Resilient Sunset baseball team’s remarkable turnaround season ends with walk-off loss

First, Miami Sunset’s baseball team learned how to win.

Then, the Knights turned winning into a thrill ride for their fans with numerous dramatic, odds-defying victories, surpassing even their own expectations.

The Knights’ first appearance at the state final four on Friday night at Hammond Stadium had all the makings of another memorable milestone.

Two comebacks and a tie game potentially headed to extra innings.

But this time, the magic ran out.

North Marion catcher Bobby Gottuso ripped a line drive to left field to score first baseman Jake Tompkins and end the Knights’ storybook season with a 5-4 walk-off loss in a Class 4A state semifinal.

“We’re fighters and we fought to the end,” said Sunset pitcher Andres “Pupi” Gonzalez, who started the game. “Unfortunately, we got walked off. But we fought to the end and we always compete to try and win.”

The Knights won only one in 32 games over their previous two seasons.

When this season started, their “realistic goals” were to try to win perhaps five or six games.

Sunset ended up winning 17 games.

They made it to the GMAC tournament for the first time. They made it to regionals for the first time since 2013 and only the second time ever.

As the No. 6 seed in Region 4-4A, the Knights upset No. 3 Jensen Beach on the road, rallied from a 5-1 deficit to walk-off No. 7 St. Brendan at home where they went 11-1 this year, and stunned No. 1 Key West on the road.

“I did not think we’d make it this far but the way that Coach (Julio Mendoza) made us come together as a team was perfect,” said catcher Nick Rodriguez, who returned late in the season from a labrum injury. “It was a great game and I wouldn’t wanna lose any other way. I’d rather get walked off than blown out. Tough way to end it. It sucks, but we had a great year though.”

Sunset’s great year almost had a chance to continue thanks to more resilience.

With ace Johan Hidalgo unavailable after throwing 106 pitches in his start against Key West on Tuesday night, Gonzalez started and gave up a solo homer on the game’s second at-bat to Colts senior Cooper Jones, and an RBI single to Tompkins.

Sunset would rally in the top of the second on back-to-back RBI singles by Daniel Reyes and Hidalgo.

Jones, who has 14 home runs this season, would crush another pitch from Gonzalez over the right field fence to put North Marion (26-5) ahead 4-2. But again, the Knights answered immediately as Miguel Gonzalez doubled to score Rodriguez and pinch runner Justin Mendoza scored on a wild pitch.

But the Knights spent the rest of the game failing to get the go-ahead run across against Colts starter Hunter Jones, who recorded 13 strikeouts.

“We’re a good hitting team and each one of our teammates would give each other good advice and we had good energy in the dugout and that completely changed the game for us,” Rodriguez said.

Sunset also committed four errors in the game, which contributed to the early deficits.

“These boys are resilient. We didn’t play our best game today and we were still in it until the last out,” Mendoza said. “Our boys have prepared for these moments and they’re built for the excitement and the hype of this moment.

“The goal now is to compete for this every year. It’s hard to get here and even harder to win it. But the goal is to be this good and enough years of getting here we’re bound to win one.”

The Knights will have some rebuilding to do with 13 seniors on the roster. But Rodriguez believes the returning core of players has what it takes to build off this year’s unexpected success.

“I’ll have to think about what to tell the younger guys, but I will think of something and I’ll tell them that I hope they keep the culture we created at Sunset,” Rodriguez said.