Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By Don Trello

The Laker/Lutz News Correspondent

Sunlake coach Dick Rohrberg might be the high school equivalent of former St. Louis Cardinals managers Whitey Herzog and Tony La Russa when it comes to what he believes it takes to play winning baseball.

Herzog’s teams were known for the ability to manufacture runs using base hits, walks, stolen bases, hit-and-runs and sacrifices. His managerial style was dubbed Whitey Ball and became known as small ball, which La Russa took to a new level during his tenure.

“I want kids that want to learn the game and get better,” said Rohrberg, who is in his fifth season as Seahawks coach. “I want them to be fundamentally sound and play the game the right way.”

Rohrberg’s background includes stints as an assistant coach at Dayton University and 12 years as head coach at Chamberlain. He also works as a talent evaluator for the Baseball Factory.

“(Assistant coach) Mike Peeples played AAA for the Rockies and Jays,” said Rohrberg. “My background is college and his is pro baseball. This is his first year as assistant coach, and we complement each other well.”

Sunlake practices and pregame preparations mirror those of college and professional teams starting with batting practice, including emphasis on bunting skills and work on fielding. Players are constantly in motion and not allowed to sit on the bench.

“I tell the kids to decide what fun is,” Rohrberg said. “I ask them if they want to come and goof around and not become better baseball players or if they want to come out and learn how to win. … We have 14 players, and every one of them is willing to put the work in and they are getting there. We’ve shown we can be competitive.”

Sunlake (8-8) has the chance at its first winning season since 2009 when it was 13-12. Major contributors to the resurgence are senior first baseman Travis Doyel and junior left-handed pitcher David Castillo.

“Castillo has a tremendous upside and could be a premium pitcher if he works hard,” Rohrberg said. “He’s an aggressive hitter with quick hands that puts the ball in play.”

Castillo is 3-2 with a 1.28 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 38.1 innings. He also is the second leading hitter on the team with a .340 batting average.

“I was a pitcher and outfielder my freshman year, but I didn’t make the team,” Castillo said. “My brother was a senior starter, and I thought I was better than him. I never got to play with him, and that motivated me to try harder.”

Castillo made the junior varsity team his sophomore year as the No. 1 pitcher.

“I didn’t move up to the varsity, but it wasn’t a big deal,” Castillo said. “I’m an aggressive hitter and I love hitting, but I like pitching best. I just love playing baseball.”

Doyel leads Sunlake with a .368 average, and has also seen duty as a pitcher.

“This is the best start the team has had since I’ve been here,” said Doyel, who started as a sophomore. “We are making contact and hitting the ball harder. … Last year we would get into a losing streak and just let it happen. Now the team plays hard to the last inning. We are all tired of losing.”

Castillo and Doyel combined to pitch the first no-hitter in school history March 4 in a 10-2 win against Anclote.

“I was happy about the no-hitter, but I could have done better,” said Castillo, who pitched four innings and struck out 11 batters. “I had five walks and gave up two unearned runs because of a bad pickoff throw and a wild pitch. … I didn’t know about the school not having a no-hitter until after the game. It’s good to make history, but I’d like to do it again.”

Doyel relieved Castillo and pitched the last three innings. Doyel was somewhat bemused when he recalled the unusual ending of the game.

“David let me know there was a no-hitter and I better not give it up,” Doyel said. “I knew we never had a no-hitter, and that was extra motivation. … I walked two guys with one out in the seventh inning. Then there was a fly ball to left and Castillo dropped the ball. He picked it up and threw to third for a force out, and the third baseman threw it to second to complete a double play. I never saw a game end like that.”

Rohrberg said he hoped to use the first no-hitter as a building block for his program seeking its first playoff berth: “It’s something you can build on.”

By Kyle LoJacono

The Freedom flag football team clinched the top seed in the District 16 tournament by winning its final three league contests.

Securing the No. 1 spot appeared nearly impossible for the Patriots (6-1, 5-1) after dropping a 12-6 home contest to Steinbrenner April 1 thanks in large part to the Warriors’ (5-2, 5-1) fourth-quarter interception returned for a touchdown.

“After we lost to Steinbrenner we knew we’d have to win our last three district games to have a chance at the No. 1 seed,” said Freedom coach Dennis Derflinger. “That was a really tough loss because we had the ball near the end zone when they intercepted it, so we go from looking like we’re going to take the lead to losing by six.”

The Patriots responded with a win at Wharton three days later, but faced a much tougher challenge April 8 when two-time defending district champ Alonso came to their field.

The squads entered halftime 0-0, but the Ravens scored on their first possession after the break to go ahead 6-0.

“We didn’t have any doubt that we could come back because we trust each other,” said senior linebacker/wide receiver Ashle Thompson (32 flag pulls, 368 receiving yards, five touchdowns). “We knew what we had to do to beat them. That’s all we were focusing on.”

Sophomore rusher/wide receiver Taylor Mort (eight sacks) rose to the challenge by scoring on a 2-yard run with about four minutes left in the fourth quarter. Senior Veronica Bell tacked on the extra point with a catch over the middle to put the Patriots ahead for good 7-6.

“We have some extra point plays that we’re pretty confident in,” Derflinger said. “The bigger thing was stopping them on their extra point. I tell them that can be the game when you stop an extra point, and it was for us.”

Derflinger pointed to a key 24-yard pass from senior quarterback Missy Dunbar (13 touchdowns) to sophomore wide receiver Mackenzie Dyer to set up the winning score.

Alonso beat Steinbrenner April 4, tying the three squads atop the district. The outcome gave Freedom the inside track for the top seed because the Patriots have three road wins within the league to the Warriors’ and Ravens’ two, which is the third tie-breaker.

Freedom just had to beat Sickles at home April 11 to clinch the No. 1 seed.

The Gryphons (1-6) scored on their opening possession to go ahead 6-0, but the Patriots responded with three first-half touchdowns to win 21-6.

Sickles threatened to make it a one-score contest, but senior linebacker Lauren Repp’s interception with 2:40 left in the contest iced the game.

“I saw that she was going to throw over the middle, so I thought I could make a play on it,” said Repp, who had a game-high nine flag pulls. “Just stepped in front and caught it.”

Dunbar completed 14 of 25 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns. She also picked off three passes while playing safety.

Sophomore running back Tia Jackson (355 yards, four touchdowns) had 72 receiving yards, including a 52-yard touchdown. Thompson had five catches for 94 yards and a 30-yard score.

The District 16 tournament is at Alonso April 22 to 24, with the final April 24 at 7 p.m.

Freedom hosts East Bay April 15 and Chamberlain April 18 to close the regular season. Both contests start at 7 p.m.

—Follow Kyle LoJacono on Twitter: @Kyle_Laker

By Jeff Odom

Land O’ Lakes baseball coach Calvin Baisley wasn’t sure what to expect from his team against Wiregrass Ranch April 10 after a puzzling loss to Ridgewood two days earlier.

It took the host Gators (17-3) just one pitch, a lead-off home run by senior Dylan Harris, to give him the answer he was looking for as his squad got to Bulls (13-6) pitcher Zach Drury early en route to a 7-3 win.

“Our kids respond to a challenge,” Baisley said. “We have faced the best pitchers around, and they take it as a challenge. … Dylan just got right on that first pitch, and that set the tone from there.”

Harris, a Saint Leo University signee, said he was looking for a good pitch to drive early in the at bat.

“I was trying to get our team started, and we hadn’t been scoring runs the last few games,” Harris said. “I saw a pitch elevated in the zone, and I got it and drove it out.”

After Harris’ homer, Drury walked Josh Nissen and allowed Alex Reynolds to reach on an error.

That’s when they broke it open.

Pitcher Zach Whitaker singled to right field to score Nissen, followed by Quintin Perez’s two-RBI base hit to left field two batters later to extend the Land O’ Lakes’ lead to 4-0. Drury ended the inning with two strikeouts.

The Bulls responded in the second inning.

Alex Goebel, Shane Bucenell and Alex Fernandez each singled to start the frame. Goebel scored on Ryan Girard’s fielder’s choice, and a wild pitch allowed Bucenell to score from third.

A single to center by Austin Drury made it 4-3, but that’s all Wiregrass Ranch would get.

“I was just getting bad luck on a few hits and I threw good pitches, but they were able to get a few bloopers,” Whitaker said. “I tried not to get too rattled, because sometimes I let my emotions get the best of me.”

The Gators took advantage of three walks, a Connor Stephens double and another error to add three more runs in the second inning to go ahead 6-3.

Drury departed with one out in the third after an infield single by Austin Conner, another wild pitch that allowed another run to score and a double to right field by Harris. The Wiregrass Ranch junior finished with five earned runs, four walks and five strikeouts in his second-shortest outing of the season.

Whitaker kept the Bulls scoreless for the next three innings, but it wasn’t easy.

Wiregrass Ranch loaded the bases with two outs in the fourth, but came up empty. The Bulls also had runners in scoring position in the fifth, but again couldn’t take advantage as Nissen relieved Whitaker and forced a groundout.

Nissen stifled the Wiregrass Ranch offense the rest of the way with six straight ground balls to secure the win.

“I know they’ve got good hitters, but I wanted to make sure I hit my spots and pick up Zach,” Nissen said. “He worked hard out there on the mound all night and he got some jams, but our hitting and defense had our back.”

Land O’ Lakes travels to Central April 17 and Wiregrass Ranch plays at cross-town rival Wesley Chapel April 16. Both games start at 7 p.m.

By Kyle LoJacono

The third annual Wiregrass Relays April 9 gave several area track and field teams the ability to prep for the Class 3A-District 6 meet in a relaxed setting.

“It gives them a chance to see the track before districts,” said Wiregrass Ranch coach Don Howard, whose school hosts the 3A-6 event April 16. “We do it as a relay just to have some fun with it.”

All seven participating schools are in 3A-6 and competed in such relays as the 4×1,600-meter, 4×400 coed and the highly popular throwers 4×100, which only included those who did the shot put and/or discus throw at the meet.

The Bulls girls won their side of the throwers relays, while Land O’ Lakes claimed first for the boys (49 seconds).

Gators junior Shaheed Salmon, who ran the second leg of the throwers relay, said they were confident going in.

“This is the first time we’ve done it this year, but we were confident,” said Salmon with a big smile.

The Wiregrass Ranch girls ended up winning consecutive event titles with 69 points, besting second-place Land O’ Lakes by 11. The Gators boys also repeated as champs with 72 points, 15 more than the Bulls.

Howard said winning the event likely won’t have any bearing on his squad going for its fifth straight district crown, but it also doesn’t hurt.

“I like where we are,” Howard said. “We have some girls who are hurt who have to get healthy, because we have no wiggle room. … It’s us and Belleview; it came down to seven points last year, and it looks like it’s going to be that close again. If the girls perform and do what they’re capable of doing, unless Belleview surprises us with something, we should win, but there’s no room for any one girl to have a bad day.”

Wiregrass Ranch’s 4×800 relay team posted a 9:49, its best performance of the year.

“The 4×800 team running a 9:49 is where we want to be,” Howard said. “I told the girls I believe they still have another eight to 10 seconds to take off that. We just started the work to get their times to drop, and it dropped immediately. We’ve still got more workouts that we routinely do through the postseason. They’re ahead of the game right now.”

Senior Nikita Shah, the relay’s anchor, said she couldn’t be prouder of the 4×800 squad.

“Definite shout out to Elise (Cedre), Berlin (Waters) and Maddie (Conway),” Shah said. “We all had our best times of the year, and as a team by 20 seconds. You don’t ever see that in the 4×800. We’re ready to go to states and see if we can medal there.”

Waters led off the relay with a 2:29. The Saint Leo University signee, for both cross country and soccer, is in her first season running track.

“It’s been really fun to come out and do this for the first time, and my last time,” Waters said. “I’m really looking forward to districts.”

Waters passed the baton to Conway, a freshman who posted a 2:27.

“I was not expecting to go 2:27,” Conway said. “I was hoping just to break 2:30.”

Shah called Conway a “prodigy” for what she’s accomplished in her first season.

“(Conway) is very much talked about on our team,” Shah said. “She’s really talented and works really hard.”

Cedre, a junior, and Shah closed the relay with a 2:30 and 2:23, respectively.

Shah reached the 3A state meet last year in the 1,600 and 3,200, placing third in the latter.

“I feel really strong and confident going into the postseason,” said Shah, a Harvard University signee.

Bulls teammate Hannah Eder also had a breakout day at the relay by surpassing her own program record in the triple jump (35-feet, 5-inches). The senior, who won districts last year in the triple and long jumps, said she was unsure about her steps earlier in the season, which resulted in a lot of scratches.

“Early in the year I was just not running as fast as I can on the runway, and now I’m more confident and less tentative,” Eder said. “Putting the speed with the steps is coming together and it’s getting farther.”

Wiregrass Ranch freshman sprinter/jumper Gelisa Jenkins, who scored in four events at the Sunshine Athletic Conference meet, said she will be prepared for districts with some late fine tuning.

“I think I can still improve my technique and how I pace myself,” Jenkins said. “My biggest thing is mind over matter, so when I feel like I can’t go anymore I have to remind myself that I can, and when I do I can go way farther than I think I can.”

The Bulls boys 4×800 relay also posted a season best time (8:28). A key member of the squad is senior Ermias Bireda, the defending district and regional champion in the 1,600.

“My workouts have shown me that I can definitely compete for that medal,” Bireda said. “I’m in the shape I need to be. I’ve just got to perform now.”

Bireda said he’s motivated by last year’s state meet when he was in third place rounding the final turn of the 1,600, only to be tripped with about 100 meters to go and dash his chance at a top eight finish and a medal.

“I keep what happened at states last year in mind during all of my races,” Bireda said. “It’s hard to forget. This is my last season, my last chance to get a medal.”

—Follow Kyle LoJacono on Twitter: @Kyle_Laker

Academy’s Lauren Evans posts eye-popping stats

By Kyle LoJacono

Jerry English has spent half a lifetime coaching high school softball.

The veteran skipper, who is in his second season leading the Academy at the Lakes program, has seen many talented players in his 30 years coaching, but junior shortstop Lauren Evans is different from anyone else.

“If you put a list of the 10 things you look for in a good player, some of the best have eight checkmarks or seven,” English said. “Most have some weakness. Lauren has a perfect score.”

The 6-foot, University of South Florida commit started playing T-ball and baseball at age 7 because they didn’t have a softball program at the Land O’ Lakes Little League at the time.

“Then I moved to softball,” Evans said. “I had to pick between soccer, basketball or softball, and I chose softball and stuck with it.”

The decision has worked out of Evans, who is hitting .600 with a .694 on-base percentage, 24 runs, 15 RBI and 11 steals this season. She uses a simple mindset when stepping to the plate.

“I always tell myself don’t focus on numbers, don’t focus on stats, just try to put the ball in play and make hard contact and drive the ball,” Evans said. “That’s really what I’m thinking every time I’m up. I don’t try to think it would be really nice to hit a home run here because we’d win the game. I just think get on base and let the team do what we know how to do.”

The opposition has taken notice of Evans eye-popping numbers, so she rarely gets good pitches to hit. Pitchers will often intentionally walk her multiple times in a game as to not risk the slugger’s power.

“Either way is fine for me if I walk or hit it,” Evans said. “I’m still getting on base. I don’t really mind. Sometimes it does bother me because I do like to hit, but if they walk me I can’t really do anything about it.”

She did enter the season feeling some stress after posting a .652 batting average with 44 RBI, 33 runs and four home runs as a sophomore.

“Last year was the best year I’ve ever had,” Evans said. “There’s a lot of pressure. It’s still a team, but we all rely on each other. So there’s pressure to do well and stay up there, but there’s pressure from the school as well because so many teams are doing so well. Hopefully we can keep that up.”

—Follow Kyle LoJacono on Twitter: @Kyle_Laker

By Kyle LoJacono

One of the key players in Academy at the Lakes girls basketball’s ascendance as a state powerhouse has committed to play at the next level.

Wildcats senior forward Andrea Mauger announced she will continue her career at Franklin & Marshall College, a Division III program in Lancaster, Pa.

“It’s an amazing dream come true for me,” Mauger said. “This is what I’ve been working for since the seventh grade, so to be able to say that I got here means a lot to me, and it just proves to me that you really can get whatever you want in life if you work hard enough.”

Mauger transferred from Wesley Chapel after her freshman season. The academy was 0-15 the year before her arrival, and she helped the squad finish 19-5 and reach the regional finals in her first season with the squad.

The academy went on to post 23-6 and 25-3 records in 2011-12 and 2012-13, respectively, while reaching the Class 2A final four both years, including a state runner-up finish in February.

“The whole experience has been an amazing one,” Mauger said. “I couldn’t have asked for a more successful career. We started at nothing and really built the program over there. It was exciting to see everybody jump on board and support us. I think we really turned around the attitude of winning at that school. People come out and expect us to win now. … To have two state appearances, I think if you’d have told them that a couple years ago they’d have just laughed.”

Mauger, who was named The Laker/Lutz News Girls Basketball Player of the Year in 2012, finishes her high school career with more than 1,500 points. Her squad reached at least the regional finals every season in high school.

Mauger said the Franklin & Marshall coaches are looking for her to be more of a shooting guard.

“I chose the school based on academic performance as well as basketball, and a place where I could make a difference instead of just going for the school name,” Mauger said.

The Diplomats went 8-17 last season, 5-15 in Centennial Conference play.

—Follow Kyle LoJacono on Twitter: @Kyle_Laker