By STEVE JACKSON
The South Shore 5 high school baseball teams did not have a particularly good week last week. All five were swept in opening round action in the Saladino Tourney on Saturday. All five have three more cracks at wins in the heralded Hillsborough County Saladino Tourney, which runs through Thursday, March 20, of this spring break week.
Longhorn junior Christian Skaggs is on in relief vs. Alonso on March 15 to open the Saladino tournament.
Lennard freshman Julian Ware scores a Longhorn run just ahead of the throw vs. Alonso as part of the annual Saladino Tourney on March 15.
As well as the defeats in the Saladino last Saturday, the SS5 teams compiled a poor 5-8 won-lost record in last week’s regular season schedule. East Bay High, under head coach Rowland Ruiz, was the only undefeated team, posting a 2-0 record last week. Lennard High, of coach Victor Martinez, split two games last week, prior to the Saladino. Both Riverview High, of coach Garrett Thompson, and Sumner High, of coach Kennedy Duran, posted disappointing 1-2 marks. Coach Lastings Milledge’s Spoto Spartans were swept in all three regular season games before going on to lose their Saladino opener Saturday.
East Bay is playing its Saladino games at Jefferson High in Tampa. The Indians wasted a terrific pitching performance Saturday by junior pitcher Cameron Cook, dropping a 1-0 duel to Saladino Tourney host Jefferson. The Indians yielded a lone run to the Dragons in the bottom of the 2nd inning. That was all Jefferson needed as the Indians could only manage four hits, two by senior Rory Beauford and one each from junior Jaxson Fanchione and sophomore Ethan Cunningham. East Bay took the diamond again early this week on Monday to face 9-5 Gaither High at Jefferson High’s field in the Saladino.
Lennard junior Peyton Newman applies the tag in a heads-up play to the Alonso runner after he slid past the bag in opening of Saladino Tourney on March 15.
The Indians dueled with another tough team, the 9-2 Bloomingdale Bulls, on Tuesday in the tourney. The Saturday loss probably destined EB for the Saladino consolation game on March 19 with a foe, site and time yet to be determined. In regular season action, the Indians received masterful pitching last week. In a March 11 game, the Indians rode the hurling of two juniors, JJ Groover for five innings and Cook for two relief innings. A couple of hot hitting sophomores led the way at the plate; Connor Gavigan drilled a homerun, collected four RBIs and a stolen base, and Cunningham went 3 for 4, scored a run and had an RBI. Plus the timely hitting of a trio of seniors, David Reyes, Derick Guitierrez and Beauford, sparked the late comeback rally in top of the 7th inning to knock off the Riverview Sharks, 7-2. Two days later EB received another superb mound performance, this time from senior Mike Mowell. Mowell threw a complete game to lead the Indians over the Gaither Cowboys 2-1. Cunningham hit 2 for 2 and drove in the two Indian winning runs. Next week, EB hosts Sumner on Tuesday, March 25, at 7 p.m. Then the Indians trek to Spoto for a Thursday, March 27, 7 p.m. match with the Spartans. EB closes next week at the Sickles Gryphons on Saturday, March 29, at 10 a.m.
East Bay has several players who have posted some dynamic stats so far this season. Among these hitters are sophomores Gavigan, .486, and Cunningham, .375; juniors Jaxson Farchione, .355, and Jeffrey Diab, .351; and seniors Reyes, .357, Beauford, .324 and Eddie Smith, .290. Pitchers looking good are Cook, 4-1 and 2.58 ERA(earned run average); Mowell, 2-2 and 1.67 ERA; Groover, 1-1 and 2.23 ERA; and John Viane, 0-0 and 3.00 ERA.
Lennard High lost in Ruskin, one of the sites of the Saladino Baseball Tourney. The Horns fell 7-3 to Alonso High last Saturday. Lennard pitcher JV Brennick only gave up three hits, two runs and one earned, but fell 7-3 to Alonso, now 9-4. Horns Mikie Locke continued his torrid hitting, going 2 for 4 with a double to raise his batting average to .406. Sumner High visited Lennard for a St. Patrick’s Day game of the Saladino. Then Lennard played a tough Strawberry Crest in the March 18 round of the Saladino, before closing out the tourney March 19 in a to-be-determined consolation game.
In regular season play, Lennard split a pair last week. The Horns nipped Brandon 6-5 early in the week. The win was sparked offensively by two sophomores, Eli Selvey and Max Herro, along with Sebastian Rojas’ two stolen bases. Then at mid-week, Lennard dropped a heart breaker, 1-0, versus King High, despite the pitching of Horns Myles Wagner, Tommy Martinez and Pablo Garcia.
Spoto was whipped 13-3 by Seffner Christian High in last Saturday’s opening of the Saladino Tourney at Riverview High.
The Spartans could only muster four hits, one each from Keywan Massis, the only senior now on the Spoto roster, and from sophomores Nate Rodriquez, Levert Sims and Eli Sims. Spoto sophomore Qwenten Bennett swiped two of the five stolen bases for Spoto, which fell to 6-7 with its fourth loss in a row. The Spartans lost to Durant early last week, 11-0. On March 13, the Spartans fell to Hillsborough High, 12-3. Spoto’s hitting came from Massi with 2 for 4; juniors David Ruiz and Greg Hornsby with two hits and an RBI each; and sophomores Bennett at 3 for 4 and Eli Sims with 1 for 3. It was not nearly enough, however, even though sophomore pitcher Wiliams Barrios pitched pretty well for five innings; three relief pitchers were roughed up for 10 runs by the 2-11 Terriers.
Following the Monday and Tuesday Saladino games with 0-11 Brooks DeBartolo High and Brandon High, Spoto was set to play a consolation game in the Saladino this mid-week. Next week, the Spartans have a pretty tough schedule. March 25 is at Lithia with the Newsome Wolves. On March 27 East Bay visits Spoto, followed by a Saturday, March 29, 11 a.m. game at Spoto with Freedom High.
Riverview High is also struggling to get back to a .500 season after slipping to 6-8 with a Saladino loss to Freedom, 7-0, last Saturday. Junior Kaden Hess was 2 for 4 at the dish while junior Wyatt Zihman knocked 1 for 3 and junior Gabe Boltz had the only other Sharks hit, a double. In a remarkable offensive outburst last week, Riverview blasted Teneroc High of Lakeland. The obviously hapless Teneroc Titans fell to 0-11 on the season against the Sharks. Dating back to last season, the Tenero High team has lost 18 straight. Riverview claimed the game in 3 1/2 innings, scoring seven runs in the first inning, seven in the second and 15 in the third. The Sharks banged out 29 hits and held Teneroc to one hit. Junior Shark Kaden Hess was 3 for 5 with a homerun and six RBIs. Jan Carlos Rodriquez went 3 for 4 with four RBIs and three runs. Sharks pitchers Parker Burt, Gabe Boltz and freshman Aiden Link totally dominated Teneroc as the Sharks ended a five-game losing skid.
The Sharks continued in the Saldino versus 3-10 Blake High, March 17. A Saladino game against weak Tampa BayTech was set for March 18. One more game awaited Riverview in the Saladino against an unnamed opponent on March 19. Next week, Riverview visits Bloomingdale on March 25. Then the Sharks come back to Riverview for contests March 27 against Lennard and versus Gaither, March 29 at 10 a.m.
Francis Fedor Photos
Longhorn junior “Nunu” Ramos lays down a sacrifice bunt to move runners into scoring position in action on March 15 vs. Alonso.
Coach Duran’s Sumner High team lost 5-3 to Newsome High early last week and then bombed 2-10 Tampa Bay Tech 11-1 in regular season games. The Stingrays fell to 6-6, losing its Saladino 17-7 to Strawberry Crest last Saturday. On St. Patrick’s Day, the Stingrays trekked to Ruskin for their second of four games in the Saladino Tourney. This marked a match between two former coaches: Duran, the previous head coach at Lennard, and his former assistant and now head coach at Lennard, Martinez. The Monday duel would be followed by Sumner’s meeting Alonso, March 18 and playing in a consolation game March 19. Next week, Sumner picks up the regular season, playing at East Bay, March 25. The Rays return home for clashes with Bloomingdale March 27 and Blake at 10 a.m on Saturday, March 29. (For more about Sumner High, see articles and photos by Francis Fedor in this week’s Observer News print and ObserverNews.net digital.)
South Shore 5 baseball teams won three and lost two in the Saladino Tourney on St. Patrick’s Day:
• Lennard 5 – Sumner 4.
• Spoto 8 – Brooks DeBartolo 3.
• Riverview 10 – Blake 0.
• Gaither 8 – East Bay 3.