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Editor’s Note: Each week of the regular season we will bring you our traditional rankings with THE Top 8, followed by 1-On-the-Bubble team, and finally our 3-(Grab)-Bagger – a collection of three stories from the previous week we felt deserved some attention.

1. Berkeley Prep (18-0)

The Buccaneers offense hung up 42 runs in three, double-digit wins last week defeating Brooks DeBartolo, St. Pete Catholic and Steinbrenner via mercy rule (click here for our coverage of that game). Junior Troy Reader was 6-for-9, with a homer, two doubles, eight RBI and three runs scored; and James Hankerson drove in seven and scored seven over the stretch. Berkeley Prep hosts Tampa Catholic and St. Pete Lakewood on Tuesday and Thursday this week.

2. Sickles (17-2)

Justin Allen’s three-hit, six-RBI game on Saturday pushed Sickles to an 11-1 win against Robinson on Saturday capping a three-win week for the Gryphons, which also included a lopsided district win against Leto and a 6-0 takedown of Strawberry Crest. Caden McDonald continued his 16-game hitting streak to start the year, homering in the wins at Crest and over Robinson. He leads the state in average (.720) and RBI (35). Sickles travels to Plant on Tuesday for a Saladino Final rematch, and goes to Plant City on Thursday.

3. Jesuit (14-5)

Three decisive wins last week, highlighted by a district win against Jefferson and the Tigers are 10-2 in its last dozen games. Junior Wes Mendes took a no-hitter into the seventh and struck out 12 against the Dragons, with AJ Nessler homering and driving in three (click here to read more from this game). Jesuit travels for a district game against Hillsborough on Tuesday, and travels to Bradenton to face IMG on Wednesday.

T4. Plant (13-4)

Michael Hawks tossed a complete game, striking out five as Cash Strayer and Jack Meade each drove in a pair in Plant’s 11-2 district win against Palm Harbor last week. The Panthers have a district game at Steinbrenner tonight; then host Sickles on Tuesday and travel to Strawberry Crest this Thursday.

T4. Durant (11-5)

Seven different Cougars collected hits, and seven Durant runners scored in a mercy-rule district win against Riverview last Monday in the team’s lone game due to weather. Durant will kick off district play this week traveling to Riverview tonight, and hosting Newsome on Thursday.

5. Freedom (11-4)

Senior Aidan Kraf was 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI as the Patriots took care of business in its lone game last week, defeating Blake in six innings. Senior Marshall Chastain struck out six in three hitless innings of work on the mound to earn the win. Freedom host Chamberlain tonight, then travels for two more games this week at Brandon on Wednesday, and at Largo on Thursday.

6. Newsome (11-4)

After a tough Wk6, the Wolves hitters came to swing it in Wk7 with a pair of double-digit showings, first taking out Hillsborough (click here to see our full photo gallery from that one), and defeating Riverview in district play with Lucas Phelps pacing the offense with a 3-for-4 night at the plate. Newsome hosts East Bay tonight, Lennard on Tuesday and travels to Durant on Thursday for a big week.

7. Lennard (13-2)

The Longhorns started the weekend with a big win against Bloomingdale, but fell flat against Leto dropping a 3-2 game on Saturday. Lennard junior Logan Covey delivered two hits, runs and RBI in the win against the Bulls, and was also 2-for-3 with a run in the loss against the Falcons. Lennard travels to Newsome on Tuesday and will host Chamberlain on Thursday.

8. Bloomingdale (11-8)

A HUGE win that took three days, getting a big district win against Strawberry Crest as lightning paused Monday’s game until Wednesday, with Jack Owens coming through on the mound and at the plate (click here). But the Bulls couldn’t keep that momentum going, dropping a district game 7-5 to Lennard. Five losses this year by two runs or less, the Bulls need to flip a few of those back the other way as we approach games that matter in the next few weeks. Tuesday at Sumner, and Thursday hosting Tampa Bay Tech lies ahead for Bloomingdale.

One-On-the-Bubble

Plant City (12-4)

A 3-1 loss at Alonso was the only game for the Raiders last week. Pitching has been outstanding for The City with a team 1.35 ERA, but a .235 combined batting average has been something that the Raiders have struggled with. East Bay comes to visit on Tuesday, and a showdown with Sickles on Thursday should be a good one as the Raiders kick off a four-game stretch against three Top 8 teams over the next two weeks.

3-(Grab-)Bagger

1. Hillsborough Baseball Coaches – Tenure List

If you checked out our column on Sunday about King’s Jim Macaluso and Steinbrenner’s John Crumbley (click here if you missed it), you’ll understand that our interest was piqued. Being around two coaches with titles, hall of fame nods and more than 1,450 wins combined it got us thinking, which other coaches have put their marks all over the history books in Hillsborough County. Macaluso and Crumbley sit squarely intrenched at the top, but we thought it would be fun to check out a list of those county coaches who have spent at least 10 years running high school baseball programs. Listed below are the 14 current active head coaches in the 813 with at least 10 years of coaching.

2. Speaking of milestones, a big shoutout to Falcons head coach JJ Pizzio, who with Leto’s win against Robinson on Monday reached No. 200 at Leto, and capped the week with a 3-2 win against Lennard, marking win No. 300 total, combining his tenures at Seminole Presbyterian and Middleton. Congrats, Coach Pizzio!

3. Lastly, we would like to send our best wishes for a speedy recovery to Foundation Christian senior Kaden Olney, who suffered a freak accident sliding into second base on March 29. Olney, who was hitting .414 with 20 runs scored for the Panthers, suffered a torn his intestines, and had internal bleeding after the early-game play and stayed in the game for four innings before having to leave.

“Kaden Olney is one of the hardest workers and toughest kids I have ever coached,” Foundation Christian coach David McNeely said. “The fact that he played four innings with internal bleeding tells you just a little about the heart this kid has.”

After going into the hospital and having emergency surgery, McNeely said Olney was back on the bench the next game at Bell Creek, cheering for his teammates.

“He means a lot to this team, and is a big leader for us,” McNeely said. “The next game we had after his surgery was against Bell Creek, he left the hospital, went home and took a shower, came to the game and sat on the bench and it was such a big lift for our team to have him there. I love this kid.”

Get well soon, Kaden!