St. John Neumann baseball two wins from first state title since 1985

NAPLES, Fla. (WINK) — St. John Neumann baseball is two wins away from its first state championship since 1985.

The Celtics head into Thursday’s Class 1A state semifinal with a 20-13 record after surviving two tough regional series. Neumann battled back to beat Evangelical Christian, then took down reigning state champion Canterbury to earn its spot in the final four.

Head coach Charlie Maurer said the Celtics have gotten hot at the right time.

“This time of year, you gotta be playing your best baseball,” Maurer said. “And I think right now, we're playing our best baseball.”

Maurer credits this run in part to Neumann’s mental toughness, built through a difficult regular-season schedule and several tough losses.

“They got to get beat, they got to get beat up,” Maurer said. “And they've got to learn how to come back the next day and figure out how to win against a tough opponent.”

Senior Gus Fusco said the Celtics have learned to move on quickly and keep fighting.

“We just got to keep doing our thing,” Fusco said. “We've been pretty hot lately with the bats, and we just got to strike first, keep throwing punches every inning.”

For Fusco, this week is the kind of moment every late night and long practice has been building toward.

“That would be awesome,” Fusco said. “We put in so much work. We practice five days a week. We leave here sometimes at 8 o'clock. I mean, I've just been working my whole life to get to this moment.”

St. John Neumann faces Orangewood Christian on Thursday at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers. The winner advances to Saturday’s Class 1A state championship game.