Jolly still waiting for win No. 400 after Carolina Forest baseball’s loss to Narbonne (Calif.)

Jack Jolly had to wait at least one more day to reach his personal milestone.

The Carolina Forest coach was left one shy of 400 victories for his career after Monday’s 2-0 loss to Narbonne (Calif.) in the first round of the Mingo Bay Baseball Classic. And like many of his other losses, one of the area’s most established coaches took the blame.

“I don’t feel like I coached a very good game,” Jolly said. “I maybe tried to force some things and it didn’t work out in our favor.”

However, while he was hard on himself publicly after the game, there’s no denying the success he’s had over his 28-year career.

Sitting at 399-292 overall between stints at Carolina Forest, Cheraw and Green Sea Floyds, Jolly has already elevated himself among the best coaches in state history. When he does reach No. 400, he will become – according to the South Carolina High School League’s published record books – the 16th coach in South Carolina to reach that figure.

Only one coach with area ties – Georgetown’s Mike Johnson with 740 all-time between 1970-2012 – had reached that plateau. Johnson sits second all time in state history.

As for Jolly, his team will have four more opportunities to this week (barring rainouts) to reach that figure. Monday just wasn’t the Panthers’ night.

Narbonne left-handed pitcher Daniel Rocha threw a five-hit shutout. He pitched out of bases-loaded jams in the second and fifth innings while facing the minimum in the first, third, fourth and seventh.

The Guachos’ only runs came in the third off Isaiah Flowers’ two-run home run.

The trip to Mingo Bay was a first for Narbonne. However, coach Bill Dillon’s team is no stranger to lengthy trips to participate in tournaments. Dillon said his team has traveled to Florida each of the past two years, with others to Texas, Nevada and Northern California mixed in.

“Every couple years, we try to get on a plane,” Dillon said. “It’s good for our guys. Three or four of our guys have never been on a plane before. It’s awesome.”

Narbonne, which advanced to the semifinals of the Los Angeles City Section championship tournament a year ago, improved to 10-4 with the victory.

The Guachos hold the distinction of being the team farthest away from the Myrtle Beach area in this year’s Mingo Bay event. Others from New York and Ohio are also participating.

Carolina Forest’s loss now changes the Panthers’ thinking some the rest of the week. After winning their bracket in the event last season, Jolly’s squad will try to get the most out of the next four games.

“At the end of the week, if we’re playing for a championship, we’re going to play for it,” Jolly said. “If we’re not, we’re going to finish it out and put ourselves in position to make a playoff run.”

And, with one more win, knock out No. 400.

“Now that it’s out there, yeah, I would like to get it over with,” Jolly said. “I don’t want that hanging over our head. … When it happens, it happens.”

This story was originally published March 30, 2015 at 10:12 PM with the headline "Jolly still waiting for win No. 400 after Carolina Forest baseball’s loss to Narbonne (Calif.)."