Heights Meat Market presents:
1. Jesuit (19-5)
Jesuit junior Brady Marshall
Back where we started at the beginning of the year, Jesuit finishes the regular season by reclaiming the No. 1 spot – winning three games last week against two Ohio teams (St. Ignatius and Badin) and against St. Pete Catholic. Brady Marshall hit .500 on the week, with a homer and five RBI; sophomore Mason Greco homered and tripled in his first varsity offensive start against Badin; and Wilson Andersen went 6-for-10, with a double, five RBI, and a win against Badin, allowing one run in four innings and striking out seven. Jesuit hosts Brandon in the district semifinals on Tuesday.
2. Berkeley Prep (20-5)
Berkeley Prep junior Jett Walters
Berkeley Prep climbs into the No. 2 spot for the first time this season, as the Buccaneers won three lopsided games last week and became one of just two 20-win teams in Hillsborough County. Bucs junior Jett Walters went 5-for-9 with a homer, four runs and four RBI, and picked up a win on the mound against Carrollwood Day; Mason Warren was 5-for-8, with five RBI; and Nolan Parmer tossed six shutout innings against Parrish Community with five strikeouts. Berkeley Prep has hosting duties from the 2A-9 district tourney, and face Bishop McLaughlin in the semis on Wednesday.
T3. Bloomingdale (19-4)
Bloomingdale’s 12-game win streak was halted in a 2-1 loss to Alonso, and Sickles took a 6-1 decision as the Bulls fell to 19-4 to close the regular season. Bloomingdale is the top seed in the 6A-District 6 tournament and will host a semifinal game on Wednesday, facing the winner of Tuesday’s game between Lakeland and Bartow.
T3. Gaither (19-4)
Gaither senior Albert Antinori
With an identical 19-4 record and a season split with the Bulls, Gaither and Bloomingdale finish the regular season tied for third place in our rankings. Last week the Cowboys took a 5-1 win against Durant led Albert Antinori and Mathew Altman’s offense and five senior pitchers; and a 1-0 win against Sumner with Altman picking up his 11th win and Adam Smolka earning his fifth save. As the 6A-10 top seed, Gaither will host Armwood on Tuesday for a semifinal game.
5. Tampa Catholic (20-5)
The Crusaders went 2-1 last week, defeating Seffner Christian and a Brooks DeBartolo, and dropped a 5-1 decision at Northside Christian. TC is the No. 1 seed in the 2A-9 tournament, held at Berkeley Prep – and will face the winner of Brooks DeBartolo/Carrollwood Day at 4p on Wednesday.
6. Strawberry Crest (18-6)
Strawberry Crest freshman Jaxon Beattie
The Chargers won two last week, taking down Jefferson behind four RBI from Josh Cespedes, key hits from Jaxon Beattie, solid relief from Bubba Blount and Saxon Shah; then rallied for an 8-7 win at Plant to close out the regular season, with Blount keying the offense with three hits and senior Tripp House going 2-for-3 with a double and three RBI. Crest is the top seed in 7A-7 and will host the winner between Alonso and Plant City in Wednesday’s semifinal.
7. Sickles (16-8)
The Gryphons fought their way back into the Top 10 with three wins last week: a 17-7 win against Lennard; an 8-2 win over Wharton; and a 6-1 win against previous No. 1 Bloomingdale. Cole Shearer led the way with a homer, three doubles and seven RBI, as Sickles’ offense exploded for 37 hits last week. The No. 2-seed Gryphons host Mitchell in Tuesday’s 6A-11 district semifinal.
8. Sumner (16-7)
Sumner junior Jackson Salisbury
Stingrays seniors Xavier Larossa was 2-for-3 with two RBI, and Mason Morales was 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI in support of junior pitcher Jackson Salisbury (5ip, 3 H, 9 K) as Sumner shutout King to start last week, and the ‘Rays lost a razor-thin game to Gaither, 1-0, despite 13 strikeouts from Ethan DeJesus. As the 2-seed in the 7A-District 7 tourney, the Stingrays get a bye into the semifinals, where Sumner will host the winner of Newsome/Palm Harbor on Wednesday.
9. Bell Creek (16-3-2)
Bell Creek junior P Kyle Beauchamp
Bell Creek stretched its county-leading win streak to 12 games, defeating IMG Blue 6-4 behind three RBI and a win on the mound from Kyle Beauchamp; and a 10-0 win against Clermont’s Real Life Christian Academy with senior Evan Booker earning the win on the mound, while going 4-for-4 at the plate with two RBI. The Panthers are the 4-seed in the 2A-10 tournament and have a quarterfinal game
10. East Bay (14-8)
East Bay junior Connor Gavigan
East Bay takes the final spot in this week’s rankings behind a 10-0 win against Chamberlain, where Connor Gavigan struck out six in four innings, while at the plate he doubled, tripled and drove in a pair, helped by senior Johnathan Bryant who was 2-for-4 with three RBI; then the Indians defeated Wharton 8-3, jumping out early behind two hits, runs and RBI from Jeffrey Diab, and solid relief by Jaxson Franchione (3ip, 1H, 2K) Kasey Romero (1ip, H, 2K). The Indians are the top seed in 5A-9, and will host the winner of Spoto/Hillsborough in Wednesday’s district semifinal.
On the Bubble…
Cambridge Christian (17-7-1)
Jefferson (14-7-1)
Wharton (14-8-1)
Plant City (15-9)
Durant (12-7)
