Bishop Moore baseball overcomes adversity to make state

Bishop Moore baseball overcomes adversity to make state
Joe Skinner was in the Bishop Moore dugout when the Hornets hosted Olympia in a high school baseball game on Monday, February 29, 2016. Two months later, Skinner died after a battle against leukemia. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda / Orlando Sentinel)

Moviegoers would be in tears by now watching Bishop Moore's baseball season unfold on the big screen.

But even Hollywood would have a hard time weaving in all the storylines that unfolded in the Hornets' run to the Class 5A state tournament.


As if a rash of injuries wasn't reason enough to lower expectations, it seemed the death of senior Joe Skinner, the heart and soul of the team and its most valuable player a year ago, would surely be too much to overcome.

Yet the team has persevered in what is shaping up to be a miraculous journey in the face of adversity.

Bishop Moore (20-10), in the final four for the first time since 2012, faces Miami Monsignor Pace (27-4) in a state semifinal on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers.

No matter how the final scene plays out on the field this week, the path to this point has left a life-changing imprint on all involved.

"This is the year of us coming together as a program," Bishop Moore coach Tony Mehlich said. "[The players] have put our program on the map for the right reasons. It's for family. It's for community. It's for giving back and helping others. They have that ability to take hardship and roll with it and understand that there's times to mourn and a time to play."

Mehlich, 31, summoned the team to the ballpark the morning of Skinner's passing, just three days prior to their final home game of the year — a region semifinal against rival Lake Highland Prep.

They hugged, they cried, they practiced as planned in memory of Skinner, a UCF signee who had battled leukemia since December.

"He's been a rock through all of this, telling us that we're a great baseball team and how we're going to get through this together," senior Rigsby Mosley said of Mehlich. "It's been hard to fathom about Joe and all the injuries we've had."

The second-year coach has instructed with compassion, opting for words of encouragement when things go awry for a largely inexperienced group forced to patch holes in a lineup stung by a total of eight injuries or illnesses.

Mosley suffered a fractured wrist in a preseason game and Mikey Giordano had a knee scoped following the opening day of tryouts. Both were starting pitchers for a 2015 region runner-up team.

"Everybody has kind of jumped on board and realized that we've got to stay together as a team," Giordano said. "The teams that are closest are the ones that really go the furthest."

The Hornets had been motivated by the idea of adding Skinner's name, alongside their own, next to the other final four squads that adorn the accomplishment wall at the entrance to their home field. Now they long to finish the crusade.

Because of the team's focus, it's been easy to have an even-keel outlook from the dugout when considering what the coach has experienced outside of it.

Mehlich's mom moved the family to Orlando from Miami's Kendall area when he was 12 years old, six years after the murder of his father.


A former Hornets' pitcher and 2003 graduate, Mehlich seemed destined to return to his alma mater as a coach. He soon enlisted the help of his brother, Mikey, an 11th round selection by the Atlanta Braves in 2006. They'll finish the season together before the younger Mehlich leaves for a new job in Minnesota.

Mehlich somberly stepped down after two seasons as head coach at Orlando University in 2010, a team that featured Miami Marlins pitcher Justin Nicolino. That decision came on the eve of his son undergoing the first of three heart surgeries just a month after being born.

It was discovered that Mason, 4, was born with only half of a heart. His body relies on the left side of the organ to do all the work and has since been the inspiration for the family's non-profit We Heart You Foundation.

It's life experiences such as these that caused Skinner's leukemia diagnosis, and eventual passing, to weigh so heavily on Mehlich as a dad and father figure. And it's Bishop Moore's faith-driven community that's inspired the belief that Skinner hasn't gone very far.

"There have been so many moments the past two games without Joe that our kids have felt that he is with us," Mehlich said.

Bobby Spitulski, who stepped into the leadoff and third baseman role vacated by Skinner, raised goose bumps when he drove in two runs vs. Lake Highland in that emotional 3-1 win of May 3. Giordano, who spearheaded fundraising efforts for Skinner, retired the final batter with the only ball that had "Skinner Strong" scribbled on it among the five being held by the home plate umpire.

All of this as Skinner's senior picture projected from the football field's video screen in the distance.

A week later the Hornets overcame an early deficit at The Villages to celebrate a 9-2 win to advance to the 5A final four.

"Baseball has been home for us, it's the only thing that's kind of stayed stable with everything that's gone on," senior Eric Forbrick said. "If feels like we're a family right now and that nothing's going to bring us down at this point."

A win would advance the Hornets to Thursday's televised 7:35 championship game (Bright House Sports Network Ch. 47, HD 1147).

Admission is $9 per day with parking $10 per car.