Special to The Laker/Lutz News

Andy Warrener

Laker/Lutz News Correspondent

The Wiregrass Ranch boys and girls tennis teams continued their dominating ways by sweeping the Class 4A-District 5 tournament April 2-3.

The boys team won Nos. 1-3 singles and both doubles titles to earn 18 points, besting runner-up Plant City by three. The girls took the Nos. 1 and 5 singles and No. 1 doubles events to score 15 points, one better than Plant City.

For the boys it is their third straight district championship, while it is the first for the girls program in the school’s six-year history.

Wiregrass Ranch and Plant City faced off in every final except for the girls No. 1-3 singles and No. 1 doubles; a total of 10 of the 14 events. The Bulls didn’t blink under the pressure.

“We’ve played in bigger matches than this,” said boys coach Dave Wilson, who led his squad to states a year ago. “We feel comfortable in these positions.”

Boys No. 1 Courage Okungbowa and girls No. 1 Star Makarone cruised through their individual brackets. Makarone, a freshman, didn’t yield a single game, while Okungbowa, a junior, only dropped two, both in the final. Neither ace had their serves broken during the two-day event.

Courage strolled through individual matches, but he and doubles teammate Eric Busch ran into stiff competition in Plant City’s Harrison and Spencer Hesek in the No. 1 final. The boys took the first set 6-4, but needed a 7-5 tiebreaker to take the second.

Courage’s younger brother, Foresight, also won the No. 4 final.

One of the hottest contest finals came at No. 2 when Wiregrass Ranch’s Koustubh Ramesh defeated Plant City’s Spencer Hesek 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.

“I was starting to lose my service game,” Ramesh said. “I tried to just stay calm, play tennis. … In the third set after I broke his serve to go up 4-3 I knew I was able to win.”

Bulls senior Jaime Feliciano also had a tough battle with Plant City’s William Keel for the No. 3 final, winning 4-6, 7-5, 7-5. Feliciano had waltzed into the final but hit the wall in his first set.

“I was thinking, what am I doing,” said Feliciano. “I got scared of losing points after I dropped that first set.”

A pair of freshmen clinched the district crown for the Wiregrass Ranch girls. Makarone teamed with Tiffany Garner to win the No. 1 doubles final against Newsome’s Savannah and Alaina Ewing 6-1, 6-2.

Makarone, who has yet to lose a singles match while in high school, was just deadly from the baseline, at the net and the service line.

“Star is a great asset to the team this year,” said Wiregrass Ranch girls coach Jewell Fye. “She encourages her teammates, helps motivate them.”

Senior Jordanyné Fye, Jewell’s daughter, claimed the No. 5 final 6-3, 6-1.

Wiregrass Ranch hosts Wharton in both the boys and girls regional semifinals on April 10. The boys play at 11 a.m., while the girls start at 3 p.m.

The Carrollwood Day School (CDS) girls tennis team won the first district championship in school history at the Class 1A-District 8 tournament on April 5.

The Patriots scored 21 to claim the title, rolling to a seven-point victory against runner-up Tampa Prep.

“We have had an exciting season,” said CDS coach Susan Most. “The girls have worked very hard to attain their goal of winning the district championship. We are all very proud of their accomplishments.”

The Patriots were led by the Fitz-Randolph sisters, freshman Jacquelyn and seventh-grader Lauren, who teamed up to win the No. 1 doubles final for the second straight year to qualify for the state tournament. The duo finished as 1A doubles state runner-up a year ago.

Jacquelyn also won the No. 1 final 6-3, 6-1 over Academy at the Lakes’ Daniela Moreno.

The sisters’ older brother, Eric, won the No. 1 singles final for the boys 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, but CDS finished third in team points. The individual championship earns Eric a spot in states.

The Patriots girls host Lakeland Santa Fe on April 10 at Hillsborough Community College’s Tennis Complex stating at 3 p.m.

–Kyle LoJacono

By Eugenio Torrens

Wharton boys tennis coach Glenn Alvarez stressed one thing to his team as the afternoon closed on his squad’s attempt to repeat as Class 4A-District 6 champions — start fresh.

“Take whatever you have done in the past behind, leave it there, let’s start all over again,” Alvarez said.

Both the Wharton boys and girls teams were unable to catch Plant, which swept the district titles. The Panthers’ girls team easily took the crown, scoring 21 points to best runner-up Wharton by nine.

“Going into the tournament we had our sights set on Plant,” said Wharton girls coach Lori Miles, who was encouraged by a 4-3 regular season loss to a shorthanded Panthers squad. She then added. “From Day 1 we had our goals set on being district winner. If that meant getting through Plant, we knew that was a formidable obstacle, but we knew the potential was there.

“We thought that we could make a good showing this year, and we still think that’s possible in regionals if we focus — focus on our net play especially … Everybody’s beatable, so we’re counting on that. We won’t give up until that last point is played,” Miles continued.

The race between Plant and Wharton was closer on the boys side and came down to the final two matches — like last year when the Panthers led by two points with two doubles matches remaining. In 2011, the Wildcats won the eventual tiebreaker to claim the district championship.

This season however, Plant was too experienced and won with 19 points to Wharton’s 15.

“Plant had the experience,” Alvarez said. “They’re good. I knew them all from last year. I knew it was going to be tough.”

Wharton’s Marcel Betancourt and Cesar Maeda won their respective singles matches, but the team had to win its final two doubles just to tie the Panthers.

The Wildcats were down by two points with Plant blocking the path to a possible second straight year of a come-from-behind win. The Panthers won the doubles finals for the four-point win.

“Especially when you get down by two points the pressure starts in on you,” Alvarez added. “You start to squeeze a little bit, you try to make better shots or right-down-the-line shots and you go wide.”

Even with all the younger talent the Wildcats possess, both the boys and girls advance to regionals. That’s where both Alvarez and Miles hope the lessons learned at the district championship translate on the court.

Both Wharton teams play at Wiregrass Ranch on April 10. The boys play at

11 a.m., while the girls start at 3 p.m.

By Kyle LoJacono

Wiregrass Ranch reached the final of the Pasco Varsity Spring Break Baseball Tournament for the second straight year.

Unfortunately for the tournament host the results were the same as in the event’s inaugural year in 2011. Last season cross-town rival Wesley Chapel defeated the Bulls (15-5) in the championship, while Mitchell (13-7) picked up a 4-2 W on April 6.

Wiregrass Ranch had to settle for its second runner-up trophy, but coach Jeff Swymer said playing four games in as many days made his team stronger.

“Any time you can play in a tournament like this it creates camaraderie amongst your kids,” Swymer said. “You find out what kind of depth you have as far as on the mound. It allows you to experiment some with guys in different positions. It’s great to create momentum into districts coming up.”

Swymer and the Bulls turned to lefthander Ryan Kopenski to start the contest. The senior threw 30 pitches in three relief innings to pick up a 5-4 win over Sunlake in the semifinals the night before.

“He sent me a text this morning that said he wanted the ball and that he felt fine,” Swymer said. “I gave him the ball and he pitched out of his mind.”

Kopenski didn’t allow a hit until the fourth inning, but gave up an unearned run in the third after hitting Joe Koehler. He scored after a pickoff attempt got past first baseman Joel Marin.

Wiregrass Ranch still led 2-1 after scoring a pair of unearned runs in the top of the third.  Marcus Guzman walked on five pitches, stole second, advanced to third on a Marin groundout and found the plate after Zack Drury reached on a strikeout with two down.

Drury continued the small ball for the Bulls, stealing second and third and scoring on an Alex Goebel single.

Kopenski got into a jam in the fourth. With one out and runners on second and third Mitchell pitcher Garrett Kriston hit a fast-falling liner to right field. Guzman sprinted in to make a diving catch, got to his feet and fired a laser toward home to nail Blake Heart at the plate.

“It was a great play, and honestly I thought that was going to shift the momentum,” Swymer said. “Their pitcher came out and got a 1-2-3 inning after that.”

Kriston allowed one hit during his last three innings while recording three of his nine strikeouts, including Wiregrass Ranch’s last two batters.

The Mustangs got two runs, one earned, in the fifth and added an insurance tally in the sixth. Kopenski used 78 pitches in 5.2 innings before Drury came in for the last out.

“Kopenski didn’t have his best stuff, but he’s a guy who everyone on this team trusts with the ball,” Swymer said.

Land O’ Lakes (15-5) won the consolation game 13-3 in six innings against Sunlake (8-11).

The Gators racked up nine hits and six walks. Alex Reynolds drove in four, three on a double and another on a sacrifice fly, while Brad Hencke had four RBI of his own including a three-run home run. Second baseman Dylan Harris had three doubles, drove in two and scored two runs.

Pitcher Jake Rawls worked the first 4.1 innings for Land O’ Lakes, giving up two runs in the winning effort. Harris threw the final 2.2 innings to record the save.

Pasco’s Robbie Hanlon won the home run derby by hitting eight in the first round and six in the final. Land O’ Lakes’ Joey Martinez and Koehler each hit four to tie for second.

Tradition grows in second year

Tammy Bullock of RBI Baseball and Wiregrass Ranch baseball coach Jeff Swymer had an idea to recreate Tampa Bay’s biggest tournament.

The inspiration is the Saladino Baseball Tournament, which takes place each spring break in Hillsborough County. The event generally includes all of the Hillsborough’s 27 public schools to declare the unofficial county champion.

That idea created the Pasco Varsity Spring Break Baseball Tournament last year.

“We volunteered to put this tournament on when Tammy talked about getting this started,” said Swymer, who was the pitching coach at Riverview for eight years. “I wanted to do something in Pasco like the Saladino to give these kids a feel for what it’s like.”

Bullock’s son, Billy, was coached by Swymer at Riverview. The former University of Florida closer is now with the Atlanta Braves’ AA team in Mississippi.

Bullock thanked Swymer, his coaches and players for helping put the event on.

“The coaches were here on the 8 a.m. game days at 5:30 in the morning getting the field ready, and then we were here until 11 at night,” Swymer said. “There’s a lot that went into putting these 22 games on. I can tell you the coaches are all ready for a beer and some sleep.”

Sunlake takes JV tournament

The Sunlake junior varsity baseball team defeated Wiregrass Ranch 9-1 to win the Pasco JV Spring Break Tournament at Zephyrhills on April 5.

The Seahawks (7-5) defeated Central 11-10 and Wesley Chapel 9-8 en route to the final. David Castillo pitched a complete game for Sunlake in the championship, allowing three hits while striking out nine. The offense recorded 12 hits, including a 3-for-4 effort for Omar Cala. Connor Kallenborn, Collin Armstrong and Johnathan Eales each had two RBI.

By Jeff Odom

Laker/Lutz News Correspondent

Before the season began, the Steinbrenner baseball team wanted to prove that it could make history by winning the first district championship in the program’s three-year history.

That mission took one step forward to accomplishment after the Warriors (13-6, 7-1 district) knocked off Freedom 2-0 at home on April 5 to clinch the No. 1 seed in the Class 7A-District 9 tournament in two weeks.

“It’s pretty sick,” said Steinbrenner senior pitcher Chris Williams. “You know it’s a big accomplishment, but it’s just the beginning for us.”

Williams, a Saint Leo University signee, tossed a complete game shutout without allowing a walk while striking out seven batters en route to his fifth win of the year.

Both teams combined for five scoreless innings to start the contest before a pair of defensive miscues gave the Warriors the game’s only runs.

In the sixth inning, Patriots (13-5, 5-3) senior pitcher Kyle Schindler plunked second baseman Christian Diaz on the back to put the senior aboard with no outs. After first baseman Chase Turner’s single to center field moved Diaz to second base, Warriors third baseman Gerald Bautista hit a ground ball that was thrown over the head of Freedom first baseman Jake Kitchen to score Diaz.

The bleeding continued as designated hitter Cole Gordon knocked in Bautista on a Kitchen fielding error.

“Both pitchers threw the ball outstanding and it just so happened that we made a couple of mistakes there in the last inning on the bases and in the field that cost us,” said Freedom coach A.J. Leppla.

The Patriots wouldn’t go down without a fight though, as they strung together three straight hits to quickly load the bases with no outs in the seventh inning.

Williams got some help from his catcher, Jesse Haney, who picked off Freedom second baseman Johnny Keigher for the first out. The pitcher took care of the final two outs on strikeouts.

“Chris had thrown so well and he was the guy we were letting get out of it,” said Steinbrenner coach John Crumbley. “A couple guys got base hits and we were just hoping that we got a good play here and good play there and we did. It was big.”

Schindler, who allowed just four hits and struck out seven batters, said he felt good about his arm and credited his counterpart.

“I’ve had a little trouble with my control and I wasn’t throwing as hard as I usually was, but I definitely made the adjustment today and I felt great,” Schindler said. He then added,  “Just a great game by their pitcher.”

The Warriors did suffer a loss in the contest. Senior shortstop Stone Ramsey, who is hitting .317 with 11 RBI, broke his wrist after being hit with a pitch in the sixth inning. He was taken out of the game in the seventh after failing to complete a play.

The Patriots still have the No. 2 seed in the 7A-9 tournament at Gaither and have also secured the first winning season in the program’s nine-year history. They play Wiregrass Ranch in the district semifinals, with the winner advancing to the championship on April 26 at 7 p.m.

Steinbrenner plays the winner of game between Gaither and Chamberlain in the first round of the 7A-9 tournament.

The Warriors host Hillsborough on April 10 at 7 p.m., before traveling to George M. Steinbrenner Field to play Sickles at 4 p.m. Freedom hosts Durant on April 10 at 7 p.m.

By Kyle LoJacono

The Steinbrenner girls track team has been a force during its young history.

The Warriors were district runners-up during their inaugural season in 2010 and ran away with the Class 2A-District 9 championship last year. Senior Alexis Wright, who came from Gaither as a sophomore, relishes the opportunity to shape the fledgling program’s perception.

“It’s been a pleasure to come in and be able to help set the standard for what Steinbrenner track athletes should be able to do,” said Wright, who won the 2A state title in the 100-meter hurdles last year. “Having the opportunity to define the word ‘warrior’ has been extraordinary. I left Gaither to have this opportunity, but I never dreamed it could have been like this.”

Senior thrower Melisa Stankovich said the team has even more drive to defend their title.

“We’re all more focused because we have a target on our back,” Stankovich said. “We’ve got to keep up our reputation and show that we still want to get a title.”

Most of Steinbrenner’s top athletes are back to defend that crown after another year of training with veteran coach Ladd Baldwin, who spent 12 years at Gaither and six at Chamberlain before starting the Warriors’ program.

“The heart of the team is intact and healthy, and we’ve added a couple nice pieces,” Baldwin said. “As coaches it’s up to us to put the kids in the right position. Along with that you’re always trying to maintain the program, so we’re taking a lot of time to build the freshmen and sophomores up to take over when the seniors are gone.”

Junior thrower Jessica Weatherman said a big part of the team’s quick success has been how Baldwin views all 17 scoring events.

“We’re all around a team,” Weatherman said. “We don’t focus on one event to get our points. We have a variety all over. Coach Baldwin makes a good team, and I think we’re even better than last year.”

A big part of building a complete team is finding the right place for each athlete.

“Some events you just don’t have, but you try kids in different spots to see what they do best,” Baldwin said. “Alexis wasn’t a hurdler. One day we tried her there and now she’s the state champ.”

Junior Jessica Brewer also had to find her way to her best events. She started doing the hurdles but never really took to it.

“We were walking around the track one day, my teammate Sarah Eppler, coach Baldwin and myself,” Brewer said. “Sarah said ‘do you know the steps for triple’ and coach Baldwin said ‘I’ve been meaning to try you in that.’”

The triple is a lot like something Brewer had done growing up. She won a state title in the vault while a level 5 gymnast in fifth grade.

“She was just a natural,” Baldwin sad. “Her first meet was the Western Conference American Division and advanced to the county games and got sixth there. She works hard every day.”

Finding the right event is only half the battle. Baldwin said he also strives to keep his athletes as focused on track as possible during the season.

“A lot of the girls who join do it because they got cut from other sports,” Baldwin said. “Most just want to hang out with their friends. Once they get out here it’s our job to develop that fire inside of them.”

Junior twins Salina and Lauren Garris are prime examples.

“The biggest thing is I try a lot harder now than when I was a freshman,” Lauren said. “I want to be better when before I was just doing this because friends did it.”

Salina added, “Coach Baldwin started to inspire me to do better. When I saw times getting better that pushed me to try harder. In every race I want to have a better time.”

For Salina, better times aren’t just for herself.

“I know my times wouldn’t be as good if I didn’t have my team running with me,” Salina said. “Running with your team is a big deal, and they make you want to run on days you don’t feel like running. I don’t feel like I qualify for anything individually. I feel like I’m just helping my team.”

The Warriors will compete at the 3A-8 meet at Gaither on April 19 starting at noon.

By Kyle LoJacono

Freedom softball coach Autum Hernandez says it regularly during practice.

It doesn’t matter what the drill is or the position of the players she’s talking to. It applies to everything for the Patriots (10-4) — do it with a purpose.

“The whole coaching staff has told them with everything do it with a purpose,” Hernandez said. “If you’re not playing in a game watch someone in the field with a purpose. When you go up to bat have a purpose. When you’re on second base have a purpose. We’ve been stressing that and letting them know they need to think about where they’re trying to hit the ball or where to throw it.”

For the fourth-year Freedom coach it’s about forming something that will last beyond one season.

“We talk about building a program here; not just a team,” Hernandez said. “It’s about creating an atmosphere where kids at Freedom want to play softball.”

That mentality has led the Patriots to one of the best starts in the program’s nine-year history including clinching the No. 2 spot in the Class 7A-District 9 tournament; their best seeding ever. The ranking puts them in position to make their first postseason, but they aren’t looking past any game.

“We just focus on the next game,” said senior first baseman Katie Gresham. “If we do that then the postseason will take care of itself.”

Gresham admits getting to regionals would be the highlight of her four years on the squad.

“I don’t even think I have words for what that would mean,” Gresham said. “A lot is all I can think of. It would be exciting to be the first team to get a banner. We don’t even have one, so to get one would be amazing.”

Freedom’s rise in the district standings comes after losing five seniors from last year.

“I was thinking it was going to be a rebuilding year,” said sophomore outfielder Ashley Wilson. “We’ve definitely surpassed that. The team is doing awesome.”

Gresham is the squad’s only senior, but the Patriots have not lacked leadership.

“The thing is we all work together really well,” Gresham said. “We don’t have one leader; we lead together.”

Freedom has also benefitted from a strong freshmen class, including pitcher Grace Street and catcher Kayla Maczuga. The duo said they have treated high school ball like every other softball team they’ve been on, which has helped with the transition.

“In practice we try to get everything down right so we do it right in games,” Street said. “Sometimes it works, but sometimes it doesn’t. That’s how softball works. You have to do the right things in practice and things will work out.”

Street has a team-high .520 batting average and 16 RBI while posting an 10-4 record, 2.11 ERA and 64 strikeouts. Maczuga is also hitting a robust .386 with nine RBI.

The freshmen are two of six Patriots hitting better than .280. Overall the squad is batting .338 with a .407 on-base percentage.

Freedom is posting eye-popping stats and racking up wins, but things started rocky. The Patriots lost their first two district games by a combined score of 14-6.

Their third 7A-9 contest was against perennial powerhouse Chamberlain (18-2), a program that has made the playoffs 13 of the last 14 years while winning the Class 5A state championship in 2003. The Chiefs eliminated Freedom from the postseason last year with a 4-3 win in the district semifinals.

The Patriots went out and handed the Chiefs their first loss of the season 5-4. It was also their first victory ever over Chamberlain in six attempts.

“My sister (Kimmy) played here for four years, so I saw Chamberlain play them a bunch of times,” Maczuga said. “Beating Chamberlain for the first time was really big for us.”

Freedom lost the rematch on March 30, but Hernandez said that first W helped change the way her players look at themselves.

“Chamberlain is always tough,” Hernandez said. “They were a tough team when I was in high school (at Robinson). Chamberlain is what everyone strives to be in our county. I think that being able to compete with them was good for this team. They weren’t in awe of playing Chamberlain. To them it’s become another game.”

Wilson added, “When you see Chamberlain, they’re a program. That’s what we want to be like. We beat them this year, but we want to be able to beat them not just this year, but every year because we’ve become a program too.”

The 7A-9 tournament is at Steinbrenner, with the championship on April 19 at 7 p.m.

The Patriots host Durant on April 10 before traveling to Riverview for the regular season finale. Both games start at 7 p.m.

–All stats as recorded to Maxpreps.com by coaches

Freshmen pitching/catching duo help Patriots succeed

By Kyle LoJacono

Freedom softball pitcher Grace Street and catcher Kayla Maczuga appear like veterans.

They are both batting better than .350 and have played in every inning of every game for the Patriots (10-4). The two make the right decisions and execute their plays and pitches without drawing attention to themselves.

They sound like four-year starters, but both are freshmen still getting used to life in high school.

“They’ve really stepped up,” said sophomore outfielder Ashley Wilson. “We needed them to step up and they’ve done that. Grace is pitching and hitting like a senior and so is Kayla at the plate. I give them both a round of applause for what they’ve done.”

There was a lot of pressure for both to perform this season. Freedom lost its catcher and all of its pitchers to graduation or transfers, forcing Grace to throw every pitch of every inning this season; all received by Maczuga behind the plate.

They have responded.

Grace, who said her best pitches are a curveball and changeup, is hitting a team-high .520 with 16 RBI while posting an 10-4 record, 2.11 ERA and 64 strikeouts. Maczuga is batting .386 with nine RBI.

“I have to remind myself pretty much constantly that Grace is a freshman,” said Patriots coach Autum Hernandez. “She’s leading our team in batting. A couple games ago against Gaither she had five RBI. She has definitely put a quiet spark in the team. She comes to practice every day and puts in the work without saying much. She never complains. She’s not playing like a freshman.

“We expect a lot from our catcher,” continued Hernandez, who was a catcher at Robinson. “To us it’s never the pitcher’s fault; it’s the catcher’s fault. Kayla takes a lot of that brunt and handles it well. She sets high expectations for herself. When she makes a mistake she harps on herself. We don’t have to say much to her about it.”

The duo has benefited from having some history together. They both played on the U10 New Tampa Spirit, an AAU travel team.

“It’s been very helpful,” Street said. “Getting to know your catcher and a catcher getting to know their pitcher is very key. … I trust her. I trust that she’s going to catch anything I throw. Whenever a pitch goes wild I know she’ll be there.”

Maczuga said the talks that happen naturally between a pitcher and catcher also helped form a bond.

“She’s a very quiet person,” Maczuga said. “She doesn’t talk constantly to everyone on the team, but when we’re pitching and catching we’ll talk about how things are going. I think those conversations have helped.”

Maczuga has been impressed with Street’s work ethic.

“She’s doing really great,” Maczuga said. “She’s working as hard as juniors and seniors, and she’s keeping up with them. It makes everyone else want to work harder.”

Hernandez is happy the large question marks around the pitcher and catcher positions have been removed and replaced by consistency.

“It’s really nice to have them do what they’ve done at such a young age,” Hernandez said. “We lost a lot from last year, and they’ve brought a lot of stability to the team.”

–All stats as recorded to Maxpreps.com by coaches

Sunlake unlimited weightlifter Nate McCoole has been on a mission to win the first state championship for the fifth-year program since finishing fourth at the finals last season.

The senior showed he is on the right track by tying a Pasco County record in the bench press by posting 450 pounds at the Class 2A-District 4 meet at Springstead High on April 4. The lift ties the mark put up by Wesley Chapel’s Hunter Joyer last year.

McCoole, who made it to states as a sophomore and junior, also lifted 300 in the clean and jerk. His 750 total won him the unlimited district title, earning him his third trip to the finals.

Sunlake also won the team district championship, scoring 48 points to best Ocala Vanguard by seven. Five Seahawks won individual titles including McCoole.

Kyle Fraser, who took sixth at states last year, won the 154-pound weight class by totaling 545.  Jack Holloway hoisted 380 to claim the 119 division, while James Brooks (199 division) and Jerome Samuels (238 division) captured first place by lifting 620 and 615, respectively.

All the district champions advance to states along with the next four best lifters in each weight class. The 2A state meet is on April 21 at the Kissimmee Civic Center starting at 10:30 a.m.

–Kyle LoJacono