By STEVE JACKSON
The five South Shore high school baseball teams grapple with the last week of the regular baseball season this week. All five will be seeded initially in their respective district post-season playoffs. The baseball district tourneys run from April 30 to May 2. Then it is on to the regional baseball tourneys. District champs have the top four seeds for the regional playoffs. At-large bids go to teams that finish five through eight in the district playoff. Regional tourneys start May 7, with winners looking to advance to the 2024 Florida State Baseball tourney in Ft. Myers, beginning May 15.
Sumner at 13-5 and East Bay at 12-7 are currently the top teams record-wise in the South Shore. Lennard is on a three-game win streak, moving its season record to 11-9 as it concludes the regular season this week. Spoto High is 5-17 with the Spartans ending the regular season this week. The Riverview Sharks are 4-17 for the regular season with three games on tap this final week, prior to the opening rounds of district play.
Sumner plays in 7A-District 7 as does Riverview. Lennard and East Bay are both in 6A-District 11. Spoto High is part of 5A-District 9.
The Lennard Longhorns, under Coach Victor Martinez, squeaked past the Gaither Cowboys last Friday in an exciting 3-2 contest. That provided the Horns with their third straight win of the week, having dispatched Bishop McLaughlin High of Spring Hill 6-1 with a late rally early last week. Lennard then staged a nice comeback win, 10-5, over Plant City April 16.
Juniors RJ Torres, 3 for 4, three runs and three RBIs, and Jesse Robledo, with 2 for 4 and an RBI, both contributed at the plate. Garcia hurled five innings and received the win. Senior pitcher Zack Bird picked up his second win of the week with five good innings in the thrilling nail biter over Gaither late in the week. Relief pitching came from sophomore JV Brennick and senior Landon Wilder.
Up the road at East Bay, the Indians, of Coach Rowland Ruiz, ran a win streak to four last week. The Big Bend boys bats boomed as they routed Riverview 17-7 and then outlasted King High 13-8. The Indians expect to extend the streak and prepare for the district playoff with wins over hapless, winless 0-17 Middleton High early in the week and then, possibly, over 7-13 Chamberlain High April 25 in the regular season last home game for EB.
Coach Stephan Knight’s Spoto Spartans saw their regular season mark drop to 5-17 last week. After topping everyone’s whipping boy, the Brandon Eagles, Spoto has lost three straight. First, it was Plant High in a 12-0 drubbing and then another shutout loss, this one 15-0 to powerful Durant High early last week. The Spartans did scratch out one run, but it was not nearly enough in an 8-1 defeat to the 11-10 Hillsborough High Terriers last Friday.
Spoto ends the regular season this week with three games. Tuesday it was against 9-12 King High in Tampa. On Thursday, 4-17 Freedom High comes to Spoto. Then, the Spartans jaunt to challenge 14-6 Mater Academy, April 26 at 6:30 p.m. in the Miami area. The Riverview Sharks celebrated a big win, 4-3, over Tampa Bay Tech last Saturday in Tampa. Earlier in the week, the Sharks, of Coach Garrett Thompson, lost a donnybrook 17-7 to East Bay. Then the Sharks dropped an 8-7 disappointing loss at the diamond of the 14-8 Jefferson High Dragons. This week the Sharks close the regular season on the road. A Tuesday trip to tough 14-6 Gaither was early this week. Then, a bus ride to 10-11 Steinbrenner caps the regular season for Riverview.
Riverview freshman hurler Parker Burt was credited with the win over 6-16 TBT. Relief pitcher senior Jeff Berrios also pitched well. Offensively, the Sharks stole five bases, three by junior Ryan Butner who scored a pair of runs. Other good plate jobs in the Sharks victory came from sophomore Justin Edwards with 3 for 4 and two RBIs. Senior Caiden Kamrad knocked a hit and an RBI. Junior Ryan Pavak and freshman Brady Rebello both had a hit and a run while senior Elijah Tishman picked up a RBI.
The dominant Sumner Stingrays, of Coach Kennedy Duran, also are riding a winning streak as the Rays terminate a successful 13-5 regular season this week, looking to extend the winning to four or five straight. The Tuesday game was on the road at Robinson High. The regular season finale is with a challenging Strawberry Crest High squad April 25. Then it is on to the 7A-District 7 playoffs next week with an opponent and a site to be determined. For further Sumner High sports, see this week’s Observer News in print and at ObserverNews.net for exclusive articles and photos by Francis Fedor.