Blue Wave Beat Raiders in District Semis, Play Keystone Heights for the Title.

ALACHUA---The P.K. Yonge baseball team hasn't had a 10-win season in five years. After deciding to take it up a notch and get their 11th with a 4-2 5A-5 District Semifinal win vs. Santa Fe last night, it might be a time to get a plaque ordered.

The P.K. community deserves it.

“We’ve come along way with this team this season, from the players, to the coaches, to the parents,” first-year head coach Robbie Brunson said. “It’s a complete turnaround.”

The Blue Wave struggled to turn some routine plays into outs to start, however. In the bottom-first, Santa Fe’s Dave Mitchum and Ethan Thompson both advanced home off wild pitches and mental errors. They led 2-0 by the end of the first.

P.K. senior Alex Dennis was able to notch a single to start the second, but that was the last hit allowed by the Raiders until the top of the sixth—where the Wave staged their comeback.

After the Raiders made a pitching change for Phillip Wooley, the Wave sensed an chance to capitalize off a nervous arm. P.K. freshman Danny Dawson got on base with a single. Ethan Brunson followed with a double to put men on second and third.

Enter senior Thomas Arteaga, stage left.

With his high school career on the line, Arteaga blasted a two-RBI-single to tie the game and give the Wave new life.

“I was just telling myself ‘you got to do your job’. That’s what baseball’s all about, doing your job,” Arteaga said. “I knew I had to get those two runs in if we wanted to keep this game going. … Was lucky enough to get that second run instead of just two.”

The senior admitted feeling nervous as he approached the plate, but the feeling subsided as soon as the ball cracked his bat. The top of the seventh is where the Wave broke free.

After Cory Troiano and Austin Sutton managed to hop on second and third, Dawson saw red and boomed a two-RBI-double to cash in a two-run lead. Dawson said he couldn't let the magnitude of the moment get to him.

“It was easily the biggest game of the season. I was just looking to get a win any way we possibly could,” Dawson said.

Despite the Raiders’ hot start, Wave junior Marco Rennia was able to pitch a complete game while only allowing three hits the entire night. The coaching staff never lost their trust in Rennia, even in the game’s tightest moments.

“He told me he could go,” coach Brunson said of his ace. “I have complete faith in him and he said his arm wasn't bothering him, at all. He said he wanted to finish it.”

Rennia called the win the biggest in recent history, but he said to get an even bigger win on Thursday, his squad will have to tap into a new level of teamwork. Distractions have proven to be the least of his worries.

“I knew (the crowd) was talking a lot, yelling at me, but i wasn't paying attention to it at all. Just tried to focus on my catcher and do what I do best,” Rennia said.

Rennia will have to regain that focus on Thursday when they face Keystone Heights for the district championship at 7:00 pm. Arteaga said it’s been a dream of his to beat his nemesis in the title game. After losing 8-7 in their last matchup on April 4, coach Brunson feels like their beatable—barring the Wave comes out the gate, hungry.

But for the young Dawson, nothing would be sweeter than to see his mentors go out with gold.

“(The seniors) have treated me so great, this season,” Dawson smiled. “I only want to see them happy and succeed. They’ve been great leaders for me.”