Baseball Poised for State Tournament Beginning Sunday

Pitching is a big reason why the Eastern Florida State College baseball team was able to clinch a spot in the NJCAA District/FCSAA Tournament.

And if the Titans are going to succeed, they'll need another big effort from their staff – along with some timely hitting.

The Titans (32-16), ranked No. 7 in the latest NJCAA Region 8 coaches' poll, will open the double-elimination tournament against nationally No. 1-ranked Santa Fe (38-7) at 7 p.m. Sunday at Henley Field in Lakeland.

The game will be webcast live at http://thefcsaasports.com/championships/fcsaa_baseball_tournament

"We're going to have to execute," EFSC coach Jeff Tam said. "We're going to have to bunt. We're going to have to move runners. In games of those magnitude, some two-out hits with runners in scoring position are going to be a huge key.

"We've got to work ahead (in the count) and compete in the strike zone and make quality pitches."

Tam would not name his starting pitcher for Sunday's game, but he has several quality options, including Blair Calvo. The sophomore right-hander went 6-1 with a 0.97 ERA that was the best in the nation this season.

That earned him Southern Conference Pitcher of the Year and first-team All-SC honors.

Jacob Walsh (11) and lefty Matthew Myers (11) also made double-digit starts for EFSC and are part of staff that is one of the strengths of this year's team.

"Absolutely. They've kept us in a lot of baseball games," Tam said. "They've done a great job up to this point. We're hoping to keep them rested, but yet sharp so when we walk into that state tournament, they're ready to rock and roll at 100 percent."

Also making first-team all-conference for the Titans were center fielder Manny Rodriguez, catcher Luis (Jay) Ciuro, shortstop Vinny Capra, second baseman Norberto Navarro and right fielder Sammy Duran.

Infielder John Capra, first baseman Ruben Garcia and pitcher Gian Jimenez were all named to the second team.

Although the Titans batted .326 and averaged around 6.5 runs a game for the season, the team's offense wasn't its usual self down the stretch.

"We pitched well," Tam said. "We did not produce a lot of runs offensively the way we did early in the year. But you know, the pitching gets tougher, so you've got to do the little things to finish games."

As the Titans head to Lakeland, they know a tough regular-season schedule that included conference games against Broward College, Miami-Dade College, Palm Beach State and Indian River State, along with non-conference opponents such as No. 3 Polk State, have prepared them well for what's to come.

"We've competed well against these teams," Tam said. "It's going to take a little bit more of an elevated game, and no mistakes to get over there and win some baseball games."