The 8-1-3 List: Week 10

1. Durant (20-3) =

Durant becomes the first team this year to hold No. 1 rank for three-straight weeks, and finish the regular season at the top. The Cougars got two incredible efforts on the mound last week from veteran seniors as Gehrig Graham held Hillsborough to a run on two hits and struck out 10 in Durant’s 11-1 victory; and Blaine Rowland struck out 14 in a 6-0, complete-game win against Plan to close out the regular season. Durant is the top seed in the Class 7A-District 6 tournament and will host a semifinal game on Tuesday (against the winner of Monday’s Davenport Ridge Community and Strawberry Crest).

2. Jesuit (19-6) ☝️1

The Tigers ended the regular season with three wins last week, taking down Northside Christian, Lakeland Jenkins and SLAM. Noah Sheffield drove in a run in each win, including a two-run home run against Jenkins; and DJ Pirela scored in all three wins with double and triple against Northside. Jesuit is the top-ranked Class 5A in the state entering this week, and will host the winner of Bradenton Southeast and Spoto in the 5A-9 semifinal on Tuesday.

3. Sickles (19-6) 👇1

The Gryphons split a pair of extra-inning games last week, defeating Wesley Chapel in the eighth when Jake Taylor lined an RBI single to center field, but Sickles dropped its regular-season finale 4-2 to visiting Newsome, 4-2. The Gryphons are the No. 2 seed in the Class 6A-10 tournament and will host Largo (16-9) in Tuesday’s semifinal; East Lake is the top seed in 6A-10 and in Region 3 headed into this week.

4. Gaither (16-6) =

Michael Fernandez worked in relief twice last week, earning a win against Riverview with two scoreless innings, and allowed one unearned in a three-inning save against Plant City to wrap up the regular season for Gaither. David Pina drove in a run and scored three and Jackson Mirza had six RBI on the week. The Cowboys are the No. 1 seed in 6A-9 and will host tonight’s winner between Wharton and Hillsborough on Tuesday in the district semifinal.

5. Seffner Christian (17-4) ☝️4

Crusaders slugger Addy Scott homered in a 5-3 win against top-ranked Class 4A steam Lakeland McKeel, and added another (his 14th) when Seffner Christian beat Indian Rocks Christian, 11-8 to close the regular season. Austin Trimble allowed a single hit over two innings, pitching in both games and earning a pair of saves. The Crusaders hold a strength-of-schedule edge on Carrollwood Day (per the FHSAA rankings) and hold the No. 1 spot in the 2A-10 tournament. SCA will face today’s Cambridge Christian/Academy at the Lakes winner on Tuesday, 4pm from CDS.

6. Newsome (17-6) 👇1

Newsome senior Braden Moon homered and scored twice as the Wolves defeated Sickles 4-2, and senior Ryan Harris earned the win with two scoreless innings of relief – his first outing of the season. Robinson handed the Wolves a 2-1 defeat to close out the regular season. Newsome is the three-seed in the 7A-6 tournament and will host Haines City tonight, for a chance to visit (2) Winter Haven, Tuesday, on the line.

7. Plant (17-7) 👇1

Plant went 1-1 last week as Jackson Cucchi’s two-run home run pushed the Panthers past Plant City, but PHS had no answer for Blaine Rowland in a shutout loss to Durant. In this week’s 7A-7 tourney, Plant is the No. 2 seed and will host a semifinal game on Tuesday, facing the winner of tonight’s (6) Riverview vs (3) Sumner game.

8. Jefferson (16-8) ⭐

The Dragons return to the rankings after taking down Freedom, 14-0 last week, and besting Wharton, 3-2, with Cameron Mallo going 3-for-3 with a run and RBI, and Mikey Marroquin striking out eight. Jefferson is in the top spot in the 4A-10 tournament, and will host a semifinal game on Tuesday against the winner of tonight’s Blake/Chamberlain game.

9. Armwood (15-5) ⭐

Three RBI each from Javier Suniaga and Christian Villanueva led the Hawks to an 11-3 win against Leto, and Armwood stretched its win-streak to five games with a 3-2 win over Lennard at home to close the regular season, with Tyler Corns holding the Longhorns to one run in four innings. The Hawks are the No. 2 seed behind Gaither in the 6A-9 tourney this week, and will host the winner between Tech and Leto on Tuesday.

10. Tampa Catholic (16-9) 👇2

The Crusaders won 4-3 over Steinbrenner to start a three-game final week as Alex Sotiropoulos drove in a pair to put TC ahead late. The Crusaders dropped an extra-inning decision to Academy at the Lakes, and then ended the regular season with a 4-1 win over Cambridge Christian, with Vito Arena, Ruben Ledo, Drew Dunlop and Connor Fisher combining for a no-hitter. TC enters the Class 3A-District 5 tournament as the top seed and will host the winner between Brooks DeBartolo and Bell Creek on Tuesday.

⭐: New to rankings this week; ☝️: Moved up; 👇: Moved down; = : Same as last week