Wildcats top cross-town rival Wiregrass Ranch for crown
By Kyle LoJacono
The Wesley Chapel baseball team entered the first ever RBI Pasco Varsity Tournament as the only county squad without a loss.
The Wildcats (12-0) ended the spring break event with four more wins and the event championship trophy by defeating Wiregrass Ranch 9-8 in the title game March 19 on a walk-off RBI single by shortstop Geoff DeGroot.
“To have the two host teams from the same community in the championship game was great,” said Wesley Chapel coach Chuck Yingling. “The community came out to see it. The atmosphere was amazing. Hopefully it gets larger next year and I think it will.”
Bulls coach Jeff Swymer took over the program two years ago and said area coaches have been working for more than a year to bring the event to Pasco.
“You see all the people out here and it’s great for the area and for the kids,” Swymer said. “It’s a local rivalry. This is as full as this place has ever been. There was good sportsmanship, well played at times and with mistakes by both sides, but it was what you’d expect out of a championship game.”
The tournament was modeled after the Tony Saladino Tournament, which started in Hillsborough County in 1981. The older event started with 11 teams and has grown to 32 squads playing at nine locations.
The RBI event had 12 squads this year, 10 from Pasco and two from Hernando County. The games were played at Wiregrass Ranch and Wesley Chapel, with the Bulls (10-5) hosting the championship.
Yingling has extensive experience with the Saladino event, coaching at Leto, Jesuit and Tampa Catholic in Hillsborough before coming to Wesley Chapel four seasons ago.
“I can’t say enough about what we had this year,” Yingling said. “It was really good for all the kids on all the teams that participated to play in something like this.
“I always felt the Saladino was a jumpstart to the second half of the season,” Yingling continued. “You go in there and have to play competitive and have to play exciting, and that’s what it’s going to be like in districts.”
The Wildcats had to get through Hudson and Central in the opening rounds and needed a walk-off home run from outfielder Zach White to get past Land O’ Lakes in the semifinals.
The Bulls took down Central and Hudson before beating Mitchell in their semifinal contest.
In the title game, Wiregrass Ranch got on the board first in the third inning, scoring a pair of runs off Wesley Chapel starter Marcus Crescentini. The Wildcats answered with four in the top of the fourth, but gave up three in the bottom half.
Neither team had its No. 1 pitcher start the contest as Wiregrass Ranch’s John Michael Gant and Wesley Chapel’s Brandon Mumaw pitched in the semis. Gant did relieve Bulls starter Ryan Kopenski in the fifth inning with that 5-4 lead.
Gant, whose fastball tops 90 mph, had a perfect fifth and his team scored three insurance runs in the bottom of the inning to stretch the lead to 8-4. Gant got two quick outs before the Wildcats rallied for three runs to tie the score off three straight singles and two Bulls throwing errors.
“We’re a pretty good fastball hitting team, so we knew we could catch up to his pitches,” Yingling said. “We came into a good part of our batting order and those kids did a good job with it. We’re a pretty good team against good pitchers. Sometimes it’s the guys that don’t throw as hard that we struggle against.”
Wildcats sophomore Hunter Robinson, who was the winning pitcher in the game, took the mound in the seventh. He held the lead and sent the game tied into the bottom of the inning.
“I was just thinking throw strikes,” said Robinson, who earned his first high school win in the championship game. “That’s what coach always says is throw strikes and it’ll get you far.”
Wesley Chapel catcher Andres Romero reached after being hit and was replaced by courtesy runner Cody Hodgens with one out in the seventh. Hodgens advanced to third after center fielder Drew Mitchell walked and Bulls pitcher Harry Olsen threw a wild pitch. DeGroot, who finished the game 3-5, then stepped to the plate and hit a 1-2 curveball into right field to secure the title.
“Our last game Zach White hit the walk-off home run and I was left on deck,” DeGroot said. “When I got the opportunity I just thought it’s my turn. It worked out.”
The teams combined for nine errors in the finals, five by Wesley Chapel and four by Wiregrass Ranch.
“And a lot of them were routine plays that shouldn’t have been errors,” Yingling said. “It’s just one of those things where this was the first time for this tournament has been played. The kids were a little excited.”
The Bulls next play at Lecanto on Tuesday, Feb. 22 at 6:30 p.m. The undefeated Wildcats play at Fivay Feb. 22 at 7 p.m.
