Plant City 2
(4) Durant 0

For the second night in a row, rivals Plant City and Durant battled deep into a close game before the Raiders again found separation. Unlike Wednesday’s 11-inning affair, Plant City strung together three straight singles from Chase Mobley, Zane Wright and Anthony Grasso (RBI) to get a run on the board, adding a second insurance run on a Wyatt Fordham ground out. The two runs were all that were required for junior pitcher Adan Longoria, who spun a complete-game shutout, allowing just three singles, no walks and struck out seven. For Durant, Blaine Rowland struck out 10 in six innings of work allowing the two runs on seven hits.

D   000|000|0 – |0|3|0
PC 000|002|x – |2|7|0
W – Longoria (3-2); L – Rowland (1-1)
Records – D (13-8, 3-3 in 7A-6); PC (15-6, 5-1 in 7A-6).

Prior to Thursday’s game Plant City head coach Mike Fryrear was presented with the 2022 Artie Vazquez Award, presented annually by the West Coast Umpire Association and it’s president Steve Zsiga. Fryrear, a graduate of Durant High, is in his 10th season at the helm at Plant City and won the 2019 FHSAA Class 8A state championship and was named the 813Preps Coach of the Year that season.

“This was a honor more than I can ever ask for,” Fryrear said via text on Thursday. “Being a better human is my life goal. Hopefully, I can be the best for the game of baseball. I owe the game my life. Baseball teaches life and I’m thankful for what it has taught me. Thank you again West Coast Umpire Association and Hillsborough County.”

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St. Petersburg 8
Carrollwood Day 5

Steven Weaver’s bases-clearing double proved the difference-maker as St. Petersburg defeated Carrollwood Day on Thursday afternoon. Nick Bonollo went 2-for-3 with two RBI for the Patriots, and Andre Rameau was 2-for-3 with an RBI. For the Green Devils, William Nelson homered and drove in three and Jacob Greer earned the win with two innings of relief.

CDS 000|131|0 – |5|8|0
StP   002|105|x – |8|8|3
W – Greer (2-2); L – Mazur (1-1)
2B – Heintz (CDS); Weaver (StP); HR – Nelson (StP). Records – CDS (10-9); StP (10-11).

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Foundation Chr 10
Sarasota Chr 3

Jacob Ananias’ two-run triple started off a strong offensive showing for Foundation Christian for a road win at Sarasota Christian. Ananias would add a two run single two innings later, while Caden Kull (three RBI, two runs) and Drew Golden (two RBI) each had two hits in the win. Freshman Hayden Porter struck out nine, earning the win with five innings pitched, before senior Garrett Porter struck out three in two scoreless innings of relief.

FC 204|100|3 – |10|14|0
SC 001|002|0 – |3|5|1
W – H. Porter (2-2); L – Hershberger
2B – Wandall, H. Porter (FC); 3B – Ananias, Kull (FC); Hershberger (SC). Records – FC (13-5); SC (10-6).

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Wesley Chapel 6
(3) Jesuit 0

Back-to-back RBI doubles by Jake Carrillo and Zack Showalter in the first set the tone as the Wildcats cruised to a shutout win at Jesuit on Thursday. Showalter, a USF signee, struck out nine in a complete-game effort, allowing just two hits and issuing one free pass; he also finished the night 3-for-4 at the plate with three RBI.

WC 300|021|0 – |6|6|0
J     000|000|0 – |0|2|2
W – Showalter (4-2); L – Biemiller (2-2)
2B – Showalter 2, Carrillo (WC); HR – Showalter (WC). Records – WC (13-8); J (15-8).

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Brandon 13
Middleton 2 – five innings

Brandon answered two early Middleton runs with a nine-run third inning as Marlon Garcia started the rally with a double, was driven in by Josh Blake who had two RBI singles in the inning. Blake was 3-for-3, and Kyler Mele pitched all five innings to earn the win on the mound. Naky Allen had a two run single for the Tigers in the first inning.

B 009|04x|x – |13|10|1
M 200|00x|x – |2|2|10
W – Mele; L – Williams
2B – Garcia (B). Records – B (6-14); M (6-10).

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Newsome 10
East Bay 1

Caeden Diaz drove in Evan Dempsey in both the first and third innings to give the Wolves all the runs needed to earn a road win at East Bay. From there, Dempsey took control striking out three and allowing one hit in four innings on the mound. Jack Weber (2ip, two hits, one run, three strikeouts) and Matthew Pitre (1ip, two hits, one strikeout) finished things off for the win. Braden Moon was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI for the Wolves. Senior Tate Gran was 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI for East Bay.

N   103|200|4 – |10|13|1
EB 000|010|0 – |1|5|2
W – Dempsey (0-0); L – Luke (0-0)
2B – Moon, Wainman (N); Gran 2 (EB). Records – N (15-5); EB (7-12).

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Hillsborough 9
Armwood 0

Hillsborough senior Donald Gorgei struck out 11 in five innings of work, while also stroking a two-run triple as the Terriers defeated Armwood. Adrian Arroyo and Tanner Jones each collected three hits and an RBI, while Cam Mallo had three RBI and a double, and Sal Urso drove in a pair.

A 000|000|0 – |0|2|1
H 004|032|x – |9|11|0
W – Gorgei (0-0); L – Hall (0-0)
2B – Mallo (H); 3B – Gorgei (H). Records – A (9-10); H (12-9).

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(8) Strawberry Crest 5
Gaither 2

Strawberry Crest pulled it together late, scoring five runs in the top of the seventh to steal a win off of Gaither on the road. Ethan Pues cut the Cowboys lead with an RBI single, Eli Vickers earned an RBI with a hit-by-pitch, and Damien Bennett’s bases-clearing double pushed the Chargers out for the win. Zach Redner earned the win for Crest with six innings, allowing two runs on four hits and striking out six, before Alex Philpott worked a scoreless seventh with two punch outs. Gaither’s Bryce Busa and Angel Hernandez both singled in the fifth, setting up a two-run triple by Jackson Mirza for the Cowboys scoring.

SC 000|000|5 – |5|7|0
G   000|020|0 – |2|4|0
W – Redner (0-0); L – (0-0); S – Philpott (0)
2B – Bennett (SC); 3B – Mirza (G). Records – SC (15-7); G (8-13).

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(2) Freedom 3
Spoto 2

Logan Lambert’s RBI single in the sixth, cashed in a double from Aidan Kraf and gave Freedom the run needed to defeat Spoto. Kerry Wise pitched six innings for the Patriots to earn the win, with five strikeouts and allowing two earned runs. Cullen Cairns pitched the whole game for the Spartans, striking out six and allowing just one earned, he also had an RBI single, as did Mikey Britton.

S 000|002|0 – |2|5|4
F 000|201|x – |3|8|0
W – Wise (4-0); L – Cairns; S – Chastain (2)
2B – Kraf (F);. Records – S (3-14); F (15-6).

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Leto 8
Chamberlain 3

Leto junior BJ Rivera picked up his eighth win of the season, delivering five innings, and striking out six for the Falcons. JJ Barreto and Gerard Ortega had two hits each in the win.

L 000|053|0 – |8|
C 000|000|3 – |3|
W – Rivera (8-1); L – Garcia
Records – L (14-6); C (3-13).

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Lennard 9
Robinson 2

Lennard scored a pair of runs in the third when Tyler Ewell scored on a wild pitch and Sebastian Munoz stole home. Alex Brazed added a three-run home run  to the scoring total, and Carter Payne earned his second win of the season, striking out five in five innings of work. Jan Gonzalez was 2-for-3 with an RBI for the Knights.

L  002|133|0 – |9|5|1
R 000|100|1 – |2|5|0
W – Payne (2-0); L – Kirkner (1-1)
HR – Brazer (L). Records – L (15-4); R (12-9).

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IMG Grey 10
Tampa Cath 5

TC   010|100|3 – |5|3|1
IMG 350|110|x – |10|12|3
W – Stockton (4-0); L – Angel
2B – Frame (TC); 3B – Lazaro (TC); Franco, Moss (IMG). Records – TC (9-12); IMG (16-3).