Five weeks ago, Dunedin’s baseball program was in transition.
Falcons coach Ron Sexton, who led the team to the state final in 2019, was dismissed by the school’s administrators for not following proper district procedures on a bus trip to Sanford for a spring break tournament.
The coaching change happened April 19. The rest of the staff remained with Kevin Kearns becoming the interim coach.
Before completely turning the page on the Sexton era, the players were searching for ways to send him off the right way. They wore T-shirts underneath their Dunedin jerseys with the name Donnie Baker, the comedic character Sexton portrays in skits for the Tom and Bob syndicated radio show.
But they knew the best way to honor Sexton — and salvage their season — was to win.
That is just what the Falcons did. Entering Monday’s Class 4A state semifinals, Dunedin had reeled off eight straight victories. The streak helped the Falcons make their second straight semifinal appearance and third in the past years.
And they came oh-so-close to reaching the final, losing 7-6 in nine innings.
Through two innings, Dunedin was near flawless. They had nine hits and built a 5-0 lead.
It didn’t last.
North Broward Prep chipped away at the deficit, eventually tying the game at 5 and sending it into extra innings. The Falcons took the lead again on an RBI single by Marcs Brodil. The Eagles came right back to tie it — again — in the bottom of the eighth.
An inning later, North Broward Prep won in walkoff fashion.
In all, Dunedin had 13 hits, including three each by Brodil and Noah Bukolt and two each by Trey Beard, Jessiah Branch and Greyson McNeill.
North Marion 4, Nature Coast 1
For one inning, everything went perfect for Nature Coast in Monday’s Class 4A state semifinal game.
Sharks starter Justin Montanez retired the side in the first, including two via strikeouts. In the bottom half of the inning, Nature Coast generated some offense.
Zeth Rodriguez led off with a walk, advanced to second on a fielder’s choice by Collin Nelson, moved to third on a single by Montanez and scored on a fielder’s choice by Brian Erb for a 1-0 lead.
One inning. One hit. One run.
Trouble was, it turned out to be the only run — and hit — the Sharks would produce.
North Marion starter Wyatt Cambell bore down, shutting Nature Coast hitters down the rest of the way. He lasted 6 ⅔ innings before leaving because the maximum number of pitches (105) allowed in a game. By then, the Colts already had a comfortable three-run.
It stayed that way as Karson Smith came in for the final out to beat the Sharks 4-1.
The loss snapped Nature Coast’s five-game streak and ended its hopes of playing in the state final for the first time in school history.
