By STEVE JACKSON
The high school baseball season is in its third week now. For the second week, the South Shore Five teams racked up a 6-5 winning record against opposition last week. Sumner High went 2-0; Riverview registered a 2-1 mark; Lennard finally won a game, going 1-1; Spoto High suffered its first loss of the early season; and East Bay sustained two losses and won one last week. That’s 6-5 to go along with 6-6 the first week. This week the five teams have five games on their home diamonds and 11 road games.
The Lennard Longhorns diamond squad, under Head Coach Victor Martinez, received good pitching last week after losing a nailbiter 8-7 to Newsome High. ’Horns hurler junior Myles Wagner started against District 11 rival and nemesis Palmetto High. Wagner went three innings and held Palmetto to no runs and only one hit while walking zero and fanning two. Senior Daniel DePaolo and junior Tommy Martinez came on in relief and pitched well to provide the 3-1 Longhorn victory over 1-2 Palmetto. Lennard collected only three hits but made no errors. The ’Horns offensive was paced by RBIs from juniors JV Brennick and Yovani DePablos. Peyton Newman was one for two with a double and a run in the win. Freshman Julian Ware scampered home with one run. So far in the young season, hitters leading Lennard are senior RJ Torres and junior Mikie Locke, both at .364, and senior Sebastian Rojos at .300. Lennard needs to improve its overall team hitting, which is only .198 and 16 runs in four games. Pitching is looking good with a 2.36 ERA (earned run average). The ’Horns have tallied only 16 runs and given up 18.
Longhorn senior RJ Torres shows excitement as he pulls up to second base in game vs. Newsome on Feb. 18.
This week, Lennard has three games on the agenda. An early game is Tuesday with the ’Horns hosting neighbor 1-4 East Bay High; a visit to 3-2 Sickles Gryphons is Feb. 27 at 7 p.m.; and a road game is set for Saturday with 3-1 Jefferson Dragons at 1 p.m. Next week sees a pair of tough games on the schedule, both at Ruskin. The 3-1 Bloomingdale Bulls come to town on March 4. A visit from the 2-2 Durant Cougars follows on March 6.
Spoto High jumped out to two early leads against the Brandon Eagles but could not hold on and lost its first game of the season to the Eagles, 4-3, early last week. The Spartans, under first-year head coach and former major league player Lastings Milledge, are now 4-1, trying to compile their first and only season over .500, since going 13-11 in 2009; Spoto opened as a high school in 2006. The Spartans scored two runs in the first against Brandon and added another run in the top of the second inning but could do no more against Brandon, which pounded 13 hits to tally its four runs. The Spartans have scored 43 runs over the early season and only yielded 11. This week Spoto greeted 3-2 Plant City on the Spartans turf on Tuesday. Spoto is a dreadful 0-9 versus the Raiders over the last 10 seasons. Then Spoto has three straight road games before hosting Sumner High next week on Thursday, March 6. The three travel games start this Thursday at 3-2 Steinbrenner High in Lutz. On Saturday Tampa Bay Tech, wallowing in an early 0-4 slump, hosts Spoto at 11 a.m. Next week, the Spartans play at the Riverview Sharks lair on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Then Sumner visits Spoto on March 6 for a 7 p.m. contest.
Lennard head coach Victor Martinez has a discussion about a call during game vs. Newsome on Feb. 18.
Riverview has what appears to be a solid three-man rotation to go on the mound. All pitched well last week. Junior Driston Marino lost in a heartbreaker, 3-2, to Durant early last week. Marino went six innings, giving up eight hits, three earned runs, walking only one and whiffing seven. The Hillsborough Terriers gave up eight unearned runs to the Sharks, who were sparked offensively by Brady Rebello and senior Ryan Butner, with a one for three day at the dish with four runs and a stolen base. Sophomore Parker Burt also showed good stuff in the Feb. 20 win over Freedom, 10-4. Burt hurled 5.2 innings, giving up only three hits, striking out five and allowing no earned runs. Junior Xavier Gonzalez threw a scoreless inning in solid relief. On offense, the Sharks were paced by slugger Anthony Shellman, with a two for four night, two doubles and two RBIs.
Rodriquez helped with one for four and three runs. On a trip to Tampa to engage the oldest high school in Hillsborough County, Coach Thompson received a pleasant surprise. His sophomore pitcher Rebello hurled five innings for the Sharks versus the Terriers. Rebello limited the opponents to one earned run, gave up only two hits and had three Ks. Shark pitcher freshman Parker Amato mopped up with zero runs in an inning. Rebello was sharp not only on the mound; the sophomore was three for four at the bat with an RBI to lead the 11-1 win over 0-5 Hillsborough High. Other positive hitting games were exhibited by the Sharks senior Ryan Butner, who scored four times on a one for three day at the dish along with a stolen base. Kaden Hess also went two for four with a stolen base. Other batting contributors versus Hillsborough were junior Justin Edward with one for one and a swiped base; senior Jan Carlos Rodriquez with three runs and two RBIs; and freshman Chase Montminy, who went one for two and tallied a run.
Riverview played at Sumner early this week. Then Brandon brought a 3-2 record to the Sharks on Feb. 27, followed by a Saturday game at 4-1 Wharton at 10 a.m. Next week for Riverview its Spoto at the Sharks, March 4 at 7 p.m.; then the Sharks go to Lithia to engage the tough Newsome Wolves on March 6. The Sharks end the week on Saturday, March 8, with 2-2 Strawberry Crest at 10 a.m. in Riverview.
East Bay High, under Head Coach Rowland Ruiz Sr., has scored 27 runs but yielded 43 so far this season. That’s why the Indians are only 1-4. East Bay needs to improve its hitting and its pitching to get a few more wins.
Finally, on Feb. 22 the Indians pummeled 0-5 Blake High in Tampa, 17-7, behind home runs by senior Eddie Smith and sophomore Connor Garigan, who went three for four with six RBIs and three runs scored. Senior John Viane pitched four innings, allowed three runs with three walks and six strikeouts. The hitting fest was added to by junior Jaxson Farchione with a three for four performance at the plate. Senior Rory Beauford contributed a two for four showing and scored three times. Junior Jeffrey Diab enjoyed the offensive burst with a two for four job at the plate while scoring three times and knocking in two runs.
Francis fedor Photos
Lennard junior JV Brennick delivers a pitch early on in action vs. the Newsome Wolves on Feb. 18.
The Indians welcomed Lennard to Big Bend Road early this week. Then it was on to Tampa to battle with 0-5 Hillsborough High this Thursday. Still on the road, EB faces 1-2 Armwood in a Saturday game, March 1 at 11 a.m. Then it is a jaunt to Brandon for the 3-2 Eagles, March 4. On March 6 the always tough Plant City Raiders at 3-2 visit EB.
Finally, the 2-2 Sumner High Stingrays, of Head Coach Kennedy Duran, broke an early season slump to win a pair last week. The Rays took care of Plant City early, 5-1, behind the stellar hurling of junior pitcher Ethan DeJesus, who went five innings, whiffed 12 batters and permitted only one run. Late last week, the ’Rays topped Wharton 3-2 behind another mound gem, this one from senior Isiah Welch, who hurled six strong innings with top notch mop up from senior Luke Parsons. The offensive stalwart for the ’Rays in both wins was senior Sebastian Peralta, who drilled two for four versus Plant City with three RBIs. In the close Wharton victory, Peralta went three for four and bashed a home run.
The ’Rays hope to continue the diet of timely hitting and great pitching, starting early this week with the Riverview Sharks. On Feb. 27, the ’Rays travel to Armwood. Next week Sumner travels three times: Durant, March 4; Spoto, March 6; and Alonso on Saturday, March 8, at 11 a.m.