By STEVE JACKSON
The 9-8 Riverview Sharks, of coach Garrettt Thompson, were the only South Shore 5 team to complete a winning record in the recently concluded Saladino Baseball Tournament. The Sharks won three and lost one, playing in the Bronze Division of the 44th installment of the heralded diamond tourney, featuring 32 public and private schools around Hillsborough County, from March 15 until March 20. In the top division, the Gold, Bloomingdale beat Strawberry Crest for the championship on March 20.
Spoto High coach Lastings Milledge broke even in the Bronze Division of the annual spring break tourney, winning a pair and losing a pair to run the Spartans overall season record to a respectable 8-8. Both Lennard High, of coach Victor Martinez, and East Bay High, of coach Rowland Ruiz, completed the Saladino last week at 1-3. Lennard is struggling at the plate in its 5-10 season so far. East Bay has shown some flashes this season but sports only an 8-8 mark. In a disappointing and surprising development, Sumner High, of coach Kennedy Duran, did not post a win in its four games in the Saladino.
The Stingrays have slipped to 6-9 for the season overall.
A trio of Lennard players, Sebastian Rojas (left), Mason Menotti (center) and Luis Ramos (right), head back in between innings during Saladino action on Mar. 18. Rojas, a senior, is the Lennard valedictorian.
Riverview lost its opening game in the Saladino, 7-0, to Freedom High. The Sharks showed resilience, bouncing back to win their last three games of the tourney behind some top notch pitching. Junior hurler for the Sharks Driston Marino pitched a complete run-called, one-hit game to help Riverview top Blake 10-0 on St. Patrick’s Day. Sharks senior Jan Carlos Rodriquez sparked the offense with 2 for 3 at the plate and three RBIs. The next day in the Saladino, Riverview nipped Tampa Bay Tech, 4-2, with sophomore pitcher Parker Burt going six innings, giving up only two hits and striking out 12. Junior Xavier Gonzalez pitched a perfect inning in relief for the Sharks. The Sharks bats came alive March 19 in a 10-0 rout of Brandon. Freshman pitcher Parker Amato threw a complete game while junior Kaden Hess went 1 for 2 at the dish, including a homerun and three RBIs. This week Riverview faced the Saladino Tourney champs, Bloomingdale, a tough 13-3 team. On Thursday, the Lennard Longhorns come to Riverview for a rival game. The Gaither Cowboys visit Riverview for a Saturday morning game at 10. The Sharks go back on the road to meet Brandon Tuesday, April 1. at 7 p.m.
Like all the SS5 teams, Spoto lost its opening round in the Saladino. The Spartans came back to beat the 1-13 Brooks-DeBartolo team, 8-3, last Monday. Winning pitcher was sophomore Gavin Hansen, with an inning of sparkling relief from sophomore Antonio Roberts. Providing offensive punch in the win over hapless Brooks-DeBartolo were juniors Greg Hornsby, David Ruiz, Devin Dukes and sophomores Nate Rodriquez, Eli Sims and Na’im Salter. The Spoto offense disappeared in the 3-0 loss to Brandon but bounced back to smear Blake 13-3. In unofficial offensive season stats, Spoto is being led by sophomore Qwenlen Bennett, .333; sophomore Nate Rodriquez, .533; sophomore Levert Sims, .286; sophomore Eli Sims, .394; sophomore Na’im Salter, .330; sophomore Braylon Byrd, .438; junior Devin Dukes, .350; and senior Kenyan Massie, .273. Junior Greg Hornsby has knocked in eight runs as have Salter and Dukes. Sophomore pitcher William Barrios has looked the best on the mound with unofficial stats of 3-0, 3.10 ERA, 28 strikeouts in 26.1 innings. Also making pitching contributions is sophomore Gavin Hansen at 2-0 and 15 Ks over 15 innings. The Spartans have scored 90 and given up 107 on the season in 16 contests.
Spoto has a tough week on tap with a March 25 visit to 12-3 Newsome. The Spartans host 8-8 East Bay March 27, and Freedom High comes to Spoto for a Saturday game at 10 a.m. Next week, the Spartans have the dubious task of going to play at Bloomingdale on April Fools’ Day at 7 p.m.
With only three weeks left in the regular season, Lennard is still looking for offensive help. The Longhorns have tallied only 63 runs and given up 93, which accounts for the drop in their season record to 5-10. The Horns came back to top Sumner 5-4 in last week’s March 17 Saladino duel with Sumner High. Junior Luis Valentin-Ramos went 2 for 4 with three RBIs. As usual, the Horns also got good hitting from juniors Mikie Locke and Samuel Nobrega and senior RJ Torres, all with two hits.
Lennard scored 13 the next day against powerful Strawberry Crest but gave up 16 runs in the loss to the powerful Chargers. Horns junior Christian Skaggs went five good innings, yielding no runs on two hits, but King held Lennard to notch a 5-4 win in the last game of the Saladino Tourney.
Commenting after the Saladino, Horns coach Victor Martinez said, “We knew coming into the Saladino anything could happen. The win over Sumner gave us a chance to move on to the final four of the tourney again, but we came up short this year.”
Francis Fedor Photos
Longhorn senior RJ Torres takes the throw as the Charger runner slides in just under the tag in Saladino action on Mar. 18.
This week, Lennard faced 9-8 Plant City Tuesday and then buses to Riverview for a Thursday game at 7 p.m. The Horns follow up with a visit to the 12-4 Strawberry Crest Chargers in Dover for a Saturday morning duel at 10. Next week, coach Duran brings his Sumner team for a visit to Ruskin on April 1 at 7 p.m.
East Bay received a stellar pitching performance from senior John Viane in its final Saladino game. Viane hurled a seven-inning complete game no-hitter to top 9-5 Durant 4-1, March 19. Rory Beauford and Rowland Ruiz provided the offensive punch for the win. The Indians dropped a heartbreaker, 1-0, to Jefferson in the opening round of the Saladino and then lost 8-3 to Gaither and 3-2 to Bloomingdale, despite another good pitching performance from hard luck senior Mike Mowell.
This week, EB hosted Sumner in an early week game, followed by a Thursday trip to Spoto High and bussing to Sickles High for a Saturday game at 10 a.m. Next week, the Indians tangle with tough Newsome at Big Bend Road on April 1 at 7 p.m.
Sumner lost a pair of close games and lost two routs in the Saladino Tourney to go 0-4 and drop its record to 6-9 for the overall season. This week, the Stingrays looked to snap its four-game losing skid at East Bay, Tuesday, followed by home games with 13-3 Bloomingdale March 27 and 3-13 Blake at Sumner, Saturday at 10 am. Next Tuesday it’s another clash with Lennard at Ruskin at 7 p.m. (For more of Sumner sports, see Francis Fedor ‘s articles and photos in The Observer News print version and ObserverNews.net digital.)