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Danny Rodriguez

Rodriguez pitches into PHSC’s record books

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Pasco-Hernando State College pitcher Danny Rodriguez now has the most wins in school history after pitching PHSC’s first no-hitter last year.

The pitcher is excited to talk about some big accomplishments.

“It was the best thing I’ve ever experienced in baseball,” Rodriguez said.

Danny Rodriguez owns the Pasco-Hernando State College record for most career wins by a pitcher. He helped get the team to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II World Series last year, and is focused on a return trip this season. (Courtesy of Pasco-Hernando State College)
Danny Rodriguez owns the Pasco-Hernando State College record for most career wins by a pitcher. He helped get the team to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II World Series last year, and is focused on a return trip this season.
(Courtesy of Pasco-Hernando State College)

But he’s not describing his personal accomplishments, such as the no-hitter or setting the school wins record. He’s talking about a team accomplishment: The school’s trip to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II World Series last year, where they finished fourth in the nation.

Rodriguez is known as a team player, so that’s his focus.

But when asked about his own personal records, he’s more subdued.

“It’s nice. It doesn’t concern me as much as winning regionals and getting to the World Series,” he said.

While setting the record isn’t that big of a deal to Rodriguez, the Conquistadors have used those victories to full advantage, reaching a spot in last year’s World Series during his 10-win season. His current 8-2 record also has helped the team to qualify for their regional tournament next month.

Steve Winterling, who coaches Rodriguez, said the pitcher doesn’t rely on just one kind of pitch to get out of tough situations.

“Anybody can throw a fastball, but you’ve got to have the other pitches,” Winterling said. “He has those, and he throws them with confidence.”

That confidence didn’t come from his senior season in high school. He was a middle infielder and had just one pitching start, with 10 innings of work, in his final year at Steinbrenner High School. Though he had pitched more the year before, and got in more work with his travel ball team, Rodriguez never took pitching lessons. Instead, he would teach himself pitches, going over them until they felt right. He learned his curveball when he was young and added the slider in high school. He just got his change-up working last year.

That steady progress has made him a versatile weapon for Winterling, and one he used in different situations last year.

He became a regular starter about halfway through that season, yet still racked up 10 victories and developed a reputation for being calm and collected on the mound.

“I never really stress about the outcome. I just try to do my thing each pitch and with each batter,” Rodriguez said.

While he’s serene on the baseball field, he admits that’s not always the case when he’s off it.

He’s more of an animated guy, and lets his enthusiasm show.

On the pitching mound, though, he displays a calm presence, and doesn’t let the pressure of a tough situation rattle him.

“I like being in control and taking the pressure,” he said.

Other schools are taking notice of his control as well.

Rodriguez will have plenty of opportunities to continue his collegiate baseball career, and is already fielding offers from schools both in and out of Florida. He hasn’t made a decision yet, but said that the University of West Florida in Pensacola is a front-runner.

Beyond, there’s the possibility of a professional career.

If Rodriguez keeps the momentum going through his senior season, his numbers will be tough for scouts to ignore, Winterling said. It wouldn’t be much of a risk for a team to take a chance on a proven winner.

“The guy throws strikes and gets outs. What more can you ask for?” Winterling said.

Rodriguez said he’d try his hand at professional baseball “in a heartbeat,” but he’s not counting on that career path.

He’s studying business, and wants to make sure he has a useful degree to continue his winning ways, even if it’s not with a baseball in his hand.

For now, Rodriguez is focused on finishing the season strong and winning the regional tournament to take another crack at World Series play.

The team has fixed some of its weaknesses from last year and should be able to compete in the postseason, he said.

“As a team, we have more pitching, and defensively we’re better,” he said. “That’s really the two that we needed.”

While the coach also puts team goals over individual ones, he’s glad to see the school’s win record go to a deserving player like Rodriguez.

“He’s a team guy,” Winterling said. “You can’t ask for a better person to be a rep (for the team) on the baseball field.”

Published April 15, 2015

Labor Day domination: Travel ball team wins Fort Myers tourney

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When a baseball team goes to a tournament and scores 40 runs while only giving up five, you’d expect them to win the tournament handily.

Ryan Glass, left, C.J. VanEyk and Cam Coakley were part of the Carrollwood Gators’ 6-0 run at the Perfect Game Labor Day Classic in Fort Myers. (Michael Murillo/Staff Photo)
Ryan Glass, left, C.J. VanEyk and Cam Coakley were part of the Carrollwood Gators’ 6-0 run at the Perfect Game Labor Day Classic in Fort Myers.
(Michael Murillo/Staff Photo)

And when the Carrollwood Gators competed in the Perfect Game’s World Wood-Bat Association Labor Day Classic in Fort Myers, that’s exactly what happened.

The Gators’ 16U team — for athletes graduating high school in 2017 — went through the tournament with a perfect 6-0 record, claimed the title, and earned Most Valuable Player and Most Valuable Pitcher honors as well.

Performing well at a Perfect Game event is a big deal, according to Danny Rodriguez, general manager and founder of the Carrollwood Gators.

“It’s the organization to go to in order to get your boys seen on a college and a pro level,” he said.

In addition to the victory at the recent 16-team Perfect Game tournament, the Gators also finished in the top 16 of the organization’s 100-team Memorial Day tournament, and in the top eight of its 86-team Fourth of July tournament.

While the Gator athletes also play on their high school teams — several attend Steinbrenner High School, and most live in Lutz or Land O’ Lakes — the travel ball team offers them extra opportunities to get noticed by college scouts. The Perfect Game system is extremely competitive, Rodriguez said, and good performances in tournaments will get the club — and its players — noticed by colleges around the country.

The 16U team should have a national ranking after the victory; the general manager is hoping for a top 10 spot when they’re released in a couple of weeks.

That kind of recognition is essential for players looking to extend their careers beyond high school, Rodriguez said. In addition to playing in high school, a quality travel ball team experience is essential to helping athletes take that next step.

“It’s a must,” he said. “If they want to go to the next level, they need to go to the college showcases that they want to go to, and they need to be a part of something that’s going to get them seen, that’s going to be right there in front of the college coaches.”

Rodriguez tries to help get his athletes noticed by colleges, and said the tournament win will only increase the stature of the program. Athletes playing for the Carrollwood Gators have gone on to play in schools like Pasco-Hernando State College, the University of Florida, the University of South Florida, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Alabama State University. Some students attend on full scholarships as well.

While all the teams in the Perfect Game system are talented, the Gators do things differently. Instead of large-scale tryouts that draw athletes from different cities, or even states, and multiple teams representing each club, the team prefers to draw from local talent, mostly hand-selected athletes who play different positions.

That keeps the traveling team small: The Gators brought just 11 players to the recent tournament. And according to head coach Pete Mocny, there are significant benefits to their philosophy.

“They all know each other from previous travel teams,” Mocny said of the players. “The team chemistry is big in helping us do a little extra to beat the sometimes more-talented teams. We can still really compete, and many times beat them.”

C.J. VanEyk, a Steinbrenner student whose pitching was instrumental in the team’s only close game at the tournament, a 5-3 semifinal win, agrees.

“Everybody knows each other really well. We have good chemistry and everybody gets to play more with a smaller team,” he said. “We hit the ball really good, and we had the pitching to back it up. And when you do that, you can’t really be beat.”

Strong fundamentals were another reason why the Gators weren’t beaten at the tournament, Mocny said. The team committed no errors in the first five games, and shut out their opponent in the final by a score of 7-0. As a result, it was one of the best performances the coach has seen from the team.

“It’s easy to coach them,” Mocny said. “I’m proud of them. They did a great job out there.”

And Rodriguez believes the team that achieved so much is full of players who can achieve even more in college.

“Every single one has the talent,” he said. “If they play it right and they keep their grades (up), there’s a place in college for each one of those players.”

Published September 10, 2014

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Finally! PHSC gets first no-hitter after 23 years

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Steve Winterling has been coaching at Pasco-Hernando State College since the school began its baseball program back in 1992.

Freshman Danny Rodriguez, a Steinbrenner High School graduate, threw Pasco-Hernando State College’s first no-hitter in the 23-year history of the baseball program. (Courtesy of Steve Winterling)
Freshman Danny Rodriguez, a Steinbrenner High School graduate, threw Pasco-Hernando State College’s first no-hitter in the 23-year history of the baseball program.
(Courtesy of Steve Winterling)

He’s seen a lot of things on the field during that time, but on March 26 he saw something he had never seen before: One of his pitchers throw a no-hitter.

Freshman Danny Rodriguez struck out nine batters in seven innings of work in the Conquistadors’ 13-0 victory against Morton College. The game was seven innings long because it was part of a double-header, which is common at the collegiate level.

His efforts however earned Rodriguez National Junior College Athletic Association Pitcher of the Week for Division II baseball.

“It’s always exciting when you get those,” Winterling said. “We’ve had several one-hitters over the years. They (no-hitters) just don’t happen a whole lot.”

While he was excited for his player and team, Winterling isn’t obsessed with game statistics. He had to go back to his office and confirm that it was indeed the first no-hitter in school history.

The no-hitter itself also was special because it was executed so well, Winterling said. Morton College only had two men reach base all game, and both of those were due to PHSC errors. Rodriguez didn’t walk a single batter in the contest.

It also was an impressive accomplishment because the Conquistadors had a large lead, Winterling said, which sometimes allows pitchers to relax and lose focus since the game is likely in hand.

Because the school only gets its athletes for a couple of years, Winterling said he’s used to relying on freshmen for success on the field, and Rodriguez has the characteristics he likes in young players. Specifically, he prefers athletes who are able to keep cool under pressure and not let emotions dominate their play.

“He has a very good baseball mind. He’s got a good temperament,” Winterling said of Rodriguez. “He’s not an emotional kid, really. He’s in control of himself.”

Rodriguez hasn’t let his no-hitter affect that control or his focus on continuing his strong freshman campaign. He said it was a great moment, but he was just doing what he’s supposed to do.

“I wasn’t trying to (throw a no-hitter) at all. I was just trying to do my job and keep the ball down,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez showed prowess as a pitcher, but one interesting fact about his past on the baseball diamond is that he was a starter at Steinbrenner High School — at shortstop.

He didn’t see much time on the mound during his high school campaign. But with a 6-2 record in his freshman year for PHSC, and a no-hitter already under his belt, Rodriguez is feeling comfortable in that role.

However, he hasn’t abandoned his old position entirely.

“Now I think of myself more as a pitcher, but I still think of myself as a middle infielder, too,” he said. “I still practice with them.”

As rewarding as it was to record a no-hitter for the individual, the team and the school, both player and coach are on the same page regarding how long they allowed themselves to bask in the moment: Not long.

“I didn’t forget about it, but I know I have to work on my next start and keep focused on that, Rodriguez said. The no-hitter “was nice, but I have to stay focused.”

That focus paid off in his next start, a win April 4 against Clearwater Christian College.

After the no-hitter, Winterling didn’t spend much time celebrating, either, opting instead to focus on the team’s next game and their effort to reach the postseason. As the only NJCAA Division II school in the state, PHSC has to qualify for a regional tournament in North Carolina by playing at least .500 baseball during the season.

After starting the year 1-6, the Conquistadors found their footing and won 17 of their next 22 games. As a result, the team is on the cusp of the tournament despite a recent cold streak.

So while the accomplishment is one for the record books, both coach and player have moved on to the team’s goals.

“I let the kids enjoy it. That’s something for the kids to enjoy,” Winterling said. “I go back and do my work and get ready for the next game.”

Published April 16, 2014