By STEVE JACKSON
The 41st edition of the Tony & Bertha Saladino Baseball Tournament is once again set to take place during the Hillsborough County Public Schools’ spring break on Saturday, March 12. The tournament continues its format from last season, splitting into two individual events—Gold Division and Silver Division tournaments, with the seeding established, according to tournament director Tony Saladino III, by HCPS athletic director Lanness Robinson, using the FHSAA rankings.
The FHSAA rankings are established using an unreleased MaxPreps.com algorithm, which also ends after the final week of the regular season and doesn’t include the 2021 season playoffs.
The Saladino Tournament events will once again be split between six high school host sites – Bloomingdale, Durant, Jefferson, Jesuit, Lennard and Strawberry Crest – with the Gold Division being a winner’s bracket format of 16 teams. The Silver Division bracket features eight teams, evenly divided into two pools.
Three South Shore teams are playing in the Silver Division: Riverview with an 0-5 record in Pool A, East Bay at 1-3 and Lennard with a 4-0 mark in Pool B. Riverview opens Saturday, March 12, versus Robinson at 4 p.m. in Strawberry Crest. Riverview continues Pool A action on March 14 versus King and on March 15 against Freedom, both games at a site and a time to be determined. In Pool B, East Bay plays its opening round game March 12 against Armwood at Lennard at 1 p.m. Lennard, later that same day, plays Brandon at 4 p.m. On March 14, also at Lennard’s diamond, Brandon plays East Bay at 4 p.m., and Lennard tangles with Armwood, starting at 7 p.m. On Tuesday, March 15, Brandon plays Armwood at 4 p.m., and Lennard and East Bay clash at 7 p.m. in Ruskin. The Silver Bracket champ will be decided Wednesday, March 16, in a contest between the best tourney record from Pool A and Pool B. If Lennard wins Pool B, the game will be played at Lennard High at 7 p.m. If Lennard does not win Pool B, then the championship game for the Silver Bracket will be decided based on the pool winners.
Only the first day’s (Saturday, March 12,) games in the Gold division have been set, with winners advancing in the main bracket of the tournament – meaning a team must go 4-0 to claim this year’s title. The championship schedules for Wednesday of the tournament will be announced after the previous day’s final game by the Saladino Tournament staff, on the tournament website, and shared on 813Preps Twitter and Facebook pages. For more info go to tonysaladinobaseballtournment.com/.
Twenty-four public high school teams from Hillsborough County will participate in the round-robin tournament. The tournament will again provide fans and spectators of all ages an opportunity to participate in and enjoy a variety of baseball-related activities in a patriotic, nostalgic, family-oriented, educational and safe atmosphere.
In as much as the Tampa Bay area is a well-known hotbed of many professional and college baseball prospects, this tournament will showcase approximately 800 local high school players during the week, with baseball scouts representing major league teams and many college coaches from throughout the country in attendance. More importantly, the tournament helps keep Hillsborough County high school players close to home and busy during their spring break. Many activities and memorabilia displays will supplement the educational, recreational and baseball opportunities for players, coaches, fans and spectators—from the young to senior citizens.