Shades of the past as Robby Martin, Jefferson head to state final four

TAMPA — The last time Jefferson High made the state baseball tournament was 1985. Tino Martinez and Luis Gonzalez were the star players and went on to have long major-league careers. The Dragons did not make it out of the semifinals that year, losing 2-1 to Miami Lakes at then-Al Lopez Park in Tampa.A generation later, Jefferson is back for another shot at winning the school's first state semifinal. This time around there is another potential major-leaguer on the roster. Robby Martin is a 6-foot-3, 190-pound outfielder who also has a 90-plus mph fastball and is the Dragons' closer.Martin, who is committed to Florida State, is the kind of player professional scouts flock to. This season he is hitting .446 with 21 RBIs, six doubles and three home runs. Aside from his freshman season, he has hit over .400 in his other three years at Jefferson."He's our offensive power guy," Jefferson coach Juan Fontela said. "He's had a great year. Actually, he's had a great career here. And nobody works harder at it than Robby." RELATED: Nature Coast's J.P. Gates doesn't need a license to smoke opponents Fontela said he received an email last week from Major League Baseball asking for footage of Martin, a sign they believe he could be drafted in the first few rounds. He is considered an above-average outfielder who can hit for average and has some power.He is not sure where he will be drafted or which team will pick him. And if he falls too deep in the draft he always has Florida State to fall back on."It's going to be a big day for sure," Martin said of draft day. "Either way, I just want to play ball. I may be a little bit nervous, but mostly it's going to be exciting. Exciting to see what's going to happen after all these years of working hard at playing baseball."Martin has at least one more game in the Jefferson uniform. And this 17-10 season, which includes a region semifinal win over rival Jesuit, has been a team effort.Junior Mike Dominguez has been the ace all season, but especially in the postseason. He is 8-3 with a 1.14 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 67 ⅓ innings. He threw a complete-game shutout against Dunnellon in his last outing.Senior A.J. Mathis has been getting on base all season, with a .462 average and a team-high 25 walks. Senior Charlie Welch leads the team with 25 RBIs and he's hitting .455. Junior Marc DeGusipe has 23 RBIs and he is the No. 2 pitcher behind Dominguez.With a .351 team average, offense has not been a problem. But the Dragons were not overly explosive in the region tournament. They got past Land O'Lakes 5-4 by scoring two runs in the top of the seventh. Then came a 2-1, eight-inning win to eliminate Jesuit.The 5-0 win over Dunnellon was the only stress-free game since the playoffs started.All of that is history. This Jefferson group has a chance at making this baseball season the best the school has ever had."This would be very big for us," Martin said. "It was our goal at the beginning of the year to get this done. We figured we had the team that could possibly do it. That 1985 team was pretty good so for us to follow them is pretty big."And if all goes as planned, it will be Martin on the mound in the final inning, slinging fastballs and closing out the game."I'm mainly an outfielder but my velocity on the mound allows me to back up Mike this year," Martin said. "I've started a few games, but I'm not really a starting pitcher. It works well with me being the closer. That's my role."At Hammond Stadium, Fort MyersClass 6A: Jefferson vs. Green Cove Springs Clay, 10 a.m. WednesdayClass 7A: Leto vs. Pace, 4 p.m. WednesdayClass 5A: Jacksonville Bolles vs. Nature Coast, 10 a.m. ThursdayClass 8A: Sarasota vs. Strawberry Crest, 10 a.m. Friday

Shades of the past as Robby Martin, Jefferson head to state final four

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