By FRANCIS FEDOR
Stingray baseball opened district play on Monday, April 29, with an 8-7 walk-off home win over rival Riverview to move to the second round. Sumner narrowly lost on the road the next night, April 30, 2-1, at Plant, to end its district playoff title pursuit. The ‘Rays missed out on a state playoff berth, finishing one sport out of qualifying. The top eight teams in the region were selected for the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) state tournament.
Sumner senior First Basemen Anthony Jacquez tags the Riverview runner in a dive safely back into first base.
Stingray hitter Luke Parson has a chat with the umpire before stepping up to the plate. Parson delivered a clutch bases-loaded hit to walk-off the Sharks and advance Sumner to the next round of district playoffs.
The Stingrays welcomed the Riverview Sharks to the Tank for first round district playoff action. The ‘Rays routed the Sharks 20-1 back on April 2, but Riverview kept the game close with a chance to pull off an upset. Sumner opened the scoring in its half of the first with Luke Parson reaching base on a wild throw to first on a ball hit in the infield. Winston Pennant followed two batters later with a long single, moving Parson to third where he scored on a stolen base by Pennant as the throw skipped through the infield. The Sharks answered with a run in the top of the second. The ‘Rays put together back-to-back two run innings in the third and fourth. The third inning saw Sebastian Peralta single and score two hitters later as Pennant slammed a two-run homer. Pennant just missed another blast in the fourth, getting out in front of the pitch and driving it over the fence but foul. He followed up with a bases-loaded single that plated two more runs, capping his four-RBI night.
Stingray starter Ethan Dejesus and catcher Riley Stevens talk strategy before their win over the Riverview Sharks.
Riverview stayed in the game, following up Sumner’s runs with two of its own in the top of the fifth and tied the game with a four-run sixth. The Shark rally set the stage for Sebastian Peralta to be the hero, and he delivered with a bases-loaded single to send Sumner into the second round of district playoffs.
The ‘Rays played their second-round game the next night at Plant HS, setting up a match-up between the two seven-loss teams. It was the first meeting of the season between the Stingrays and the Panthers. Sumner senior Anthony Jacquez was tapped for the start and tossed the complete game, giving up two runs, none of which were earned, striking out five and scattering five hits. He added three hits in three plate appearances in support of his start, but the offense couldn’t capitalize, only scoring a fourth-inning run. Panthers starter Garrett Hill got just enough run support to send Plant to the district finals where they defeated the #1 seeded Palm Harbor University to win the district championship. The Kennedy Duran led ‘Rays finished a strong season with a 15-7 record and were likely one win away from getting invited to the state tournament. The team should return a majority of the roster and make another run in 2025.
Francis Fedor Photos
Sumner infielders get ready to start their win over Riverview in the first round of the district playoffs on April 29 in the Tank.
Stingray softball followed up a regular season win over Riverview with a 10-3 win over those very same Riverview Sharks on April 29 to open its district playoff action. Sumner entered district playoff action as the third seed, and Rivierview was the sixth seed. Jaelyn Joiner led the Stingrays with three RBIs, going two-for-four from the plate. Five other ‘Rays contributed an RBI to the win. Aliyanis Stubbs and Victoria Baker teamed up to hold the Sharks to three runs in moving on to the second round. Sumner traveled the next night to face the #2 seeded Palm Harbor University Hurricanes. In a bit of an oddity, Palm Harbor was the higher seed despite not having played any district games but only losing five regular season games. The Hurricanes used a 10-run outburst over the first three innings to take the momentum. The ‘Rays mustered only two runs against Palm Harbor starter Mylie Stout on five hits. Despite the district playoff loss, the Stingrays earned a playoff berth for the FHSAA state playoffs and will open tournament action as a #7 seed facing Steinbrenner, a #2 seed, on May 9 on the road at the Warriors. Sumner will look to avenge an 11-5 opening day home loss to Steinbrenner. If the ‘Rays advance, they would play on May 14 with the opponent and location TBD.
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