By FRANCIS FEDOR
Major League Baseball is about to open camp throughout the Tampa area and High School Baseball is prepping to get back out on the diamond with the regular season about to get underway. The chill may not be totally behind us and daylight is still increasing, but the South Shore teams will start their drive to a season ending with the goal of a playoff run.
In 2025, the East Bay Indians led the then South Shore Five with an appearance in the state playoffs, capping off a 15-13 regular season with a district championship. The Indians earned a first-round bye as the top seed in the 5A District 9 bracket. They defeated Hillsborough 5-1 and then routed Spoto 10-3 for the championship. For the state playoffs, the Indians lost their first-round match up in a best-of-three series against the Manatee Hurricanes. The Indians opened with a 9-4 win. Manatee evened the series at one win apiece with a 3-0 victory and then advanced to the second round with a wild 10-inning 15-14 win, a heartbreaking end to a successful East Bay season under head coach Rowland Ruiz.
East Bay will look to replicate that success in 2026 and will field an experienced roster with eight seniors and seven juniors. The Indians will face their first SS6 opponent vs Riverview on Feb. 10 and will face Braden River twice, in a home-and-home, twice in their first six games of the season.
Sumner finished the 2024-25 campaign just under .500 at 11-12 with a tough 4-3 loss in its 7A District 7 playoffs. Head coach Kennedy Duran looks to improve on that record with his team, which, in his words, is a talented group led by Winston Pennant & Ethan DeJesus, but we have glue guys like Eric Farmer, Mason Morales, Sebastian Rodriguez, Cameron Pauquette. DeJesus has grown as a Ray and participated in the World Baseball U18 Tournament in Japan as a member of the Puerto Rico squad and is a commit to FGCU. Pennant, a power hitter, is always a threat to homer and is a commit to OLE Miss. Duran has one motivation for the season, to raise the standard, not just in wins, but in how we practice, how we compete and how we represent our school. Duran, taking the HC role at the opening of the school, is now in his sixth season at the helm of the Stingrays and is “building a culture where effort is non negotiable, accountability is shared and every player understands that their growth matters. This year is about proving that our work ethic can outlast talent, that our chemistry can outplay pressure and that our commitment can carry us further than anyone expects.” He has a game against Durant circled on the calendar as a big test. The Cougars have a starter that is headed to Florida State. Each of the South Shore rivalry games will be a must watch, especially a Feb. 24 game vs. Lennard, Duran’s previous team, which will be a great game to get out and see.
Lennard, and head coach Victor Martinez, are coming off a 10-13 season (1-0 in 6A District 12), having lost a tough game to the eventual district champion, the Palmetto Tigers, 2-0. The Longhorns had a very successful stretch at the tail end of the season, where they won five of six games, their only loss to a highly touted Strawberry Crest squad that went 19-9 on the season. The team will be looking for the rising seniors to step into key roles left by five graduating seniors, including stars RJ Torres, Pablo Garcia and Sebastian Rojas. Christian Skaggs (and his stingy 1.38 Earned Run Average) along with JV Brennick will be counted on to lead the pitching staff and will be a part of a key battery combo with Mikie Locke (who led the team in batting average) at the all-important catcher position. The 2026 Longhorns will take the field for the first time on Feb. 10 vs. Bloomingdale. They will face all SS6 rivals and have Morgan coming to Ruskin on Mar. 5. A couple of key early match ups will be at Newsome on Feb. 12 and Durant at home on Feb. 17.
The Morgan Mustangs will take the field for the first time on Feb. 6 vs. Sarasota Military Academy. Head coach Lastings Milledge, coming over from Spoto, will craft a lineup from a group that will not include any seniors. The team will start the season with nine freshmen on the roster. Milledge and the Mustangs get an early reunion with his former Spartans team on Feb. 10 vs Spoto.
Spoto comes into the season coming off a 12-14 season where it lost to East Bay in the 5A District 9 playoffs. Kevin O’Sullivan will look to a better result in the 2026 campaign. The Spartans will open the season with two road games against SS6 rivals. They will be a part of history in playing the first ever regular season baseball game in Wimauma against the Mustangs, opening the baseball program for Morgan HS. They then stay on the road to play Riverview before hosting Bloomingdale for their first home game. They also get to face Durant in an early measuring stick for the 2026 Sharks, hosting the Cougars on Mar. 3.
Riverview is coming off a 6A District 6 schedule that saw the Sharks go 10-15, losing in the district playoffs to Horizon, 5-0, to end their season. Head coach Matthew Yates will look to get off to a strong start as his team faces three SS6 rivals to open its 6A District 6 season. The team will travel down 301 to Big Bend to face East Bay on Feb. 10, welcome Spoto to Riverview on Feb. 12 and visit Wimauma to play its first game ever against the Morgan Mustangs. The Sharks meet district rivals Bloomingdale on Feb. 24 and Durant on Mar. 5, both on the road and offering an early chance to make noise in their district.
A big highlight of the season for a number of SS6 teams will be the mid-March Saladino Tournament, a staple of spring baseball in Hillsborough since 1981. The Saladino family lost its patriarch this past winter. He will be missed and remembered for his impact on HS baseball.
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