Winning a state championship is the pinnacle of only a few high school athletes career. For Melbourne Central Catholic’s baseball team, they won one for the ages down in Ft. Myers. In this week’s Athlete of the Week, Despina Barton introduces us to Zach Beolet and how the junior put together a clutch performance on the state’s biggest prep stage:

• Zach Beolet had 3 RBI's during State Tournament in Ft. Myers
• Helped guide MCC to it's 2nd State Baseball Championship
• Melbourne Central Catholic closed out 2019 season with a 25-6 record

For the last 12 years Zach Beolet has been preparing himself for this moment.

The junior first baseman for Melbourne Central Catholic mustered up multiple critical at bats in the 5A State Championship game.

“There were opportunities with people on base and I knew I had to get the job done,” Beolet said of stepping into the batter’s box.

“Before I got into the box I talked to myself about what I needed to do and how I needed to get the job done.”

And it worked. Beolet drove in three total runs during the state tournament and in the final, against Cardinal Gibbons, got on base in extra innings to become one of three runners to cross home and give the Hustlers the victory. 

“He had a heckuva (game),” MCC Head Coach Tom Dooley said. “Not just offensively but defensively. He played tremendously. And there are so many guys who could be considered player of the week…but none more deserving than Zach.”

The celebration on the field, alongside his teammates, is a moment Beolet says he’ll never forget. 

“We all bought in as a team,” Beolet added. “And doing it with a group of guys that you love and everything it just means the world.”

For Head Coach Tom Dooley, who has been at MCC for 31 seasons, he now has two state championships to his name and credits this group’s success to the team’s grittiness.

“This is a totally different group,” Dooley explained. “That 2013 group was very talented, this group here found a way through other means to be successful.

“We are going to have to be scrappy and take advantage of our opportunities and don’t worry about how we look, worry about the end result.”

With that mentality the team won it all in class 5A. Closing out their 2019 season with a record of 25-6.

This team is set for success in the future, only graduating seven off this team and Beolet coming back next year for his senior campaign.

“It’s a lot of young guys, we are planning on hitting the weight room a lot this summer so we can be ready for next year but I think we will do well…we are going to be a scrappy team and get the job done.”