Carson Sands Leads N. Florida Christian To 3A Championship

North Florida Christian left-handed starter Carson Sands tossed a 1-0 shutout against Coral Springs Christian Academy in a Class 3A state semifinal played at jetBlue Park in Fort Myers Wednesday morning. Sands went the distance on 85 pitches, scattering six hits and a walk while recording five strikeouts.

The Eagles (25-4) will face Orangewood Christian in the 3A state championship, after the Rams also advanced with an 8-0 shutout over the Canterbury Cougars.

The Crusaders had some chances against Sands in connecting for six hits, but were unable to get the one big hit that could have tied things up. The southpaw pounded the zone by throwing 57 of his pitches for strikes and did not fall behind any batters.

“It’s hard to be perfect when a guy is throwing 90 to 92,” Crusaders manager Matt Cleveland said. “I thought we hit the ball well. Their guy, to his credit, was in the zone and he didn’t give us anything.”

North Florida Christian scored the lone run of the contest in the bottom of the second inning. JD Huggins lined a two-out single into the outfield and advanced to second base when the ball got past the fielder. Ethan Michaelis capitalized by smacking a 2-0 pitch up the middle for the RBI single that was all the difference.

Countering Sands’ great performance was the equally impressive pitching from Crusaders starter Eric Hepple. The right-hander also went the distance, pounding the strike zone on 39 of his 61 total pitches. Hepple scattered four hits and also hit three batters, striking out a pair and keeping Coral Springs Christian (23-8) right in the game all the way to the very end.

The Eagles’ defense was not called on often with Sands in control, but they responded admirably when they were needed. First baseman Jacob Dulworth turned an unassisted double play in the fourth and they did not commit any errors.

The defense came up with its biggest play in the bottom of the first inning. Touki Toussaint singled and gave way to a courtesy-runner, who advanced when Benito Santiago grounded into a fielder’s choice. Hepple then connected for a shot deep into the outfield, sending the runner racing around third and heading home. Catcher Jared Barnes received the throw in time to lay down the tag.

The Crusaders only threatened with runners in scoring position twice more. Both times Sands responded by striking out the final batter to end the inning.

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