By STEVE JACKSON
The Lennard Longhorns held on to nip Brandon in the opening game of the Saladino Baseball Tourney.
Coach Victor Martinez’ team is looking to remain undefeated for the season. The Horns ran their season record to 7-0 as Jack Mueller shutout Armwood 6-0 in a complete game Monday. Lennard plays again in Ruskin Tuesday, March 15, at 7 p.m. against neighbor East Bay in the Saladino Tourney. If Lennard has the best record in Pool B for the Saladino Tourney, the Horns will play the team with the best record from Pool A for the Saladino Silver championship, Wednesday, March 16, probably at 7 p.m.
The Longhorns survived six errors against Brandon on Saturday. Lennard used a five-run third inning and closed out Brandon 8-7 to notch the victory. Lennard’s Matthew Counts went 2 for 4 with two RBIs and four stolen bases to provide offensive spark. Sophomore pitcher Zack Bird registered the win with help from junior Logan Covey and a save from junior Jackson Mueller.
Once the Spring Break holiday week concludes, Lennard resumes action Tuesday, March 22, against Brandon in Ruskin at 7 p.m.
East Bay fell to Armwood 16-14 in a wild offensive shoot-out in the other Pool B opening game of the Saladino Tourney at Ruskin. The Indians, at 1-5 for the season, matched up earlier this week on Monday with Brandon. The rival game with the Longhorns followed the next day in the 41st annual Saladino Tourney. East Bay would play the very next day if they can achieve the best record in Pool B of the Saladino Tourney. However, the favorite at this time for Pool B is Lennard.
East Bay picks up its regular season schedule with the Durant Cougars, playing at the Indians’ diamond on Big Bend Road Tuesday, March 22, at 7 p.m. The Indians are depending on more offense from senior Tate Gran and junior Ty Andrews, both hitting .308 in the early stages of the 2022 campaign. Junior Kayleb Wright, so far, is stroking at a .294 batting average. EB junior pitcher Tayton Laing has credit for the lone Indians’ victory.
The Riverview Sharks are competing in Pool A of the Saladino Tourney in Strawberry Crest. The Sharks were bombed 13-3 by Robinson in both teams’ opening game of the tourney on Saturday. Riverview went to 1-7 with a 4-0 shutout of King Monday afternoon.The Sharks continued play against Freedom in the tourney on Tuesday.
Riverview jumps back to regular season play on March 22 against Bloomingdale at the Sharks’ diamond at 7 p.m. Senior Nate Hook went three scoreless innings in a 4-0 loss to Plant City last week as the Sharks managed only solo hits by sophomores Kevin Hunter and Caiden Kamrad.
The Spoto Spartans welcomed spring break and are looking to boost their 1-5 season mark. The Spartans travel to Plant City March 22 and host Riverview March 24 at 7 p.m. Spoto suffered a pair of losses last week. Newsome romped the Spartans 10-0 as a trio of Newsome hurlers gave up only the one hit to Jacob Garbett. Then on last Thursday Spoto fell 7-1 to Hillsborough, despite junior Chase Wink’s going 3 for 3 at the plate. Soph pitcher Cullen Cairns is still the best pitcher Spoto has available.
SUMNER, LENNARD
TOPS IN SOFTBALL
Sumner softball coach Autum Hernandez and her Stingray squad are enjoying spring break. The girls have compiled a 7-0 record, scoring 95 runs and giving up only 12. Their next diamond match is Gaither at Tampa on March 22.
Last week the Stingrays won three games. They triumphed over rival Lennard 5-0. That was followed by a wild donnybrook 13-8 victory over Tampa Bay Tech in Tampa, which featured an eight-run third inning, 13 Stingray hits, no Sumner batters striking out, and six TBT errors. Next, Sumner enjoyed a one-hit shutout win over Sunlake 10-0 at Land O’ Lakes before the vacation. The heroes are too many to mention, but junior pitcher Alyssa Vallad and junior slugger Megan deVilliers, with three home runs, have been contributing mightily to the Stingrays undefeated skein.
Lennard Longhorns softball is at 4-1, right on the heels of Sumner. The Horns lost 5-0 to the Stingrays last week as Stingray Alyssa Vallard threw a complete game. Lennard bounced back with a 15-0 thrashing of Middleton on March 10. Lennard scored eight in the first inning, and the game was shortened to four innings. Winning pitcher for the Horns was Savana Woods with nine strikeouts. Woods also banged out 4 for 4 at the plate with four RBIs. Offensively, Lennard received four hits and three RBIs from Arianna Robriquez and two hits with two RBIs from Juli Rodriquez.
Lennard hosts Brandon March 22 and goes to Spoto March 24. Bloomingdale comes to Ruskin for a March 29 showdown.
East Bay softball is rolling along with a 5-4 worksheet after losses last week to Plant in extra innings and to Steinbrenner. On March 11, the Indians demolished King 21-0. East Bay smashed four home runs. Joining in the slugging spree for EB were Jensen Nelson, Ariyuanna DuPont, Elana Roush and Chandler Parker. From the mound, three EB pitchers totally dominated King over the three-inning shortened game. Kaylee Hues, Aisha Duncan and Molly Johnson each twirled a stingy inning. They gave up no hits, two walks and struck out eight of the nine batters.
Next week East Bay hosts 3-3 Durant March 22 at 7 p.m. and visits 2-3 Bloomingdale March 24.
The Riverview girls softball squad posted a victory by forfeit over Freedom last week to run its season mark to 2-3. After close losses earlier this month to Bloomingdale and Newsome, the Sharks host Bloomingdale March 22 and visit Durant March 24.
Spoto has compiled a 2-4 record. Spoto takes a trek to Plant City March 22 and then hosts Lennard March 24. The Spartan girls lost a nail biter to Leto 11-10 last Thursday after topping Armwood 2-1 earlier last week. Middleton came to play at Spoto March 11, but neither coach reported the final score.