April 30, 2025
MDCA Cruises To FHSAA Class 1A Regional Final Behind Jacob Calton’s Monster Night
By Kyle Coppola
MDCA Cruises To FHSAA Class 1A Regional Final Behind Jacob Calton’s Monster Night
MOUNT DORA, Fla. — Jacob Calton made sure Mount Dora Christian Academy punched its ticket to the FHSAA Class 1A Regional Final in emphatic fashion.
The junior slugger erupted for four hits and six RBIs, including two home runs, as MDCA overpowered their regional semifinal opponent in a lopsided victory that was all but decided by the second inning. By the time the dust settled at the bottom of the second, MDCA held a commanding 9-1 lead.
Calton wasn’t the only one swinging a hot bat. Jayden Wise, Braeden Waring, and Eli Feld each homered, giving the Bulldogs an offensive outburst few teams could match. The win propels MDCA into the final eight teams remaining in the state for Class 1A.
“Jacob has just been swinging a hot bat since the end of February and he became our three hole guy since then. He’s one of those guys who just makes those around him better. Our entire team is feeding off that right now and we have come alive offensively.” says head coach Jason Sanders.
On the mound, sophomore Alex Wise delivered a strong start, striking out six over four innings while allowing just two earned runs. Brody Robbins came on in relief and closed out the final two innings to seal the dominant win.
Now, the stakes get even higher.
MDCA will face its toughest test yet in a best-of-three regional final series against Orangewood Christian, with a trip to the Class 1A State Semifinals in Fort Myers on the line. The first two games of the series will be played at MDCA on May 5th and 6th at 7 p.m., with a decisive Game 3, if necessary, set for May 8th at Orangewood Christian.
“I think it will be a fun series against Orangewood. It’s become a rivalry in the playoffs for us when we play them. Most of the kids know each other so it will be a great series. I do want to say that I love the three-game series that the FHSAA implemented this year. It’s challenged coaches and the roster to manage games. The only thing I wish is that the State Championships could be a series as well. It’s been super enjoyable this year.” says coach Sanders.
This group is hungry and playing its best baseball of the season. There may be no team hotter than MDCA at the moment in Class 1A. Orangewood will certainly have something to say about that. It should be a fantastic series between two awesome school’s.
Regardless if MDCA wins or loses, this will be the final two home games of the season for MDCA. The winners advance to the state semifinals in Fort Myers while the season is over for the loser of this series.
Good luck to the Bulldogs!
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
