoffs, however, they lost 12-6 to Ridgeview High on the road in the regional quarterfinal May 9.
