Baseball: Titans advance, Knights and Warriors fall in 8A-3 semifinals

WINTER GARDEN — After two ballgames at Heller Bros. Park on the campus of West Orange High School, the Class 8A District 3 Championship is set: the Olympia Titans will take on the Apopka Blue Darters on Friday at 7 p.m.

The Titans, ranked No. 1 in the nation, improved to 25-0 with a 7-1 victory over Ocoee in the first semifinal of the day with the Blue Darters edging West Orange in the night game, 4-1.

Olympia scored four runs in the bottom of the second inning to give it breathing room against the Knights (18-9). Francis Villamin had a pair of RBI to lead the way at the plate for the Titans.

Juan Hillman got the win, allowing one run over four innings while striking out 10 batters, with Nick Dearing coming on for the three-inning save.

John Warren had the lone RBI for Ocoee. The Knights had an opportunity in the top of the fifth with bases loaded and no outs but a strikeout and a double play got Olympia out of the inning and effectively ended Ocoee's comeback hopes.

In the late game, Hunter Rotarius tossed a complete game for Apopka to give the Blue Darters the 4-1 win.

Apopka, which struck first in the second inning, pushed across three more runs in the fourth inning to give itself the space it needed.

West Orange (16-10) left 11 runners on base and lost by three runs despite outhitting the Blue Darters, 8-7. With bases loaded in the top of the seventh inning, Nate Schreckengost drove in the Warriors' only run on a long sac fly that nearly left the ballpark, which would have tied the game.