Brooks-DeBartolo in 2A baseball semifinals today

Conventional thinking says this shouldn't be happening.

A baseball team in its third season of existence and playing every game on the road finds itself two wins away from a state title.

That's the story of Brooks-DeBartolo Collegiate High.

The team loaded its charter bus Thursday morning — the path lined on each side by cheering students, clad in maroon and gold — for a trip to Port St. Lucie's Digital Domain Stadium.

The Phoenix face Maitland Orangewood Christian (32-1) today in the Class 2A state semifinals at 10 a.m. The winner advances to the state title game Saturday against the Miami Westminster Christian-Tallahassee North Florida Christian winner.

"Some things you can't put into words, and this is one of those moments," said Brooks-DeBartolo co-founder and former Buccaneer Derrick Brooks as he stood in front of the charter bus.

When Brooks-DeBartolo baseball coach Donnie Oliver assembled the schedule, he did so with the postseason in mind. The Phoenix entered the prestigious Tony Saladino Tournament and later faced the likes of IMG Academy, Plant City and Tampa Catholic, to name a few.

The squad, with just four seniors, took its lumps, but then something happened — and it wasn't only apparent to Oliver.

During the game at IMG's Bradenton complex, Coastal Carolina baseball coach Gary Gilmore, there to watch his two signees, Adam Eggnatz and Javier Reynoso, saw the Phoenix (14-14) lose to IMG, 7-3.

Seven weeks later, Gilmore returned to witness Brooks-DeBartolo's 14-1 victory against Lakeland Christian in the opening round of the playoffs.

"He said we're a whole different ball team," Oliver said of Gilmore. "The kids, they believe now. I think once they started believing and working harder at practice, they started turning it around."

Here's another program oddity: Two former players have been drafted. J.D. Williams and his older brother, outfielder Reggie Williams Jr., were each 10th-round selections in 2010. J.D. was picked by the Minnesota Twins, while Reggie, who was at Middle Georgia College, was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals.

The attention the program has received from college coaches and MLB scouts can be attributed to Reggie Williams Jr., according to Oliver. Williams stole 61 bases as a senior at Brooks-DeBartolo in his only high school season.

"I just played hard every time I went out," Williams said. "Even though I knew scouts were there, I played hard and acted like they weren't there. I just tried to help the other guys too, pick them up when they were down."

If Brooks-DeBartolo advances to Saturday's championship game, Williams Jr., said he will watch his alma mater in person.

He is almost obligated to since his dad, Reggie Williams Sr., is an assistant and Reynoso is his stepbrother.

And then there is once-beaten Orangewood Christian. The Rams have hit 84 home runs this season and are led by Dante Bichette Jr., son of former major-leaguer Dante Bichette. Dante Jr. is hitting .640 with 40 RBIs, 14 doubles and 10 homers.

"They remind me of Lakeland Christian and IMG," Oliver said. "We beat Lakeland Christian and we had a chance to beat IMG, but we made a couple mistakes. If Javi pitches like Javi can pitch, I think we'll have a chance to beat Orangewood Christian. Yeah, Dante Bichette's son plays on the team. Yeah, they have 84 home runs as a team, but they put their pants on just like we put our baseball pants on, so we're going to go out there between the lines and give it everything we've got."

edaniels@tampatrib.com

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