Area parks hosting events
This weekend, Global Sports Alliance Florida Baseball will host Fall State Championships tournament action at Mike Sansone Park, the Randy L. Larson Softball Four-Plex, Plant City Stadium, Ellis-Methvin Park, Snowden Park and the MLK Rec Complex on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Games start at 6 and 7:15 pm. Friday and between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
The Fork Ran Away with the Spoon 5K also comes to town on Saturday. The race, sponsored by the United Food Bank of Plant City in conjunction with the Empty Bowls Project, starts and ends downtown at the Palmer Street train depot. There is a $35 race fee plus a $3 sign-up fee. Runners have until 11:59 p.m. tonight to register. Visit ufbpc.org/fork-ran-away-w-the-spoon-5k to sign up.
Next weekend, GSA Florida Baseball comes back with its Gulf Coast League championships. That tourney will use fields at Mike Sansone Park, the Randy L. Larson Softball Four-Plex, Plant City Stadium, Ellis-Methvin Park, Snowden Park and the MLK Rec Complex from Nov. 15-17. Games start at 6 and 7:15 pm. Nov. 15 and between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Nov. 16 and 17.
U.S. Road Running will host its Fall Best Friends 10K Relay Race, 5K and 10K Lap Race at Ellis-Methvin Park’s walking trail on Nov. 16. The races start at 7 a.m. and awards will be given out afterward for top finishers and costumes.
Visit runsignup.com/Race/FL/PlantCity/EllisMethvin to register. The cost is $50 for a relay team, $29 to run the 10K and $24 to run the 5K. Runners have until 11:59 p.m. Nov. 14 to sign up online and can do so at the park on race day, though the cost for each race increases for on-site registration.
Raiders barely miss playoffs
Plant City High School’s football team and fans needed a lot to go right for the Raiders to get back in the FHSAA playoffs this year, but found out Sunday that the playoff return will have to wait.
The Raiders entered the final week of the regular season with a bye and were positioned right on the bubble with the new RPI ranking system. They needed to jump the Melbourne Bulldogs in the standings to make the cut as an 8 seed and things looked hopeful for PCHS when the Bulldogs lost to Eau Gallie, 33-6, and fellow bubble team St. Cloud took a 30-6 loss to Victory Christian Academy. But on Sunday, when the FHSAA finalized rankings and filled out the postseason brackets, Plant City’s final RPI of 0.564 came just 0.005 points short of a tie for the 8 seed.
“We fell short of one of our goals, but a lot was accomplished this season,” the team’s official Twitter account wrote that morning. “I’m proud of this group of young men!”
Colts teams eliminated in MidFlorida playoffs
The Plant City Colts were riding high following a pair of district championship wins, which set up the Mitey Mites and Pee Wees with semifinal matches against the Greenwood Panthers. Unfortunately for the Colts, Greenwood knocked both teams out of the Super Bowl championship bracket on Nov. 2.