It always feels good to win a district title, but it feels even better to shut out the opponent in the process, which is just what the Ponte Vedra High baseball team did as they defeated the Englewood High Rams 8-0 to win the District 4-5A title.
The Sharks entered the district tournament as the top seed but had to travel to take on the No. 2-seeded Rams, but they did not let that or anything faze them throughout the tournament as they won a shootout against Orange Park High, 10-7, to advance to the title game.
The offense came alive for the Sharks during the district tournament, as they outhit the Rams 15-3 and eventually blew the game wide open with six runs combined in the fourth and fifth innings.
Storm Lickliter had an all-around stellar performance as he pitched six shutout innings with nine strikeouts and allowed just three scattered hits, while helping his own cause at the plate as well with a double on the night.
Caleb Stanton got the scoring going with an RBI double in the first inning as the Sharks grabbed a 1-0 lead, which proved all that they needed to secure the victory.
Winning a district championship is a goal that every team has on their checklist to start a season and accomplishing it makes the season a memorable one.
However, the Sharks are also looking ahead to continuing this roll by advancing in the state tournament and making a run at a state championship title as well.
The Sharks earned the No. 7 seed in their region and will travel to face Tallahassee Lincoln High in a three-game series that began in Tallahassee on Wednesday, April 23 and will continue with game two on Thursday, April 24 and game three, if necessary, on Saturday, April 26 back in Ponte Vedra.
