THE 8-1-3List Week 8
presented by The Hitting Academy
1. Sickles (17-2)
Sickles sophomore pitcher Brandon Gonzales.
The Gryphons shutout Leto and Plant City last week as Jordan Yost drove in four against the Falcons, and Justin Allen hit his first home run of the season against the Raiders. Brandon Gonzales pitched five scoreless innings in a 13-0 win against Leto, and has a 2.07 ERA across 23.2 innings. Sickles is on the road the next four games, including stops at Robinson (Tues), Newsome (Fri) and Lennard (Sat) this week.
Last Week: #1
2. Jesuit (17-3)
Jesuit senior Wes Mendes runs down a ball in front of the wall in centerfield at Tampa Catholic.
The Tigers rallied with three-runs in the top of the seventh against national No. 1-ranked IMG Academy last week, but couldn’t hold off an Ascenders comeback and extra-inning win. But Jesuit finished out the week winning a 2-1 game against Tampa Catholic as Wes Mendes homered and scored both runs, in support of strong pitching from Aden Knowles and John Abraham. Senior Grant Jordan went 5-for-7 at the plate on the week, and is hitting .322 on the year with 20 RBI and three homers.
Last Week: #2
3. Durant (15-3)
A three-win week for the Cougars started with a 10-0 win against Riverview, and a pair of close wins against Newsome and Wharton. The latter two featured complete-game efforts from Blaine Rowland (in a 3-1 win over the Wolves) and Gavin Florio (a 3-2 win against the Wildcats). Durant welcomes Sumner on Tuesday, and district opponent Strawberry Crest on Thursday, before ending the week with a visit to Chamberlain on Saturday.
Last Week: #4
4. Gaither (15-5)
Gaither won its 10th-straight and moved to 5-0 against its district with a 13-1 against Wharton and a 5-0 victory vs Tampa Bay Tech. Senior Scout Simpson (.393 avg., 17 RBI and 16 runs) and junior Nico Lopez (.433, 11 runs, 21 RBI) are leading a strong offense for the Cowboys. Senior Steven Rojas, who struck out 13 against TBT, is now a winner in four-straight starts and is 5-3 on the mound with 62 K’s. Gaither will travel to Riverview for a game on Thursday and host Middleton Friday night.
Last Week: #5
5. Plant (14-4)
Plant senior Trey Gonzalez.
The Panthers picked up three good wins last week against Alonso, Sumner and Bloomingdale. Ace Robert Satin struck out a dozen in a complete game, 4-3 win against the Ravens, Trey Gonzalez battled his way through an 8-5 win against the Stingrays, and Garrett Hill held Bloomingdale to just two runs (one earned) in an 8-2 win. Rocco DeMarinis hit his fourth homer of the year against Sumner, leading the team in dingers, RBI (20) and runs (16). Plant goes to Jefferson on Tuesday, and visits Lennard for the second time this season on Thursday.
Last Week: T-#7
6. Tampa Catholic (16-5)
The Crusaders won games over Bradenton Inspiration Red and Sarasota Cardinal Mooney last week, but fell for the second time this season to Jesuit, 2-1. TC’s pitching staff hasn’t allowed more than three runs since Week 2, and has a 1.13 team ERA. Junior Alex Sotiropoulos won his sixth game of the year on the mound against Inspiration, and senior Bransen Angel (5-0) pitched in the two wins, going eight innings with seven K’s. Tampa Catholic hosts IMG Silver on Thursday, and welcomes Cardinal Mooney on Friday.
Last Week: #3
7. Strawberry Crest (12-6)
Strawberry Crest junior Brayden DiCerb.
The Chargers handled Freedom in five innings to start the week, and decisively turned away Alonso in a 9-1 win on Saturday. Arjun and Akhil Nimmala both homered and drove in four against Freedom, while Luke Richardson (W), Brayden DiCerb and Zach Redner held the Patriots off the scoreboard. The trio would roll again on Saturday, limiting Alonso to just one unearned run off of three hits – this win marking the 200th in program history. Crest travels to Armwood (Tues), Durant (Thurs) and Sumner (Sat) this week.
Last Week: NR
8. Jefferson (13-5)
Alejandro Aguilar started off Jefferson’s week with the first of three complete-game wins (more on that below), which also included a 3-1 complete-game from John Valle against Steinbrenner, and a 7-2 complete-game win from Mikey Marroquin at Armwood. Jefferson has a five-game streak running, and hosts Plant on Tuesday, King on Thursday and Bloomingdale on Saturday.
Last Week: NR
Dropping out this week: #6 Newsome (12-6); T-#7 Alonso (13-7).
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“1” Team to Watch
Bell Creek (13-6)
Bell Creek junior Avery Long.
The Panthers won four games last week, defeating Indian Rocks Christian and Pinellas Park, before winning the Sunshine State Athletic Conference state tournament championship with wins against SLAM and Winter Haven All Saints last weekend. Junior Avery Long singled in a pair to give his team the lead in the sixth in the final. Junior Noah Berning drove in eight runs last week and leads the team with 26; while senior Jacob Ananias is hitting .403 with 20 RBI, and earned the win in relief against All Saints.
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“3” Top Performances
Alejandro Aguilar, Jefferson
The Dragons senior struck out 13 in a no-hit effort at Brandon last Monday, allowing one walk. The 6-foot-3 righty is now 5-1 on the year with 35 strikeouts in 25 2/3 innings.
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Rivers Kurland, Berkeley Prep
The Bucs sophomore went 7-for-12 at the plate last week with eight RBI and three runs, with a homer and double, and struck out nine in a complete-game, one-hitter against Clearwater Central Catholic.
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Noah Morales, Durant
Of the Cougars 15 runs on the week, Morales scored five of them and drove in five more, going 4-for-8 with two doubles and a homer. He is hitting .309, with 20 RBI and 17 runs scored this season.
