The Hernando County prep baseball/softball season is winding down and it’s almost time for district tournament play. With all five of the public high schools in action, we go over the most recent week for teams on the baseball and softball end of the sports spectrum throughout the county and rank them 1 through 5.
BASEBALL
1. Hernando (13-4): After only losing just two games through the first 13 games, the Leopards have gone on a little 2-game losing streak here recently. Hernando has lost back-to-back games for the first time this season, with losses against Lecanto and Bushnell South Sumter.
2. Springstead (11-7): A little winning streak for the Eagles has boosted Springstead above the 10-plus win mark. The Eagles have won three games in a row, with two against Central and a win versus New Port Richey River Ridge. Remaining games are against Fivay, Hernando, Weeki Wachee, Clearwater and Clearwater Countryside.
3. Nature Coast (8-6): It’s been a really tough stretch of the last six games for the Sharks, as they’ve lost four games out of the six. Nature Coast still has seven games remaining and a few are against some tough opponents like Lecanto, Hernando, Sunlake and IMG Academy, respectively.
4. Central (6-11): One of the stranger teams when it comes to tournament time is the Central Bears. Don’t worry about the win-loss record at the end of the day, as Central always finds a way to compete with teams in the district tournament.
5. Weeki Wachee (1-13): Just one win through 14 games played and it’s been a difficult spring for the Hornets. To close out the season, Weeki Wachee has games against Central, Springstead, South Sumter and Seven Rivers Christian. Tough stretch ahead for the Bears.
SOFTBALL
1. Hernando (10-4): The Leopards have yet to lose a game to anyone in the Hernando-Pasco-Citrus areas and they’ll be facing teams from those three counties exclusively down the stretch. One game to really watch out for is the April 26th matchup against Mitchell at home.
2. Springstead (11-2): Losses to Hernando and The Villages are the only blemishes on what has been a turnaround season for the Eagles. A rematch against a very good Hernando team is looming and many are looking forward to Springstead versus Nature Coast Part II.
3. Nature Coast (9-7): It’s been an up and down season for the Sharks, but Nature Coast still has one of the more formidable teams in Hernando County. The stretch run of games are tough, but winnable. They have an April 21st game against Springstead that should be one to watch out for.
4. Weeki Wachee (4-7): Not much has changed for the Hornets since the last time we ran a Top 5 poll. Just one more loss in the win-loss column, but Weeki Wachee has made strides this 2022 campaign. Expect the Hornets to finish things out strong.
5. Central (0-12): Can the Bears eke out one win this spring? The closest they came to winning this season was a 20-15 football-score like loss to Bishop McLaughlin earlier in the campaign. Now Central is hoping they can get one win heading into districts.
Andy Villamarzo can be reached at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @avillamarzo.
