1. Gaither (3-0) ☝️3
Gaither 2B Angel Hernandez
The Cowboys had about the best first week of the season we could imagine, taking down three preseason Top 10 ranked teams: First a 9-0 win at Newsome in the opener; next a 12-3 win at Plant; and finally, a 7-5 win against Jesuit. Angel Hernandez (five runs, five RBI, stolen base) had quite a week, homering in game one and doubling in all three games last week. NOW the Cowboys hold the top spot and everybody will be aiming to knock off the new No. 1. Gaither hosts Leto in Tuesday’s home opener, and they travel to Bloomingdale on Thursday.
2. Durant (2-0) =
Durant senior Chase Mobley
I get it. You’re disappointed. You did everything the right way in Week 1. You won a 1-0 thriller on opening night against the defending 6A champs, Sickles, and then took care of business against Sumner, 7-2 – and I jumped you in the rankings? Keep winning. It’s Week 2. I could be wron… The Cougars got exactly what we expected from the two stud senior pitchers as Blaine Rowland held the Gryphons scoreless and to just two hits, while striking out 10; and Chase Mobley struck out nine in his four innings against Sumner. Durant hosts Brandon on Tuesday, then heads to Alonso on Thursday.
3. Jesuit (1-1) 👇2
Jesuit senior Noah Sheffield
The Tigers opened the season with a 10-0, mercy-rule win against Cypress Creek, and battled to the final out, but fell a few runs short of a comeback against Gaither on Friday. Jesuit’s pitching staff did record 19 strikeouts in 13 innings, and senior Noah Sheffield was 3-for-4, with an RBI single and a three-run home run against Gaither. The Tigers have two more at home this week, hosting Venice on Tuesday and getting a visit from Tampa Catholic on Friday.
4. Jefferson (2-0) ☝️1
Jefferson senior Cameron Copple
First two in the win column for the Dragons as Mikey Marroquin (4ip, H, 8K) and James Van Meter (3ip, 0H, 5K) combined on a one-hitter at Sumner on opening night; and continued to win on the road with a 7-1 victory against Leto, as Alliuq Troupe doubled twice, scored and drove in a run. Jefferson travels to Hillsborough on Tuesday, and finally opens its home schedule on Thursday welcoming Plant City.
5. Sickles (1-1)👇2
Sickles senior Cameron Guise
The Gryphons strong effort on opening night from senior pitcher Cameron Guise (6.1ip, R, 2H, 6K), but couldn’t scratch out any runs against Durant in a 1-0 loss. But Sickles got its first win against No. 8 Alonso, 4-2 on Thursday as Emilio Salgado drove in a pair with a double. Gryphons pitchers have a 1.50 ERA on the season with 14 strikeouts. Sickles goes on the road this week at Steinbrenner (Tues) and Strawberry Crest (Thurs).
6. Strawberry Crest (2-0) ⭐
The Chargers make the biggest leap from a preseason No. 11 spot by winning a walk-off thriller against Bloomingdale, 5-4 on a Akhil Nimmala two-run double on Wednesday, and dispatched Chamberlain on Friday, 18-2. The offense is clicking for Crest as the team has scored 23 runs, with eight doubles, two triples and a home run. The Chargers travel West down US92 to visit Armwood (2-0) on Tuesday, and welcome Sickles on Thursday.
7. Tampa Catholic (2-1) =
Tampa Catholic won big against SLAM and Brooks DeBartolo, but fell to last season’s 3A state champs Calvary Christian, 2-0 in a tough battle to end the week. Senior Alex Sotiropoulos made two appearances on the week, striking out a dozen in five innings, while four players are tied with four hits with Ethan Frame’s four RBI leading the group. TC visits Tampa Prep on Tuesday and faces Jesuit on Friday.
8. Alonso (1-1) =
Tuesday’s 4-2 game at Lennard went the Ravens way, while a 4-2 game at Sickles did not. Alonso also stays in place from the preseason rankings. The win against the Longhorns got started quickly with Daniel Despaine and Landon Nunez driving in runs and the Ravens held off Lennard’s comeback attempt. Alonso hosts Robinson and Durant in games this week.
9. Plant (1-1)👇4
The Panthers opened with a 10-3 win at Riverview as senior Rocco DeMarinis homered twice and drove in four runs, but Plant couldn’t overcome a four-run Gaither first inning in its home opener as the Cowboys won 12-3. Plant goes to Blake on Tuesday afternoon and visits Wharton on Thursday.
10. Bloomingdale (1-1) =
The Bulls dropped a tough one at Strawberry Crest on Wednesday, first erasing a three-run deficit in the sixth, only to have the win taken away with a walk-off two-run Chargers win. But Bloomingdale picked up the first victory of the year with a mercy-rule win against Brandon with 13 different hitters recording a hit. Senior Dawson Rankin led the Bulls hitters in Week 1 going 4-for-6, with a double, two RBI and a stolen base. This week, Bloomingdale goes to Plant City (Tues) and hosts Gaither (Thurs).
⭐ : New to rankings this week
☝️: Moved up;
👇: Moved down
= : Same as last week
⚾
8 Top Performers
⚾
1 Favorite Thing from last Week
Opening Night was thrilling in both the games we saw and the ones we reviewed after. Our trip to Sickles to see two senior pitchers battle it out in a 1-0 win for Durant behind a 10-strikeout complete-game from Blaine Rowland definitely lived up to our expectations for our first “Game of the Week” for the season. Another 1-0 win for Armwood over Steinbrenner behind a strong pitching performance from Tyler Corns to earn new head coach Shawn Queen his first win. The night also included a return to baseball after a season off for Blake, which claimed a win against Brandon. And we got to stretch Opening Night another 24 hours as Strawberry Crest rallied for a huge walk-off win courtesy of an Arjun Nimmala two-run double.
⚾
3 Games to Watch this week
Middleton (0-2) at Chamberlain (0-2), Monday: Two teams looking for their first win of the season, and two new head coaches in search of that first career victory. Middleton’s Ozzie Galvan and Chamberlain’s Stephen Martin are looking to get their team’s moving in the right direction.
Jefferson (2-0) at Hillsborough (2-0), Tuesday: One of the City of Tampa’s longest rivalries renewed for another season. Hillsborough High alum Spencer Nunez brings his Dragons into Billy Reed Field for a battle of unbeaten. Jefferson has reached two state final fours since Nunez took over in 2021, but Hillsborough holds the series lead since its former assistant coach departed, 4-1.
Tampa Catholic (2-1) at Jesuit (1-1), Friday: The atmosphere is always awesome when these two private schools clash. Jesuit has had control of this rivalry in recent years, but two really tough games – including a 2-1 Tigers win in their final meeting last year has made for exciting baseball. Can the Crusaders end Jesuit’s winning streak in the series? How will the Tigers respond after dropping a tough game to Gaither this week against Venice, then TC?
