By Andy Villamarzo
Hernando Sun sports writer
Though spring sports have come and gone throughout the state of Florida and nationally for that matter, coaches still have gone ahead to name all-conference selections for their respective sports. For Citrus and Hernando counties, the eight high schools between the two make up the Gulf Coast 8 conference and they have officially announced the selections for baseball.
All five Hernando County public schools are represented in the Gulf Coast 8 All-Conference team, as Central has four selected, Hernando with five, Nature Coast has four, Springstead with two and Weeki Wachee has three. With 18 players selected from Hernando County, the schools proved once again it was a strong year for prep baseball despite the pandemic denying a completion of the regular season and playoffs.
Below are the selections for the Gulf Coast 8 All-Conference Baseball Team, as Central, Citrus, Crystal River, Hernando, Lecanto, Nature Coast, Springstead and Weeki Wachee are all represented on the team in some capacity. The only school that also fields a baseball team out of Hernando County on the high school level not represented is Hernando Christian, which is not a part of the Gulf Coast 8 Conference. The Lions are a private school and thus were not included with the conference’s makeup when created.
Gulf Coast 8 Baseball All-Conference Team
Pitchers:
Ryan Ebberup, Central
Jordan Laing, Hernando
Catcher:
Collin Nelson, Nature Coast
Infielders:
Collin Greer, Weeki Wachee
Chase Davis, Nature Coast
Connor Morgan, Hernando
Luke Malmberg, Lecanto
Outfielders:
Mike Gatto, Citrus
Riley Fisher, Hernando
Rashaad Boyce, Central
Utility:
Jakob Brace, Lecanto
Honorable Mention
From Central:
Locke Weissman
Brandon Lieninger
From Citrus:
Connor Bishop
Cason Williamson
From Crystal River:
Landon Schirr
Anthony Agate
From Hernando:
Javy Bonilla
Dylan DuPhily
From Lecanto:
Derek Batson
Jessie Thomas
From Nature Coast:
Zeth Rodriguez
Jonathan McMath
From Springstead:
Joey Hopper
Jake Miller
From Weeki Wachee:
Chris Perdomo
Jonathan Melendez
Andy Villamarzo can be reached at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @avillamarzo.
