Baseball: Class 4A state semifinal breakdown — May 23

All games are played at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers. Tickets are $12 and are available via GoFan. Parking is $10 for cars and $50 for buses (cash only).  

Class 4A

Dunedin (22-8) vs. Jensen Beach (25-4), 7 p.m., today

How they got here: Dunedin d. Wesley Chapel 3-1, d. Parrish Community 9-1, d. Hernando 4-1. Jensen Beach d. Titusville Astronaut 13-1, d. Lakeland McKeel Academy 4-0, d. Orlando Bishop Moore 5-0. 

Stat leaders
CategoryDunedinJensen Beach
Batting averageTrey Beard, .353Patrick Gillen, .429
Home runsTwo tied with two. Patrick Ward, 5
RBIsAJ Shelton, 18Patrick Ward, 32
ERATrey Beard, 0.60Chris Knier, 1.10
StrikeoutsTrey Beard, 128Chris Knier, 77
Outlook

In his first full season as coach, Brett McCarty guided the Falcons to a return trip to the state semifinals. Dunedin enters on a five-game win streak and has outscored opponents by a combined 36-3 during that streak. The success is due in large part to stelar pitching staff, led by ace Trey Beard. The Florida Atlantic commit has already set the school record for strikeouts in a season with 128, a total that also ranks as the state’s best this season. This should be a low-scoring game between two teams ranked in the top three in the class by MaxPreps (Dunedin is No. 3 and Jensen Beach is No. 2). After reaching the region quarterfinals last season, Jensen Beach improved its postseason performance by making the state semifinals for the first time in Corey Cooke’s eight seasons as coach. Patrick Ward, who is expected to join Beard at Florida Atlantic, was the Treasure Coast Player of the Year after hitting five home runs this season. But do not expect too much offensive fireworks. Jensen Beach has posted three shutouts and allowed just two runs during its current five-game win streak.