Perez, Osting deal Bulls’ to second-straight Saladino title

Bloomingdale senior Vaughn Osting clinches his fist in celebration after throwing for the game-ending out at first base as the Bulls claimed a second-straight Saladino Tournament championship. Osting derived four shutout innings, after adding a six-inning win on opening Saturday and was named the 2026 Saladino Tournament MVP.

Story by Jarrett Guthrie, Editor
Photos by Mike Camunas, Creative Director

TAMPA – One down. Well, two really. A two-peat if you will.

Bloomingdale senior Isaiah Perez dazzled in his first-ever start on the mound, holding Tampa Catholic hitless for three innings before passing the baseball to ace Vaughn Osting, who closed out a 2-0 victory.

Bloomingdale senior Isaiah “Izzy” Perez had two wins in relief early in the season, but made his first-ever career start in Thursday’s Saladino Championship final.

The Bulls claimed the title in the 45th edition of the Saladino Baseball Tournament from the University of Tampa Baseball Field Thursday night for Bloomingdale’s second-straight tourney crown.

Pitching has been impressive and oppressive all season (just 18 earned runs allowed in 16 games), and over the last week the stingy Bulls arms held its first three Saladino Tournament opponents to three total runs. Then blanked both of the Week 5’s 8-1-3 Top 10, No. 1 (tie) teams Gaither and the Crusaders by the same score on back-to-back nights.

Click here for more of our photos from this game.

Tampa Catholic (14-2) had battled in close wins through its first four tourney games and brought their own ace, senior righty Talan Miranda on the mound.

And though the South Alabama signee pitched a strong game, a leadoff walk, a ball-four passed ball (out-of-play) and another passed ball put Bloomingdale’s Mason Johnson 90 feet from the plate.

Then junior Cesar Campos fell behind in the count, but came through by smacking a ground ball to shortstop and bringing home the deciding run with the first out of the game.

“I was just trying to put the ball in play when they (Tampa Catholic) were infield in,” Campos said. “It ate him up a little bit, we scored the run and I did my job.”

Mason Johnson slides home in the first inning, scoring the deciding run on a Cesar Campos ground ball.

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Tampa Catholic’s Talan Miranda worked around four more hits and two walks over 5 2/3 innings and had four strikeouts in his first loss of the year (now 4-1).

TC started the home-second with two aboard on a walk and Bulls error, before Perez struck out his second of five strikeouts. Crusaders junior Blake Brown moved to third on a wild pitch, but TC got a little too aggressive on the base-path as a fly ball to right field was chased down by Evan Plusquellic, who fired the ball to first base to double off a runner and erase a potential run.

Bulls rightfielder Evan Plusquellic chased down this fly ball and fired a throw to first base to double-up a runner.

“Having the enthusiasm that I’d come out here and do what I needed to do was the biggest part for me,” Perez said. “But obviously, the nerves were there a little – (my) first time starting ever – but it was awesome.”

Bloomingdale (14-2) got third inning singles from Braxton Wilken and Campos, but Tampa Catholic third baseman Torey Thomas covered a huge swath of turf and slid under a foul pop to end the threat.

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After Perez and Miranda each faced the minimum in their next half-innings, Osting took over with the lead for the Bulls. The East Tennessee State-signed righty was promptly met by Crusaders captain Cole Bitman, who smashed a chopper that Osting was luckily able to deflect off his glove, and reached on a single.

Bloomingdale 2B Cesar Campos throws for an out.

But Osting, who beat Durant in six innings to open pool-play last Saturday, then played solid first base for three games and moved to third in the team’s regular hot-corner Perez’s stead, showed off his defense bounding off the mound to snag an elevated bunt and fired to first for a double-play.

Osting worked around two walks in the seventh – aided by another double-play turned by shortstop Saul Aponte to Campos, to first baseman Payton Jennings, then fielded a weakly hit ball in front of the mound and threw for the game-ending out.

Tampa Catholic sophomore 3B Torey Thomas.

His six-inning, one-hit win against the Cougars to start the tourney, and his four scoreless innings of relief in a save on Thursday, coupled with his 11 strikeouts, and his four offensive hits, five RBI, home run and double the last five games earned Osting the Saladino Tournament Most Valuable Player honors.

“It means a lot,” Osting said, “but I think this is such a team thing, you can’t get there with just one guy. We are not here without Jav (semifinal starting pitcher and 2025 Saladino MVP Javier Navas-Hoyer). We aren’t here without Evan (Plusquellic). I know it was (awarded to) me, but I think there are so many guys on this team that deserved it as well.”

Bloomingdale senior Vaughn Osting

Thursday marked the second-straight season Osting closed out the Saladino tournament with a save, having recorded the final out in last year’s 3-0 tournament final win against Strawberry Crest.

Plusquellic led the Bulls all week with 12 RBI, three home runs, a two-inning save, a runner thrown out at the plate from rightfield and a doubling-off a runner in the championship. After two previous tournaments as a member of Newsome’s baseball team, the junior admitted winning this year’s tourney with his new team had a little extra emotion.

“Every year playing in this tournament is always a great time,” he said. “But this one means a lot, I feel like Tony Saladino was looking over us … doing this in his memory makes it mean a lot more.”

Tournament founder Tony Saladino, who passed away last August, was remembered prior to the start of the 45th Saladino Tournament championship game.

The Bulls pitching duo’s battery-mate, catcher Braxton Wilken, said both players made his job easy and their confidence spread through the dugout.

“Izzy just knew what he was doing out there and I talked to him way before and told him to, ‘be Izzy, no matter what and go do your thing,” he said. “And Vaughn is always Vaughn. He just keeps shoving, keeps throwing and just never has a bad outing. He’s a motivator that all of us can look up to. He has the athleticism, the fielding ability, the pitching ability and the hitting ability – he’s THE guy.”

Bloomingdale junior catcher Braxton Wilken

In the top-half of the seventh, the Bulls were provided a little breathing room in big way as JJ Santiago belted his first home run down the right-field line setting off the new light show at UTampa.

“To do that for my team, in a big moment, I just thank God, it was awesome,” Santiago said. “I wanted to come through four our pitchers. All tournament long they kept us in games, kept it low-score and I’m thankful for those guys.”

JJ Santiago is fired up around third base after launching his seventh-inning solo home run.

The win was a first step for the Bulls, who fell just short of their enduring goal – four trophies. After claiming the 2025 Saladino trophy, Bloomingdale’s player set their sights on three more trophies – claiming district and region titles, before falling in last year’s 6A state semifinals.

One down, three more to go.

Ambitious? Absolutely. But attainable for a talented and confident Bulls squad.

“I think we can make it all the way and get those four trophies,” Perez said. “I think we’ve got the arms, we’ve got the bats, but I think what we really have is integrity. We know who we are, what we have and we do what we have to do.”

“We can’t get ahead of ourselves,” his teammate Santiago considered, “we have to keep fighting and keep pushing if we want to win all four of those trophies.”

⚾ Saladino Gold Division Championship ⚾

Bloomingdale 2
Tampa Catholic 0

B 100|000|1 – |2|5|1
T 000|000|0 – |0|1|0
W – Perez (3-0); L – Miranda (4-1); S – Osting (1)
2B – Osting (B); HR – Santiago (B). Records – B (14-2); T (14-2).

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Tampa Catholic’s Jack Smythe studies his opponents as Bloomingdale take’s pregame infield-outfield.

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Bloomingdale head coach Kris Wilken (right) along with his captains senior Payton Jennings (center) and Vaughn Osting.

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Tampa Catholic head coach Paul Russo Jr. and one of his pregame captains, Jack Smythe.

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Our 2026 Saladino Tournament Championship umpire crew from the West Coast Umpires Association (left to right): Reggie Anderson, Paul Kutcher, Ruben Perez and Rob Alexander.

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Throwing out one of two ceremonial first pitches prior to the championship final was Bloomingdale alum, two-time University of Tampa baseball Division II National Champion, and Tony Saladino’s grandson, Nico Saladino.

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Standing in the middle of the UTampa baseball logo, Tampa Catholic CF Brayden Beauchaine shields his vision from the tailing westerly-setting sun.

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Bloomingdale SS Saul Aponte

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Bulls senior righty Izzy Perez

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Tampa Catholic senior RHP Talan Miranda

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Vaughn Osting slides into second base on his sixth-inning double to center.

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Tampa Catholic reliever Christian Serralles, who started each game at second base for the Crusaders came in to relieve in all five tournament games.

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Bulls senior righty Vaughn Osting

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Tampa Catholic junior Blake Brown leads off with umpire Reggie Anderson watching over his shoulder.

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Bulls courtesy runner Kevin Martinez (who had a stolen base) takes a lead off third.

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A proud grin from Bloomingdale head coach Kris Wilken as he addresses his team post-win.

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Tournament MVP Vaughn Osting was quick to pass off his individual accomplishment on his fellow teammates in the post-game interview. Here the Bulls leader acknowledges their accomplishment and addresses his pals.

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Saladino Tournament director Tony Saladino III hands off the trophy to Bloomingdale head coach, and now three-time Saladino Champion, Kris Wilken