Stable of arms helped Florida become one of US’s Final Four

When the subject came up, Lake Mary, Florida was undefeated this summer. But manager Jonathan Anderson knew his team was competing against the country's best teams.

A loss was possible. If it came, his all-stars were prepared.

"If we do happen to lose a game and go into loser's bracket, we have arms to get back of out of it," Anderson said following a 6-1 win against Washington last Friday. "If it does happen we're not worried because we know we can come back."

That loss came three nights later. And then Anderson's players proved him right.

Garrett Rohozen and Lathan Norton combined on a five-hitter and struck out 11, helping Lake Mary defeat New York, 6-1 and earn a spot in Wednesday night's U.S. Semifinals against Hawaii. Highlighting what Anderson discussed, Rohozen had not pitched since the state tournament and Norton threw just one inning at the Southeast Region Tournament. But Norton has been dominant at the Series and Rohozen threw three strong innings against New York.

Those are just two of six pitchers who excelled in Lake Mary's first four Series games entering the Hawaii contest. Backing up Anderson's confidence, those pitchers all excelled, allowing just 12 hits in 23 innings, while striking out 42.

It was a similar story when Lake Mary charged through the regional tournament. Six pitchers compiled a 1.09 ERA against a loaded field and struck out 31 in 22 innings. Leading the arms race was especially crucial in Florida's rapid-fire state tournament and that pitching arsenal helped Lake Mary smoothly navigate that demanding field.

"In the Florida state tournament, we play a game on Friday, two on Saturday, and if you win your pool, you play on Sunday," Anderson said. "You need to really build a stable of arms just to get out of that tournament."

That stable of arms helped assure Lake Mary of no worse than a top four finish in the U.S. Field entering Wednesday night's game. And all six pitchers Anderson used in those first four games showcased their talent at different times.

It started in the opener when JJ Feliciano threw 5 2/3 brilliant innings of two-hit baseball in a 2-1 win against South Dakota. That came after Feliciano threw a shutout in the Southeast final. Luis Calo closed out the game, earning the save and striking out the only batter he faced.

"I's me and my catcher. I can block out all that people and hit my spots and keep them off-balance," Feliciano said. "I feel like on the mound, it was me and Landon (Bono) there."

A game later, Calo, Liam Morrisey and Norton combined on a two-hitter against Washington. Norton threw just that one inning at regionals but looked like Mariano Rivera closing out the game, retiring all seven batters he faced, five via strikeout.

Norton played a similar role Tuesday against New York and again flourished in the spot light. This time, he threw three shutout innings and struck out six. In 5 1/3 scoreless innings at the Series, Norton is 1-0 and has struck out 11.

"My approach is I go in there thinking no one can get a hit off of me and if they do it's not going to be good contact," Norton said. "I just do what I do."

"At any point I have this guy on the mound and he can win me a game if we need to," Anderson said while pointing at Norton. "You've all seen Lathan pitch. The kid knows how to shut a door better than anyone else."

Rohozen shut some doors in his three innings against New York. Pumping strikes, Rohozen relied on his fastball, throwing nothing but them except for two change-ups. That was all he needed against a potent offense, too.

Rohozen had long coveted a moment like the one he experienced Tuesday and when it came he owned it. The right-hander allowed just two hits, struck out five and walked none in his three innings. Despite not pitching in a long time, Rohozen was in his comfort zone, fanning five straight batters at one point.

"Garrett is more of a catcher, so I knew he wouldn't get too wild. I knew he'd stay around the zone," Anderson said. "He throws upper 60s. I figured they don't see that very much, so thought they'd probably be slightly late."

"I've been waiting for this moment for so long and it just felt great," Rohozen said. "It was a dream come true."

For a coach, so is having so much strength in arms.