My PrepZone: Jensen Beach's Corey Cooke relives state trip to remember for Falcons

Jensen Beach's baseball program had never reached a state semifinal since the school opened in 2004.

In 2022, under the direction of head coach Corey Cooke, the Falcons took flight. Winning a school record 26 games, Jensen Beach won a regional title for the first time ever to advance to state in Fort Myers at Hammond Stadium.

Defeating Dunedin 2-0 in the state semifinal, Jensen Beach came up one run short in the 4A final losing a heartbreaker to Island Coast 8-7 in eight innings.

Cooke describes the experience in Fort Myers to TCPalm with a first-person perspective of what being on the state of Florida's biggest stage of high school baseball was like.

When our team arrived at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers at 3:45 Monday, they completely focused and motivated for our 7 p.m. start.

Going through the gamut of team pictures and check-ins, we were finally allowed to hit on one of the back fields at 5:10. Little did we know, we were in for six hours of waiting under the stadium stands, getting on and off practice fields, and even traveling to and from our hotel.

I’ve heard many people comment or ask me about the difficulty of the situation. The reality was that we were happy to even be in that situation.

There were hundreds of schools who would have loved to be put into this “difficult” situation. The opportunity was there to compete for a state championship — there were no excuses and no complaining on our end.

During the delays, I would periodically walk amongst the team to check and see how the boys were doing.

My starting pitcher Chris Knier was sound asleep for most of the delay, while others listened to music or played on their phones. I remember asking our second baseman Cade Crews if he was okay and his response, “Oh you already know Coach, we are good. We will be ready.”

I could see the look in his eyes along with our other players. We were ready for whatever the night had in store for us.

When Chris Knier delivered the first pitch on the night at 11:57, he was his usual self — amazing. He threw, what our coaches thought, was his most efficient performance of the season.

Chris is just a special young man who deserves all the accolades that come his way. His great performance along with a sound offensive approach against one of the best pitchers in the state helped us to a 2-0 win and onto the state championship game.

Getting back to the hotel was a whirlwind. I knew we needed to sleep, but I could not lay down without searching for stats and videos of our next opponent. When I finally put my head down, it was past 4 a.m.

The next day, I allowed the boys to sleep in. I had them up at noon to bring their uniforms to the lobby to be washed by our amazing Diamond Club parents.

After lunch, I went to gauge our team again. I asked a visibly tired Kyle Derrenbacker how the team was doing: “We are tired coach, but we will be ready,” he said.

Throughout the day our coaches were tracking the unpredictable weather, and we knew another delay was likely.

We held the boys at the hotel, seeing that the 4 p.m. game was already delayed. When we got the word that that game would start at 6, we headed for the field.

When we were walking up to the holding area, we could read a large display on the Hammond Stadium jumbotron, LIGHTNING IN THE AREA, PLEASE SEEK SHELTER. We knew we were in for another long night.

As we reached game time, we knew going into the game that Island Coast could swing the bat.

I felt going into the game that if we held them to five runs, we would be good. I knew we would score; we just needed to throw strikes and play good defense.

Our game plan was the same as the regional final against Bishop Moore, start Kyle Derrenbacker and for him to give us what he could, then we would try to close it out with Patrick Ward.

Kyle gave us a great start and left the game in a great place for us tied 1-1. Patrick pitched his heart out. Island Coast was not the type of team to easily be shut down. Their top five hitters were outstanding.

At one point, I turned to my pitching coach John Durham and said, “There is nothing else we can throw at these guys, we just need to hope they hit it 395 feet and our outfield can run it down.”

They eventually got to us in the fifth inning with four runs, the first runs Patrick had given up all season. Our team had the opportunity to cave it in and accept their fate. However, we knew that their bullpen was just as taxed as ours.

If we could knock out their starter, we felt like we could come back. We scored a run in the fifth and then came a sixth inning we’ll remember for a long time.

When senior catcher Matt Kautz cleared the bases with a double, it was an indescribable feeling as a coach. It wasn’t only about tying the game or inching one step closer to a state championship. It was about watching a special kid spend countless hours grinding away at the tee all season because he believed in himself and believed that his time would come.

When that player comes through in THAT situation, it brings a tear to your eye. After the hit, Matt just told me, “Coach, I was due.” You’re darn right about that buddy and I’m so proud of you.

Although the moment was huge, the work was not done.

With the game tied 5-5, our boys kept at it. The confidence of Lonnie Brown in the batter’s box fired our dugout up.

The swagger of Cade Crews to drop down a second perfect bunt of the inning for a base hit had our dugout feeling like the trophy was ours.

We scored two more runs to take a 7-5 lead and were three outs away from a state championship.

As a coach, you always look back at what moves or adjustments you could have made to put your team into a better position to win a game.

I will forever second-guess pitch calls, outfield positioning, and/or strategy decisions from every game that we lose. This one is no different, and it will stay with me forever.

After all, I am the head coach and it is my burden to bear.

However, I will forever love and admire this team, our amazing coaching staff, and these players. I never thought I would seriously ever be in the position to play for a state championship to begin with.

It always seemed like a wild dream that was unobtainable. To be so close almost seems unfair, but that’s why you play the game and I am grateful for the opportunity.

When the game ended, the tears began in a way I was not expecting. Not because we lost, but because it was over.

This magical run and wonderful season with these amazing people just ended. You know it’s coming; you try to prepare yourself for it.

These people, that I have spent six days a week with for five months straight, leave your life. Whatever magic you had bottled up in that time frame is gone.

The only solace you find is that we will see each other again. This team has gone down in history as the best baseball team in the history of Jensen Beach High School.

There will be banners erected and anniversary ceremonies to attend. The stories will be shared, and laughs will be had.

These boys earned that.

And I am so happy that their memory will live on forever.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Jensen Beach's Corey Cooke describes state baseball journey for Falcons