- May 23, 2025
Seabreeze baseball players pose for an impromptu team photo with the district championship trophy. Photo by Brent Woronoff
The Sandcrabs run to the outfield fence after the game to thank tailgating fans for their support. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Jacob McKinnon sees a pitch he likes in the second inning. McKinnon went 2-for-3. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Brody Harris threw his first shutout of the season in a 15-0, four-inning victory against Belleview at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Parker Bauknecht (17) and Austin Upchurch (24) score runs during the Sandcrabs' 11-run fourth inning. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Jacob Imhoff (48) dives safely back to second base. Photo by Brent Woronoff
The Sacdrabs toss water in the air after winning the District 5-5A baseball championship with a 15-0 victory over Belleview on April 17. Photo by Brent Woronoff
The Sandcrabs hold up the district championship trophy. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Brody Harris pitched a four-inning no-hitter in the district championship game against Belleview. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Jacob McKinnon went 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Rustin Hurley takes a pitch for a ball. Photo by Brent Woronoff
The Sandcrabs celebrate with the district championship trophy after their 15-0 win over Belleview. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Cole Sager (4) and Jack Barron, holding the district championship trophy. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Seabreeze baseball coach Jeff Lemon called the Sandcrabs’ district championship game the “Jacob Show.”
Jacob Imhoff, Jacob McKinnon and Jacob Deising combined to go 5-for-7 with five runs batted in as Seabreeze crushed Belleview 15-0 in four innings to win the District 5-5A title Thursday, April 17, at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex.
“All three of those guys were killing it,” Lemon said.
But this show had more stars than the cast of “Avengers: Endgame,” with everyone providing an award-winning performance. Consider:
“Honestly, a night like this, everybody in the lineup was thriving,” Lemon said. “It was all about their mindset and commitment to the ball in the strike zone.”
Seabreeze won its second district championship in three years and is scheduled to meet Wesley Chapel in a best-of-three regional quarterfinal series. The series is a new wrinkle this year in the Florida High School Athletic Association playoff format.
The No. 4-seeded Sandcrabs host the first two games on Wednesday, April 23, and Thursday, April 24. If a third game is necessary, it will be played at No. 5 seed Wesley Chapel on Saturday, April 26.
Seabreeze’s win in the district final was its seventh in nine games to improve to 16-11. Before their 3-2, eight-inning win at Matanzas on March 28, the Sandcrabs had lost four in a row. That game was a turning point in their season, they say.
“We had a really good record, eight wins and three losses (on March 6), and then we went on a cold streak,” Harris said. “After Matanzas, we started winning again.”
They started to hold one another accountable, and that was really cool to see the team come together as young men and decide we're going to go get this. And to see them get it, it's outstanding.
— JEFF LEMON, Seabreeze baseball coach
“After that game,” Lemon said, “you could see a focus in our guys’ eyes that complacency wasn't going to get us where we wanted to go. And you could see that they started to challenge one another. They started to hold one another accountable, and that was really cool to see the team come together as young men and decide we're going to go get this. And to see them get it, it's outstanding.”
After the Sandcrabs got the final out in the top of the fourth inning to secure the win by the 15-run rule, the players showered themselves with water from their coolers. They saved a cooler to dump on their coach. They ran to the outfield fence to celebrate with tailgating fans, and they raised their trophy high in the air.
"I want a bigger trophy," Harris quipped, alluding to the approaching playoff games.
Harris, a senior, started throwing a changeup in that Matanzas game where he struck out eight in seven innings. Since then, the pitch has become a part of his arsenal.
“He’s truly invested in having a strong three-pitch mix right now,” Lemon said.
“When I throw the changeup it usually goes to (Rustin) Hurley at third base, and he makes the play,” Harris said.
Harris said his changeup was “crumbling like blue cheese.” Zweifel said his triple came off a fastball that “was like blue cheese.” Then he explained where the metaphor came from.
“Tommy (Hayes) out of nowhere, just goes, ‘My curveball has just been crumbling like blue cheese lately,’ and I don't know, it just stuck ever since,” Zweifel said.
It is one of many memories from this season that the Sandcrabs will treasure. But they want to add more.
“It was an unbelievable feeling,” Zweifel said of winning the district championship. “It is amazing. Every time I think about these seniors now I’m going to think about this district championship for the rest of my life.
“We’re going to go on and win the regionals and then win the state championship,” he added.
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