By STEVE JACKSON
Lennard High bounced back last week from a poor showing in March to win an offensive battle over East Bay and a pitcher’s duel over Bloomingdale. The two victories meant the Longhorns had climbed back to an 8-8 record. It remained to be seen if Lennard continued to remain above the break-even point. Tough 13-4 Newsome Wolves were the opposition early this week. Following that brawl in Lithia, Lennard hosts 10-5 Bishop McLaughlin April 15. Then 8-10 Plant City comes to Ruskin for a diamond duel the next day. The challenging four-game stand ends Friday, April 19, at the super-tough Gaither Gryphons, whose 12-5 record speaks for itself.
Early last week, Lennard rallied over old rival East Bay after trailing 7-4 after three innings. The Horns six-run inning in the bottom of the sixth propelled Lennard 11-7 over the Indians. Junior Lennard pitcher Pablo Garcia got the win, closing the door on EB over the last four innings. Sophomore Talan Miranda and senior Zack Bird also took the mound for Lennard.
East Bay players celebrate a three-run HR by R. Beaufurd that handed the Indians the early lead vs. the Longhorns.
Longhorn senior takes second base on a double and has friendly conversation with East Bay infielders.
Offensively, senior Matt Counts continued his great work with the bat, going 2 for 4 with a double included, scoring twice and collecting three RBIs. A pair of sophomores also aided the Lennard onslaught. Peyton Newman was 2 for 3 with a run and an RBI. Rowland Ruiz contributed 2 for 3, scoring twice and knocking in two runs. After the donnybrook win over EB, Lennard claimed a 2-1 nail-biting win at Bloomingdale on a Matt Counts’ homer in the visiting Longhorns top of the last inning. Bird and Garcia pitched extremely well versus the Bulls.
While Lennard shook off its slump, the East Bay Indians succumbed to a five-game losing streak. The Indians were looking to snap out of the doldrums in an early week clash at 8-10 Plant City. Palmetto High is the next opportunity for EB as the 9-7 Tigers host the Indians at 6:30 p.m. April 11. Home games for the Indians that are winnable include April 16 with the Riverview Sharks. Next Thursday, April 18, King High, at 7-10, comes to Big Bend Road to test EB.
The Indians have not won since sneaking past Blake High March 19. Five losses in a row have followed, including last week to Newsome and then to Strawberry Crest. The Indians continue to be sparked on offense by Shawn Dove and Rory Beaufort. Beaufort is rapping .333 on the season with three home runs, 14 runs, 18 RBIs and six stolen bases.
Spoto High is one of the South Shore teams that struggles for respectability if not a .500 overall season. The Spartans took care of Tampa Bay Tech when the Titans visited from Tampa on Saturday. Senior Spartan hurler Peyton Nisy twirled a complete game for Spoto, which managed an 8-4 win over TBT. Spoto sophomore Jehmiel Pettis continued his hot work at the plate, going 2 for 2 and scoring three runs. Junior D’Andre Woods was 1 for 3 with two runs and an RBI. Frosh Levert Sims also knocked in a pair of runs for the Spartans.
Longhorn sophomore Johnathan Bryant celebrates scoring a run in a rally that pushed Lennard to a victory over southshore rival East Bay.
Lennard shortstop Sebastian Rojas makes the throw to first in a win vs. East Bay on April 1.
The Spoto squad lost to Wharton, Bloomingdale and Sumner prior to topping TBT last week. Another win is anticipated for the Spartans on Senior Night early this week versus hapless 1-15 Brandon High. Then Spoto has a tough three games schedule against Plant High at home April 12, a visit to powerful Durant High on April 16 and hosting Hillsborough High April 18. The Spartans have scored only 60 runs this season, giving up 130 in their 18 games so far.
Another South Shore diamond squad with negatively skewed runs is the Riverview Sharks. The Sharks have tallied only 50 runs but yielded 148, which has led to a 3-14 mark. The most consistent hitters on Coach Garrett Thompson’s squad have been junior Ryan Butner with a .310 average and senior Caiden Kamrad batting .235. Top pitcher for Riverview has been senior Elijah Tishman who has compiled a 3.27 earned run average over 25.2 innings.
Riverview went 1-3 last week. The Sharks bested Brandon 3-2, everybody’s whipping boy.
Francis Fedor Photos
Lennard starter Talon Miranda throws a pitch in the 11-7 comeback victory vs. East Bay HS on April 1.
But the Sharks could not hang with Bartow High, Sumner High or Sickles High. Now, Riverview faces the unenviable task of games against big winners. On Tuesday of this week, it was the 13-3 Durant Cougars. The last home game of this season for Riverview is April 11 against Palm Harbor High, another big winner at 10-5. Then the Sharks close out the season with five tough games on the road. Next Tuesday, April 18, is a visit to Jefferson High. A road trip to TBT is set for Saturday, April 20, at 10 a.m. Following is April 23 at Gaither High. Then the regular season concludes at Steinbrenner April 25.
The Sumner High Stingrays were riding a four-game win streak, hosting Bloomingdale 10-6 April 9. Another home game is set for April 11 versus Alonso High 10-8. Then after clashes at 1-15 Brandon High April 16, at 4-11 Freedom High April 18 and at 9-9 Robinson High April 23, the Stingrays close out the regular season April 25 at home against 11-6 Strawberry Crest. After that, Coach Kennedy Duran hopes to be ready for post-season play. A key stat on Sumner’s success is the Stingrays’ scoring 88 runs and yielding only 53 in its 14 games.
Information and photos on Sumner High sports are provided in this newspaper and on ObserverNews.net by Francis Fedor.
