John Carroll Catholic heads to 3A regional final; South Fork ousted

John Carroll Catholic's Braden Calise struck out four over 6 1/3 innings and added two hits and an RBI to lead the Rams past Sarasota Cardinal Mooney 6-2 Tuesday to advance to a 3A regional final.

A three-run third inning gave the Rams some breathing room for Calise, a Louisville signee.

"It was a great win, these guys got it done in a hostile atmosphere and I couldn't be more proud of them," John Carroll head coach Dave Parra said.

John Carroll went ahead in the first inning after Calise's RBI groundout brought in Matt Correa, who led off the game with a triple.

The Rams (17-10) scored three times in the third, manufacturing runs, including Jay Allen scoring on a balk and a sacrifice fly from Gavin Nagy.

They were able to overcome Cardinal Mooney ace Jaden Stockton, a Florida State commit.

Correa finished 2-for-2 with a double Allen, a Florida signee, went 1-for-2 with a double and an RBI for John Carroll.

Calise scattered nine hits and issued three walks to go with his four strikeouts.

Marcos Gamboa closed the door for the Rams, picking up the final two outs as John Carroll is likely to get a home game in the regional final against Boca Raton St. John Paul Academy on May 19.

Region 4-5A

Eau Gallie 10, South Fork 0 (6 innings)

A three-run home run from Eau Gallie's Brandon Bragg in the second inning gave Eau Gallie an early lead it never relinquished in ending South Fork's season.

The Commodores scored four more times in the third and starting pitcher Garrett Smith five shutout innings, striking out four.

South Fork wraps up their season with a 9-14 record.