The Ida Baker Bulldogs had the Estero Wildcats staring at their first District 4A-11 defeat for five innings Tuesday night, but the last six outs proved to be most difficult.

Leading 4-0, the Bulldogs were cruising at the end of five innings when the Wildcats awakened to erase the deficit and claim an 8-4 victory.

“Estero proved they are undefeated in the district for a reason,” said Bulldogs coach Ryan Jackson. “They are a very opportunistic team. They put the ball in play.”

Junior right-hander Branden Gutierrez started on the mound for the Bulldogs (8-7, 2-3 district) and scattered four hits over five innings. Jackson sent sophomore lefty Billy Larrimore to the mound to start the sixth.

“Our goal was to throw four pitchers tonight to mix them up a bit,” said Jackson. “I planned to use Gutierrez for three innings, but he was lights-out and got through five. Estero did not hit our lefties very well the first time we played them, but it didn’t work.”

Larrimore got the leadoff batter in the sixth to ground out, but walked the next two and gave up an RBI single to Kyle Miller. Jackson brought in another lefty, Sean Brady, who walked the first batter he faced to load the bases. Zac Culverhouse drove in two runs with a single to right and Anthony Prohaska laid down a safety squeeze bunt to drive in the trying run.

The Wildcats (13-3) tacked on four more runs in the seventh inning to tag Brady (2-3) with the loss.

Matt Pearce pitched a complete game with six strikeouts for the Wildcats. He surrendered three runs on five base hits in the first inning before settling down to allow the Bulldogs just one run on three hits over the final six innings. He sat down the Bulldogs in order in five of the final six innings.

The Bulldogs get a chance to redeem themselves Thursday at Lehigh.

Estero000 004 4 – 8 10 1

Ida Baker300 010 0 – 4 8 3

W – Pearce. L – Brady (2-3).

Island Coast 11, Gateway Charter 0: Taylor Renegar and Kameron Gellinger drove in three runs apiece and F.T. Corso added two RBI with two hits to lead Island Coast’s win over District 3A-12 rival Gateway Charter.

The Gators (13-2, 3-1 district) don’t play again until March 30 at Palmetto Ridge.

Gateway000 00 – 0 6 3

Island Coast254 0x – 11 10 1

W – Harding (1-0). L – Campbell.

3B – Taylor Renegar (IC). HR – Taylor Renegar (IC).

Fort Myers 4, Cape Coral 3: Brandon Marshall pitched a complete game and hit a home run, but Cape Coral dropped a one-run decision at Fort Myers.

Mitch Marinack and Cody Carroll had two hits apiece for the Seahawks (9-5), who host Cypress Lake Friday.

Mariner 24, South Fort Myers 0: Twelve runs in their first at-bat established dominance and sparked the Tritons to victory at South Fort Myers.

Kevin Cavanagh and Walter Cleary powered the Tritons with four hits apiece. Cavanagh drove in four runs while Cleary accounted for six RBI, including a three-run home run in the second inning.

Ryan Hutson doubled and drove in two runs and Alex Santana added a two-run home run in the second inning. Tyler Bender and Charlie Klein got in on the parade of 20 hits with two hits and one RBI apiece.

Jason Carmichael pitched two innings to pick up the win and combined with Cavanagh to toss a two-hitter.

The Tritons (9-6, 3-2 district) host Lemon Bay Friday.

Mariner(12)50 07 – 24 20 1

South FM 0 00 00 – 0 2 2

W – Carmichael (3-2). L – Stanislawski.

2B – Holowell (M), Cavanagh (M), Hutson (M). HR – Santana (M). Cleary (M).

Softball

Ida Baker 12, Estero 2: Ida Baker kept its perfect season going with a 10-run victory over District 3A-11 rival Estero.

The Bulldogs sprayed 14 base hits over five innings and struck for five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to record the win.

Jessica Nuccio drive in three runs with three hits and Deniece Bent drove in three runs with two hits to lead the Bulldogs. Sierra Myers contributed three hits while Katie Rieser added two hits and two RBI and Hannah Kelly two hits and one RBI.

The Bulldogs (11-0) play at Lehigh Thursday.

Estero000 11 – 2 2 4

Ida Baker023 25 – 12 14 0

W – Peres (10-0). L – Hernandez.

2B – Rieser (IB), Kelly (IB).

North Fort Myers 16, Cypress Lake 2: North Fort Myers broke open a close game by rallying for six runs in the fourth inning, sparking a lopsided win at Cypress Lake.

Brittany Agricola and Anne Rettig drove in three runs apiece to lead the Red Knights’ 16-hit attack. Kaitlyn Grubb and Amanda Plaza contributed three hits apiece and Nykol Smith had two hits with one RBI.

The Red Knights (9-4) host South Fort Myers Friday.

North Fort Myers110 635 – 16 16 2

Cypress Lake101 000 – 2 4 5

W – Waitekus (3-1). L – O’Riley.

2B – Rettig (NFM). 3B – Agricola (NFM).

South Fort Myers 2, Mariner 1: Odd circumstances figured into all the runs as South Fort Myers stunned Mariner.

A leadoff walk followed by an attempt at a sacrifice bunt produced two runs for South in the first inning. An errant throw to second base trying for a forceout went deep in the outfield allowing both runners to score.

Carrie Grigiski singled and stole second base, then scored on a fielding error to account for the Tritons’ only run in the third inning. Grigiski pitched four innings and was charged with the loss. She and Alyssa Langdale combined to strike out 10 Wolfpack batters, but the Tritons struck out 12 times themselves.

The Tritons (9-5) host Lemon Bay Friday.

Mariner001 000 0 – 1 2 3

South Fort Myers200 000 x – 2 1 2

W – Nylander. L – Grigiski (2-5).

Island Coast 9, Gateway Charter 2: Island Coast notched its third win in a row with a District 3A-12 win over Gateway.

Darian Martin had three hits and drove in three runs to lead the Gators. Khris Mims also drove in three runs while Olivia Lugo contributed a pair of hits.

Dana Ruff (5-2) struck out five over three innings to earn the win.

The Gators (7-10) play at Palmetto Ridge Wednesday.

Gateway020 000 0 – 2 5 2

Island Coast206 001 x – 9 12 4

W – Ruff (5-2). L – Rigazio.

Girls Lacrosse

Cape Coral 18, Cypress Lake 10: Joanna Russell and Chloe Hutchins scored six goals apiece to lead Cape Coral to victory at Cypress Lake.

Alex Matos and Alana de Panfilis scored two goals apiece while Brooke Ramey and Sydney Antle added one apiece for the Seahawks.

Tennis

Match played Tuesday:

(Boys) Ida Baker 6, Riverdale 1

Singles – Quinten Armeda (R) def. Nick Boye 6-2, 7-5; Matt Harrison (IB) def. Jay Teran 6-3, 6-3; Caleb Littlestone (IB) def. Juju Rogers 6-0, 6-1; Jaryd Wydock (IB) def. Alberto Madrid 6-4, 6-0; Chris Carrillo (IB) def. Martin Villacreses 6-1, 7-5.

Doubles – Boye-Harrison (IB) def. Armeda-Teran 8-6; Littlestone-Wydock (IB) def. Rogers-Madrid 8-6.

Records: Baker 10-2.

Next Match: Tuesday, Ida Baker at Lehigh (makeup of rainout).