First Presbyterian Christian Academy beat Saint Andrews 17-6 on Tuesday to advance to the semifinals in a Georgia Independent Schools Association middle school tournament at L. Scott Stell Park in Savannah.

"This is our first year in middle school baseball and I am very proud of our team’s progress as we have hit the ball well in the tournament and have gotten great pitching out of our bullpen," head coach Chris Eason said.

FPCA established the middle school program this year to get their younger players more school ball experience and as a feeder to their varsity baseball program, which has advanced to the GISA state playoffs in the last three consecutive seasons.

FPCA’s ace pitcher James Osteen pitched the entire game and racked up nine strikeouts before the game ended in the fifth inning due to the mercy rule.

"Our eighth graders have really stepped up to the plate at the tournament and provided the necessary leadership to lead the team and hit the ball very well. In Tuesday’s game, Weston Lormis had two singles, Josh Nunn had a single, double and triple and Phillip McGowan had a double and a base clearing home run," coach Jay Osteen said. "We hate to lose these three next year but are grateful we are cultivating this type of talent to benefit our Varsity Baseball program," said coach Jay Osteen.

He said all the FPCA players are producing at the plate. Cameron Eason had two singles, James Osteen had two singles, Xavier Anderson had a single and a double, Krish Patel had a single, Austin Martin had a single, Ben Campbell had a successful bunt single and Anthony Dulski had a towering shot to centerfield that resulted in a stand up double.

FPCA will face Savannah Christian in the semifinals at 7 p.m. Monday at L. Scott Stell Park.