DURANT
The Cougars entered the season with a very different look than the team that made a run to the State Final Four in 2021, with 14 seniors from that team lost to graduation. Most notably Sean Hermann, a 14th round draft pick to the New York Yankees.
But that’s the nature of high school sports, and Durant responded. The addition of senior Torin Byrnes bolstered the pitching staff and upon the return of sophomore Blaine Rowland after suffering a preseason injury to his non-throwing arm, he struck out 34 hitters over his 29.2 innings while allowing just four earned runs en route to a 0.94 ERA. With juniors Ian Bast serving as a third starter and Gavin Florio as the primary arm in relief, Durant posted a team ERA of just 2.60.
And despite a relatively young lineup, Durant’s offense was strong this season with just over six runs scored per game behind a team batting average of .300. The offense was led by junior catcher Dylan LaPointe, posting a team-high .425 average, five home runs and 23 runs batted in. Behind LaPointe, sophomore Noah Morales drove in 16 runs, senior Oscar Fernandez drove in 15 – both with one home run each – and the sophomore duo of Nick April-Gath and Devin Suero became on-base machines with batting averages of .349 and .325, respectively.
While the Cougars couldn’t match their 22-6 record from 2021 and a trip back to the Final Four, they finished the season with a strong 18-9 record, a district championship victory over rival Newsome and one win in the regional tournament.
PLANT CITY
In 2022 the Raiders looked largely similar to the team they had in 2021. Plant City lost a couple of strong bats in their lineup to 2021’s senior class, but 2022 featured most of the lineup and nearly the exact same pitching staff that led them to a 16-10 record the year before, with a little bit more experience under their belt.
Their offense was inconsistent at times – hitting .251 as a team with 5.29 runs per game – but the Raiders stellar pitching staff gave them a chance to battle in every single game as they compiled a team earned run average of just 1.42. The unit was largely reliant on just four arms in starters Adan Longoria and Chase Mobley, followed by relievers Preston Rogers and Tanner Rollyson. Longoria led the unit with 57.2 innings pitched, striking out 76 hitters and allowing just nine earned runs for an ERA of 1.09. Mobley wasn’t far off, striking out 62 batters over 41.1 innings with an ERA of 2.03. Coming out of the bullpen, Rogers finished the year with a 1.37 ERA and three saves over 35.2 innings and Rollyson was one of just three qualified pitchers in the state of Florida to finish his season with a 0.00 ERA, allowing no earned runs over his 24 innings of work.
Offensively the team was led by senior catcher Colin Shultz and senior outfielder Jackson VanDerZee, a new addition to the roster in 2022. VanDerZee led the district with seven home runs while driving in 15 RBI and hitting .362, while Shultz finished the year with six home runs, a district-high 26 RBI and hit .368. Behind the senior duo, Mobley cleared the .300 mark with a .303 batting average, 11 runs batted in and two home runs.
And while Plant City wasn’t able to advance to the regional tournament following a razor thin loss in the district semifinal to Durant, their 17-7 record marked their highest win total since their 30-2 State Championship team in 2019.
STRAWBERRY CREST
The Chargers have been a model of consistency since the school first opened their doors in 2009, winning no fewer than 14 games since going 9-13 in their second season, and 2022 was no different.
With a productive lineup from top to bottom – hitting .269 as a team while scoring just north of six runs per game – and a consistent pitching staff, Strawberry Crest was able to secure their fourth consecutive district title in 2022 en route to an appearance in the regional finals.
The Chargers pitching finished the year with a 2.80 ERA as a team behind starters Zach Redner and Luke Richardson and relievers Alex Philpott and Zach Vincent. Redner highlighted the staff with an 8-1 record and a 1.39 ERA while Philpott racked up six saves on the year. But Richardson was notably strong as well, winning a number of big games en route to a 6-2 record and 2.48 ERA. In what may have been a pleasant surprise for 2022, their relievers were strong despite the fact that Philpott didn’t register a single appearance in the 2021 season while Vincent totaled just 5.1 innings pitched.
Eight different players in the Chargers’ lineup drove in double-digit runs this season, led by senior Ethan Pues with a team-high .349 batting average, 26 RBI, nine doubles and five home runs. Behind Pues, Philpott drove in 19 runs of his own with two home runs, Redner drove in 18 with two home runs and Vickers drove in 18 behind a .309 batting average and eight doubles. While junior shortstop Arjun Nimmala was out of the lineup for nearly half of the season due to a wrist injury, he bounced right back with 14 runs batted in and three home runs by season’s end.
With a final record of 20-9, Strawberry Crest posted their highest single-season win total in school history, beating out their previous marks of 19 wins in both 2018 and 2019.