Special to The Laker/Lutz News

 

 

By Kyle LoJacono

 

The Wiregrass Ranch baseball team defeated perennial powerhouse Gaither in the Class 7A-District 9 semifinals to clinch the first playoff berth in the program’s seven-year history.

“To finally get to be here and go to the playoffs, I don’t even have any words,” said senior center fielder Marcus Guzman. “Just so happy we could do this for Wiregrass Ranch.”

The No. 3 seed Bulls (17-7) shut out the second-seeded Cowboys (11-12) 3-0 on April 23 at Gaither.

The loss also clinches the first losing record for the tournament host since its inaugural season in 1985 and marks the first time Gaither has failed to reach the playoffs since 2004.

Wiregrass Ranch struck quickly in the top of the first inning.

Guzman scored the opening run after reaching on an outfield error, advancing on a fielder’s choice, stole third and crossed home on Michael Campoamor’s groundout to senior pitcher Hunter Henderson.

“All season we’ve had guys on with two outs, and we’ve failed to get the run in,” Guzman said. “I knew with two outs I had to be aggressive and get in and score that run.”

Pitcher Zach Drury also scored in the opening frame thanks to an RBI single by sophomore outfielder/first baseman Shane Bucenell.

That was all the run support Zach needed to pick up his seventh win of the season, but the junior was in and out of trouble throughout the contest as the Cowboys stranded 10 base runners. He allowed three hits and four walks to six strikeouts in the 104-pitch effort.

“My mechanics, I could feel that they were off,” said Zach, who used 45 pitches in the first two innings. “I started leaving everything up, so I had to start staying on top of the ball. I was feeling good, but the ball was just up. … They were swinging at some high fastballs early, and that really helped me get out of some of those jams.”

Henderson allowed only five hits and one earned run by keeping the Bulls off balance with his fastball and breaking pitches.

“That pitcher for Gaither is tough,” said Wiregrass Ranch coach Jeff Swymer. “I don’t know what it is he does to the ball, but he makes it dance and makes guys swing at pitches we shouldn’t.”

The Bulls added a run in the fifth when sophomore catcher Alex Goebel scored on sophomore Austin Drury’s sacrifice fly.

Austin, Zach’s brother, replaced him on the mound with runners on first and second base and one out in the sixth inning. The lefty got Rudy Dominquez to line out to center field and picked off Efley Espinal at first to end the threat.

Austin picked up his third save of the year by picking off courtesy runner Randy LoCicero after Henderson reached on a single, struck out Gaither leadoff hitter Tyler Tyson and forced cleanup hitter Chris Minor to pop up back to the mound with runners on first and second.

Wiregrass Ranch was unable to capture the 7A-9 championship, falling to Steinbrenner (22-2) 4-0 April 25. Swymer said he didn’t have to get on his players after the shutout loss.

“I could see that it bothered them, and it was good that it bothered them,” Swymer said. “The one that really matters is next Thursday.”

The Bulls travel to Countryside May 2 at 7 p.m. in the regional quarterfinals.

—Correspondent Andy Warrener contributed to this story

 

 

By Jeff Odom

 

The Wesley Chapel baseball team didn’t take home the Class 5A-District 8 title April 26, but it did clinch the program’s first playoff berth since 2011.

The No. 2 seeded Wildcats (19-5) led early, but fell behind tournament host and top-seed Pasco after the Pirates (20-8) put up four runs in the second inning to win 6-2.

“We hit the ball well tonight, but they made some excellent plays against us,” said Wesley Chapel coach Chuck Yingling. “We didn’t make the plays early in the game, and that cost us some runs because we didn’t make the plays. … Sometimes that’s the way it’s played, but you’ve got to stay focused.”

Pirates starter Lane Stancil, who had pitched just two innings in the regular season, walked Kyle Bierly to open the first, who advanced to second on a fielder’s choice. He took third on a passed ball, and junior Turner Imhoff, a Pasco transfer, hit Bierly home on another fielder’s choice to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.

Wesley Chapel had a chance to break it open in the second inning with the bases loaded and two outs, but a weak groundball by Michael Jones got the Pirates out of the jam.

Not much went right for the Wildcats after that.

Pasco tied the game in the bottom of the frame when Matt Plourde reached on a fielding error and Troy Rivera doubled to center field off Wesley Chapel lefty Hunter Robinson to make it 1-1.

Two straight throwing errors by the Wesley Chapel infield scored Rivera from second and gave the Pirates runners on the corners with one out. Robbie Hanlon kept the rally going with an RBI single to right field, and Phillip Wilson finished it off when he stole home to make it 4-1.

Pasco added an insurance run in the third when Logan Johnson slapped an RBI double.

Pirates first-year coach Pat Fortunato, an assistant for Yingling at Wesley Chapel for five seasons, said his team needed to give its tired pitching staff plenty of cushion and responded well despite the early deficit.

The Wildcats wouldn’t go quietly as they trimmed the lead to three in the fifth when Kyle Custer drove in a run on a sacrifice fly after a pair of walks to open the inning, and a Stancil wild pitch gave Wesley Chapel runners in scoring position with one out, but Pasco ended the threat there.

The Pirates added another run in the bottom of the fifth and worked out of a pair of jams in the sixth and seventh when the Wildcats got runners to second and third with two outs.

“(Making the playoffs) was a big challenge for them, and they did it,” Yingling said. “We’re excited about it, and now we just got to go play because it’s a one-game season every time you step out on to the field.”

Wesley Chapel defeated No. 3 Ridgewood 2-0 April 24 to earn a playoff berth.

Senior pitcher Chase Ingram gave up five hits and struck out eight in a complete game shutout of the Rams (15-10).

The Wildcats travel to Hernando for the regional quarterfinals May 2 at 7 p.m. Yingling said it’s going to be a tough test, but he knows his team will be focused.

“Nothing counts what we’ve done up until now,” Yingling said. “It’s all going to be about what we do starting (in practice) on Monday.”

 

 

By Jeff Odom

 

The Wharton baseball team’s road back to the playoffs can be summed up in one word — unprecedented.

The Wildcats (12-14) entered the Class 8A-District 7 tournament as the sixth and last seed and winless in league play during the regular season. All signs pointed to a quick exit for the defending 8A-7 champs.

Reality told a very different story.

Wharton upset No. 3 Newsome 4-3 in the quarterfinals. The Wildcats toppled No. 2 Alonso in the semifinals 4-2 to clinch a postseason berth before falling to top seed and tournament host Durant in the championship game 5-1 April 25.

“It’s always great to prove people wrong, which we have definitely done by moving out of our district, and it feels good,” said senior shortstop Tucker Neuhaus. “I don’t think any of us are surprised. The whole season we knew what we are capable of, and we really pulled together and made stuff happen.”

The bulk of last year’s playoff success came from graduated pitchers Collin Woody, who was The Laker/Lutz News Baseball Player of the Year in 2012, and Harvard University signee Shaun Rubin. The duo combined for more than 159 innings of work, 15 wins and a 1.34 ERA.

In their place, senior starters Collin Britch (1-3, 2.73 ERA) and Mike Gonzalez (2-6, 3.10 ERA), along with sophomore reliever Cooper Borden (0-2, 2.84 ERA), have filled the void by eating up 111.5 of the team’s 153.1 innings this season.

Neuhaus returned to Wharton’s lineup after missing more than a month with an injury, but it wasn’t baseball that the University of Louisville-bound senior was focused on this season.

His 19-year-old brother, and former Wharton and Steinbrenner catcher Ty, was killed in a car accident last November. It left Neuhaus shattered as he wondered how to cope with the loss of his best friend.

Neuhaus decided to keep playing and dedicated the season to his brother’s memory by changing his number to 19, the same as Ty.

“I told my dad (before the season) that there’s going to be two Neuhaus boys in this jersey this year,” Neuhaus said. “I am getting up every morning, coming out here to play the game for God and for Ty, because this was his dream too, and his dream was the same. Now, it’s not just for me, but it’s for both of us.

“Things this spring have definitely been some hard times with losing him and the injuries, but I know Ty would want me to keep moving and pushing forward just like he always did,” he added, “I hold on to that and try to do what I know he is proud of.”

The Wildcats travel to East Lake for the regional quarterfinals May 1 at 7 p.m.

 

 

By Jeff Odom

 

The Land O’ Lakes baseball team was rendered silent after its 6-3 loss to host Mitchell in the Class 6A-District 10 final April 25.

Not a word was spoken as the top-seeded Gators (21-6) walked off the field in a state of disbelief as the No. 2 Mustangs (23-5) doused each other with ice water buckets while celebrating.

“You know, we had our chances,” said Land O’ Lakes coach Calvin Baisley. “We had just as many scoring opportunities as they did. We just didn’t cash in, and we left too many guys on base.”

The Gators, who defeated Mitchell both times in the regular season, were playing catch-up from the top of the first inning.

Chris McCormick singled to center field of Land O’ Lakes pitcher Jake Rawls and moved to second base on a passed ball. Rawls struck out Cobi Johnson, but Steinbrenner transfer Marcus Begg lined an RBI base hit up the middle.

The Mustangs made it 2-0 when PJ DeJesus singled to right, which scored Begg from third.

The Gators dug themselves into a bigger hole in the second when Mitchell plated two more runs to take a 4-0 lead, forcing Baisley to make an early pitching change by bringing in right-hander Brett Renner.

Land O’ Lakes cut into the Mustangs’ lead in the bottom of the second when it scored on a bases-loaded walk drawn by Connor Stephens with one out, but a pop up by Dylan Harris and a line-out by Josh Nissen squandered away any more opportunities to score.

Mitchell coach Scott Wilcox said his team capitalized when it mattered.

“We came out and had one thing in mind, and that was taking care of Land O’ Lakes,” Wilcox said. “They’re a scrappy, tough team, and they’ll do whatever they need to do to make a game close.”

Alex Reynolds gave the Gators a boost with a leadoff home run in the third over the right field wall to trim the Mustangs lead to two. They cut the deficit to 4-3 when Stephens smacked a bases-loaded, two-out RBI single to center field, but Harris grounded out to end the threat.

“We left them loaded with our best hitters up too many times,” Baisley said. “We battled back, made it a game, and we had our chance.”

Begg completed the job for Mitchell in the fourth with a mammoth home run, his seventh of the year, to make it 6-3.

“It felt good to be able to blow the game open there,” said Begg, who finished 3-of-4 with three RBI. “It feels great to be able to come here with great teammates.”

McCormick finished off the Gators on the mound. He allowed nine hits, three in the final four innings, to seven strikeouts in a complete game victory.

Land O’ Lakes travels to Winter Haven for the regional quarterfinals May 1 at 7 p.m.

 

 

 

By Kyle LoJacono

 

CJ McGill left his first practice with the Wharton boys basketball team four years ago, went home and cried.

The momentary scorn from Tommy Tonelli was more than the freshman could stand, but the Wildcats’ coach saw something special with the young point guard.

“You could tell right away he was a special player, special kid,” Tonelli said. “Tremendously talented. I expected great things from him with his talent, ability and attitude.”

What struck McGill the most was the infraction in that first practice wasn’t anything major.

“It was just about the way I was running, but it showed me that even the little things are very important,” McGill said. “Ever since then I knew I had to have a tough mind and a tough will to win.”

And Wharton did a lot of winning with McGill.

The Wildcats amassed a 76-11 record with the 5-foot-8 point guard in the lineup, along with claiming three district championships.

“That was the one thing that I said when any coaches called about him — he’s a winner,” Tonelli said.

The University of Mobile, an NAIA program, listened and offered McGill a scholarship. McGill signed with the Rams April 22.

“I felt it this morning,” said McGill, who will study business management. “I was thinking that I’m really going to sign, and I couldn’t believe it.

“I wanted to play in college, but the biggest thing was I didn’t want my parents (Charles and Dayna) to have to pay for me to go to college,” McGill added. “Getting a free ride to play basketball is just a blessing.”

McGill started playing basketball in fifth grade. He met Wharton teammate Sir Patrick Reynolds, and the duo helped start an AAU team.

McGill also played football growing up as a running back.

“It was a decision that I had to make in ninth grade, football or basketball,” McGill said. “Picked basketball, and the rest is history.”

McGill started every game for Wharton as a freshman, but tore the ACL in his right knee during a 3-on-3 showcase event that summer. The injury robbed him of his entire sophomore season.

“When it happened I thought I wasn’t ever going to heal,” McGill said. “I thought there was no hope, no chance of me playing again, but coach had a talk with me about staying focused for my junior and senior years. … It really humbled me. It taught me a lot, mainly about hard work. Nothing comes easy.”

McGill returned and started every game as a junior and senior. He ends his career as the fourth leading scorer in program history (1,036 points).

“He started every game he was able,” Tonelli said. “Missed his whole sophomore year with the injury, and he would have been our all-time leading scorer if it hadn’t been for his injury and could have made a run at most wins in a career too.”

Reynolds added, “He was the leader of the team. He kept everything together on offense and on defense. Everyone followed his lead, and he’s just a really good person.”

McGill had a breakout season as a senior when he averaged a team-high 17.4 points and 5.8 assists for the 25-5 Wildcats. He was named The Laker/Lutz News Offensive Player of the Year for his work on the court.

Wharton also had one of the most successful seasons in the program’s 16-year history, winning its first regional championship before the Wildcats fell in the Class 8A final four.

McGill thanked his parents, his brother Ahkil and his teammates for supporting him. He said he will always remember his time wearing Wildcats blue.

“It’s been a blast,” McGill said. “I’m never going to forget it. My teammates have been great, and it’s been indescribable how much fun and togetherness we had.”

He also gave special thanks to Tonelli, that same coach who made him cry four seasons ago.

“I love him,” McGill said. “I just love him as a coach, as a person and just all around. He’s helped me so much with my game, as a person, as a young man. I’m grateful for everything he’s done for me.”

Tonelli said he won’t forget McGill’s skill, but other memories stand out more than what his point guard did on the court.

“He’s just a great kid first and foremost,” Tonelli said. “He’s an outstanding player on the court, but he’s been an unbelievable kid off the court. That’s what I’ll always remember about him more than anything — what a great young man he is.”

—Follow Kyle LoJacono on Twitter: @Kyle_Laker

 

 

By Jeff Odom

 

It was a season of firsts for the Academy at the Lakes baseball team, and senior Owen Sarwatka continued that trend April 25 by signing with Oklahoma Wesleyan in Bartlesville, Okla.

The pitcher, who transferred from Tampa Catholic this year, is the only player in program history to sign a scholarship to play in college.

“I’m a little nervous, but I’m excited to get things going for next year,” Sarwatka said. “I’m ready to win a national championship for Oklahoma Wesleyan.”

Sarwatka made a major impact with the Wildcats, helping the team win nine games and come within one win of clinching its first playoff berth. He also threw the first perfect game in program history.

“I was really glad to be a part of it,” Sarwatka said. “I just wish we could have won districts. … I threw the first perfect game, so that was exciting, and I’m looking forward to coming back in five years to see what the program’s doing.”

Wildcats coach Matt Killeen said he believes Sarwatka’s accomplishments will help lead the program to its best seasons down the road.

“It’s really exciting to have one of your seniors sign to play college coming off this great season,” Killeen said. “I think he’s made an impact on the program that will last a very long time. We’ll remember him here for a long, long time, and I think our players will remember him for the rest of their lives. He’s had a very big impact here.”

Sarwatka said he was grateful for his time at the academy and added that he hopes his impact on the team goes far.

“I want to see the school accomplish a lot of things,” Sarwatka said. “I want to come back and see them win districts for the first time and see the school banner put up and maybe a state championship would be nice too.”

Sarwatka is the first male athlete from the academy to sign for the 2013 graduating class and the second in the school’s history.

Oklahoma Wesleyan is an NAIA program competing in the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference.