CFCA, Foundation baseball to meet with playoff berth on the line

The baseball teams for Foundation Academy and Central Florida Christian Academy have played twice already this season, splitting the regular-season series.

The two district rivals, sitting just 10 miles apart in Winter Garden and Ocoee, will play a third time in 2015 — this time, with everything on the line. The Lions (6-10, 3-3 in 2A-4) will host the Eagles (8-15, 3-3 in 2A-4) in the No. 2 vs No. 3 semifinal of the Class 2A District 4 tourney at 4:30 p.m. April 20. 

The winner advances to the district championship on April 23, again at Foundation and secures a berth in the FHSAA Class 2A State Playoffs — making for a true winner-takes-all affair.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” CFCA coach Larry Oldham said. “Foundation is a very good team; they’re a classy coaching staff and school. It’s always fun to play against them in big games like this.”

Foundation took the first matchup, a 5-2 win at the school’s Winter Garden campus, with CFCA scoring an extra-innings victory when the teams met in Ocoee. Both teams swept The First Academy-Leesburg, the district’s No. 4 seed, and were swept by top-seeded Trinity Christian.

Both teams are also young — the Lions do not have any seniors on their roster — and have struggled as the season has progressed.

“It’s big because we’re lacking in maturity in the game, and we’re trying to learn how to compete,” coach Brent Casteel said. “I’m proud of the guys that are here — they’re really trying to step up and get the job done.”

Whichever team emerges victorious Monday not only will gain a playoff berth but also some momentum because both programs are in rebuilding mode around young cores.

CFCA, which just two years ago had an imposing pitching staff anchored by four seniors, has lacked an ace in the traditional sense this spring and relied heavily on underclassmen on the mound. The lack of dominant pitching has led to lots of balls being put in play, and that has exposed the holes in the Eagles’ defense, something Oldham hopes to shore up in time for Monday’s game.

However things shakes out, Monday’s game should make for quite an atmosphere as the previous two contests have drawn strong crowds.

“We’ll see what happens on Monday — we’ve got a great chance of making this thing happen,” Casteel said. “We’re very excited. … We had a great crowd the first time we played them, so we’re really looking forward to it.”

Contact Steven Ryzewski at [email protected]