The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

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Baseball team honored

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The Academy at the Lakes baseball team was one of nearly 700 college and high school programs that received the 2021-2022 American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Academic Excellence award. The awards are bestowed to teams coached by ABCA members that post a GPA of 3.0 or above for the current academic year. The Wildcats, who went 10-15 this past spring, maintained a 3.7 GPA in the past school year.

Local ballplayers taken in 2022 MLB Draft

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These local players were selected in the 2022 Major League Baseball Draft, which ran from July 17 to July 19:

  • Tayden Hall, Steinbrenner: The former Warriors catcher and son of former Tampa Bay Rays catcher, Toby Hall, was selected in the ninth round with the 282nd pick by the Milwaukee Brewers out of the State College of Florida.
  • Tim Elko, Hillsborough (Lutz native): After helping lead Ole Miss to its first-ever NCAA College World Series Championship, the first baseman was selected in the 10th round with the 311st pick by the Chicago White Sox.
  • Zach Showalter, Wesley Chapel: Although committed to pitch for the University of South Florida, this righty was taken in the 11th round with the 317th pick by the Baltimore Orioles.
  • Jared Beck, Saint Leo University: A 7-foot southpaw who racked up 141 strikeouts in his Lions career, he was taken in the 13th round with the 377th pick by the Orioles.
  • Julian Bosnic, Berkeley Prep (Lutz native): This left-handed pitcher playing for South Carolina was taken in the 14th round with the 410th pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
  • Evan Crest, Wharton: Although committed to pitch for Jacksonville University, this righty was taken in the 17th round with the 502nd pick by the Miami Marlins.
Tayden Hall
Tim Elko
Jared Beck

Former local player shines

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Dustin Harris

Dustin Harris, a former Land O’ Lakes High baseball player, was featured in the 2022 MLB All-Star Futures Game. The game features the top minor league players from all the teams, in a seven-inning game to showcase their talents.

Harris, who is an infielder for the Frisco RoughRiders, the Double A affiliate for the Texas Rangers, went 2-for-3 with an RBI, a run scored and a stolen base during the game played on July 17.

Harris, a 2017 Land O’ Lakes High grad, was drafted by the Oakland A’s in 2019 in the 11th round with the 344th pick. As a senior with the Gators, he batted .473 with 44 hits, 20 RBI and 29 runs scored before enrolling at nearby St. Petersburg College. He was traded to the Rangers organization in 2020.

Wildcats softball coach announced

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Blake Crews

Wharton High announced that it has hired former Stetson catcher Blake Crews to coach its softball team. Crews, a four-year starter for the Hatters from 2017 to 2020, ranks second in school history with 40 runners caught stealing and ninth in infield percentage. (.984). She also drove in 30 RBI as an Atlantic Sun All-Freshman Team selection in 2017. Crews takes over a Wildcats program that has won just 19 games in the past three seasons.

July fishing tournament

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(Courtesy of John Medvid)

South Pasco Bassmasters (SPB) held its monthly tournament in July, this time fishing at Eagle Lake in Polk County. Chip Whalen, left, and Steven Simmons won the tournament by catching 12.32 pounds of bass, including a tournament-best bass of 4.52 pounds. Whalen and Simmons used assorted plastic baits around docks, Peppergrass and Brush Piles to catch their fish. SPB’s next tournament is on Lake Marion on Aug. 20. For more information about the club, visit SouthPascoBassmasters.com.

Freedom baseball coach departs

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(Mike Camunas)

Following the team’s most successive season in school history, Freedom High School baseball coach Tripp Merrell has stepped down from the Patriots to accept the same position at Wesley Chapel.

Merrell, who had been the coach at Freedom for four seasons, departs after leading the Patriots to a program-best record 17-9, finishing as the Class 5A-District 6 runner-up. Freedom reached the regional tournament for just the third time in program history, and saw the season end with a 12-2 loss to River Ridge. Merrell was 36-43 in his Patriots tenure.

Merrell, who lives in Wesley Chapel, said being close to home and family factored into his decision to switch programs. He takes over for Brett Baudendistel, who stepped down at the end of the 2022 school year as coach and athletic director.

The Wildcats were 12-10 this season.

At Freedom, assistant coach Dane Moore, a 2010 graduate of the school, will take over Merrell’s old post. Moore has been with the team for the previous three seasons.

Merrell handpicked Moore as his replacement, to maintain consistency with the program’s goals and coaching style.

Cypress Creek brings home first state title

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It took less than five years for Cypress Creek High to win its first state title.

Andje Costa, who has since graduated and is headed to the University of South Florida, captured the Class 2A 101-pound weight snatch state title in weightlifting in February, giving the Coyotes its first state title, in any sport, in school history.

Cypress Creek graduate Andje Costa brought home Cypress Creek High’s first-ever state title in school history when she won the Class 2A 101-class snatch title in February. (Courtesy of Tico Hernandez)

“They worked hard over (last) summer and even asked me if they could be like other programs — River Ridge, Sunlake — and get in their early, work out more to prepare for this past season,” said girls weightlifting coach Tico Hernandez, who is also became the school’s athletic director in April. “We’ve got a great group of girls and had six of them qualify for states.”

Costa nabbed gold at Port St. Joe High by doing a snatch lift of 105 pounds, just 5 pounds more than the second-place finisher. And she did it on her final attempt.

Teammate Sienna Silvest, in the 110-pound class, finished tied for third in the traditional weightlifting competition, finishing with 250 pounds total.

“We’ll be just as good next year, too,” added Hernandez.

Cypress Creek High School opened its doors in 2017 and has had its fair share of success in athletics, despite spring sports missing out in 2020 due to COVID closures.

Hernandez believes the school’s coaches are dedicated to developing teams that are competitive with Pasco schools that have a longer history.

“I definitely think that the coaches, not just for our sport, but all sports, feel like they’re playing catchup with Wesley Chapel, Wiregrass and even Sunlake,” he said. “Which is great because that’s a lot of commitment to our athletes and getting them ready to compete at the highest level. And I think our coaches are doing a great job for our kids to be able to do that.”

Teen golfer makes history

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It’s been a whirlwind couple of weeks for Dade City’s Bailey Shoemaker. Fresh off appearing in the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open from June 2 through June 5, Shoemaker won the 93rd Florida State Golf Association (FSGA) Women’s Amateur Championship on June 19 at Streamsong Golf Resort.

(Courtesy of Florida State Golf Association )

At 17, Shoemaker becomes the first junior golfer to win this championship. This also is her second FSGA championship victory, after winning the Women’s Four-Ball Championship with Madison Hewlett in 2020.

“This win is just so incredible,” Shoemaker said in a news release from FSGA. “It’s one of the oldest state championships, and there are so many iconic winners and people that have gone on to do great things as professionals and great things for the game. I am just so honored to be added to that list.”

The championship format was 36-hole stroke play for the first two rounds, then the field was cut down to 64 players and switched to single-elimination match play for six rounds. Shoemaker, who is committed to play collegiate golf at the University of Southern California, ended up playing 130 holes of golf over five days, after defeating University of Florida junior Maisie Filler, 3 and 2, in the final round.

It’s been a heck of a June for Shoemaker, too.

At the U.S. Open, Shoemaker finished tied at 48th, with a combined score of 293 (9 over par).
Shoemaker played well in the first three rounds, however, seemed to struggle in the final round on June 5 when she shot an 8-over-par 79. Her best round came on Day 2 when she shot a 1-under 70.

Tournament winners

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(Courtesy of John Medvid)

This month’s South Pasco Bassmasters (SPB) fishing tournament saw the group head to the Kissimmee chain of lakes, including Lake Hatchineha in Osceola County. Winners this month included Randy Hoedy, holding a big bass weighing 6.81 pounds. Hoedy teamed up with Paul Daniels, and the duo also snagged bass of a combined total of 18.23 pounds. They used soft plastics in about 16 inches of water to catch their fish. SPB’s next tournament will be on July 16, at Eagle Lake in Largo.

Basketball player headed to Air Force

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(Courtesy of Mark Perry)

Milahnie Perry, a Wesley Chapel resident who was a standout basketball player for Seffner Christian Academy, recently signed a scholarship to play basketball at the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Perry, a point guard and second-leading scorer for the Crusaders this past season, reports to the Academy on June 23.

This past season, Perry averaged 16.2 points per game, 6.2 rebounds per game and was 122 for 269 on field-goal shooting. Perry helped guide her team to the first round of the Class 3A regional tournament, where it fell to Fort Myers Evangelical Christian 66 to 63 in overtime. Perry had a team-high 24 points.

Prior to joining the Crusaders, Perry attended Carrollwood Day School as a freshman and sophomore. During her sophomore season, in which she averaged 9.7 points per game, the Patriots won the 3A state title over Oviedo Master’s Academy, 48-42.