LIONS ROAR TO FIRST EVER REGIONAL APPERENCE

St. Andrews Senior Center Fielder Courtney Brooks has a whopping .471 batting average, has crossed the plate 43 times, connected 32 times, belted two home runs and knocked in 34 RBI’s, all while striking out only six times helping the Lions win the school's first-ever District Title in any sport.

May 5, 2017 – Fort Pierce, FL - When Andy Wells took over the St. Andrews Baseball program this year as head coach he didn’t know what to expect. This would be the small private school’s first year of eligibility for Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) district play. He was stepping in for not only the school’s Athletic Director but a long-time friend and college teammate at IRSC, Jason Fletcher.

“We just wanted to be competitive and maybe win a few games here and there” recalls Wells.

Wells appointed Fletcher as the team's pitching coach and win a few games these Lions did – to say the least!

The 2-A team started the season with nine straight wins before finally dropping a game to powerhouse 8A school Fort Pierce Central. And for the rest of the spring, they only dropped two more games, one to another powerhouse school (Lincoln Park Academy) and just a single district loss.

The Lions team made school history by winning not just the schools very first District Playoff Game, but the school’s first ever District Championship and they will now host the school’s first-ever FHSAA Regional Playoff Game later this week.

So just how did this team come together and take over Treasure Coast Baseball?

It all starts with the fundamentals, hitting, baserunning, fielding, and pitching – something that Wells and his staff preach at every practice, before every game, during each game and after each game.

At the plate, the Lions have been nothing less than amazing. The team batting average of .337 is 26^th best in all of Florida, 7^th best in Class 2A and number one on the Treasure Coast.

Senior Center Fielder Courtney Brooks leads the way with a whopping .471 batting average, has crossed the plate 43 times, connected 32 times, belted two home runs and knocked in 34 RBI’s, all while striking out only six times.

Senior flame thrower and shortstop Lee Kubitscheck has a .398 batting average this spring with 46 runs, 35 hits and 26 RBI’s and has struck out only six times this spring.

Underclassman Steven Stagg leads the team with 37 RBI’s and is batting .391 with 27 hits, while Matt Gustin has scored 38 runs accounted for 21 RBI’s and has a .355 batting average.

Enter in Brandon O’Shea and Nick Hardman who are batting over .300 with a combined 50 runs scored and a combined 35 RBI’s and it’s easy to see why this team is ranked so high in Class 2A.

St. Andrews pitcher Lee Kubitscheck has had an all star year helping the Lions to the number one ranking in all of Class 2A for the lowest Earned Run Average.

But on the mound, is where these Lions shine. And it’s no wonder as Pitching Coach Jason Fletcher, who still holds all-time records at IRSC for most wins in a season, most career wins and lowest ERA brings his teaching skills to his young players. Fletcher, who pitched in the 2004 College World Series for the University of South Carolina credits the team’s success to the team’s attitude of being a part of a family.

“We are a family and every member of this family had something to contribute this year”, Fletcher tells Treasure Coast Sports Journal.

St. Andrews is ranked number one in Florida Class 2A for the lowest ERA, 40^th statewide and second on the Treasure Coast by only nine-tenths of a percent to LPA. The team is tied for second statewide for no-hitters thrown this season and ranked seventh in Class 2A for strikeouts.

With the Lions only losing one pitcher next year they appear to be stacked and ready to roll with several experienced flame throwers.

Kubitscheck has been the anchor this year, as would be expected of any senior. He threw 55 of the teams 147 innings (37.8%), accounted for 44% of the team’s strikeouts (55 out of 125) and allowed only 14 walks (17.9% of the teams 78). Putting those numbers in perspective, opposing batters only walked 5.4% of the time they faced him, struck out 21.2% of the time and had a hit only 22.6% of their plate appearances.  

O’Shea, who tossed 39 innings has a stellar 1.44 ERA, leading all pitchers who have thrown 20 or more innings, allowing just 11 runs, fanning 51, walking 25 and giving up 15 hits.

Add to the mix the likes of Matthew Gustine (who saw limited time with a shoulder injury this season), Kyle Schammn, Nick Hardman (eighth grade) and Stephen Stagg who have a combined average ERA of 3.13, 14.8 strike outs, 9.5 walks and just 7.3 hits allowed and you can see why Fletcher smiles from ear to ear when talking about his future pitching staff.

For St. Andrews Coach Andy Wells this is his third straight trip to the Regionals. His impressive coaching style has brought him back to back District Title at two different Treasure Coast area High Schools.

Wells has a strong following of former players who have gone on to have much success both on the diamond and off. One example is last year’s Treasure Coast Sports Journal Student-Athlete of the Year Chase Solesky who is having an amazing year himself at Division One school Tulane University.

“Coach Well's success comes as no surprise. As a first-year head coach at St. Andrews he did a phenomenal job taking his group from the bottom to the top. He knows how to coach, which is a lot more than teaching someone how to catch, throw, and hit; he knows what it takes to earn the respect of his players. I’ve never played for a coach that I had more fun playing for or had more respect for. It's well known that if a player respects his coach, they will run through a brick wall for him. In my time playing for Coach Well's I would run through a brick wall any day that ends in Y for him. In this regard his success is easy to understand, nevertheless, It's amazing to see how far he and his team have come and are going”, said Solesky.

With all eyes on this week’s Regional quarterfinal, one has to wonder what is going through the mind of Wells, who coached John Carroll all the way to the State Final Four last year.

“The goal is always a State Championship, but really, we just want to be competitive, just want to have some fun playing the game we love. We could not be more proud of these kids no matter what happens from here on out. They have exceeded all our expectations”, said Wells.