Students and teachers from the Hernando County School District no doubt enjoyed spring break this past week. But for the high school baseball teams in the county, it remained all business.
The Farm Bureau Tournament, a longstanding tradition, took place March 17-21, bringing together 14 teams playing 25 games at four different schools. Central, Hernando, Nature Coast and Weeki Wachee not only opened up their fields for the tournament, but each played three games apiece.
Teams from Pasco and Pinellas counties, which were also on spring break last week, filled out the rest of the field along with Citrus and Lecanto, making the event a showcase for baseball in the North Suncoast region. Mitchell ultimately won the tournament, capturing an all-Pasco County final over Land O’ Lakes 11-6 on Friday night at Hernando’s Emerson Field. It’s the fifth time the Mustangs have won the Farm Bureau since 2018.
On March 17, Mitchell took out Lecanto 12-2, then beat Weeki Wachee 7-4 and Cypress Creek 3-2 in 10 innings over the next two days to reach the final. Land O’ Lakes started off with a 4-0 victory over Central on March 18, following that with a 4-1 win over Bishop McLaughlin in eight innings later that night. The Gators topped Nature Coast 12-10 in the March 19 semifinals.
The Sharks hosted that game and were led by Joey Vancleave, going 3-for-4 with a double, two runs and an RBI. Mario DeAngelis went 2-for-5 with a double, a run and an RBI. Nature Coast (11-4) played the tournament without star pitcher/first baseman Jackson Hoyt, as the University of Florida signee was out with the flu.
Despite missing Hoyt, the Sharks managed to win their first two tournament games, starting with a 4-3 triumph over River Ridge on March 17. Jake Loeffler pitched six innings, giving up three runs (one earned) on seven hits and a walk, striking out seven. Cody Wright went 2-for-3 with a double, a run and an RBI, Garrick Waggoner drove in two runs, and Beckett Monroe had a double and an RBI. The Sharks trounced Citrus the next day 12-0.
Before losing to Mitchell, Weeki Wachee blew out Tarpon Springs 15-0 on March 17. Freshman Jayden Allen pitched a perfect game, albeit over just four innings, striking out five. It still ranks as his second no-hitter of the season, the first coming on March 6 when he struck out 11 over seven innings against Seven Rivers Christian.
Allen also had a triple and an RBI in that game. Jase Kelly finished 3-for-4 with two runs and three RBI, while Saul Melendez went 2-for-4 with three RBI. J.D. Sammons was 3-for-3 in the loss to the Mustangs. Melendez was 2-for-4 with an RBI, and Allen again had a triple and an RBI.
On March 19, the Hornets (8-8) wrapped up their tournament slate with a 3-1 loss to Bishop McLaughlin. Jacob Barnum drove in the lone Weeki Wachee run, but the offense couldn’t support a solid outing by Jack Strong. He threw a complete game, giving up just one earned run on three hits and three walks, striking out seven.
Central downed Bishop McLaughlin 5-4 in its tournament opener on March 17. Talyn Poole went 2-for-4 with two RBI. Jayden Warren was 2-for-2 with two runs and an RBI, and Korbin Baskind finished 2-for-4 with a triple and two runs.
The Bears mustered just two hits in their loss to Land O’ Lakes, but bounced back on March 19 to knock off River Ridge 4-2. Poole had a double and two RBI, Noah Sanchez went 2-for-3 with an RBI, and Baskin and Warren each had two hits. Poole also got the save, pitching three perfect innings for Central (10-5).
Hernando (8-7) had a 0-3 tournament, losing to Hudson 4-3 on March 17, to East Lake 4-3 in eight innings on March 18, and 5-4 against Tarpon Springs on March 19.
Springstead, the lone county team that did not play in the Farm Bureau, went to a different tournament and finished 1-2. The win came on March 20, 2-0 over Columbus from Miami. Dalton Williams threw a complete game shutout, working around three hits, two walks and three hit batters over seven innings while striking out three. Billy Ward went 2-for-3 with a double, a run and an RBI. Nathaniel Sabino drove in the other run.
The Eagles fell to Florida Christian 3-2 last Friday, despite Sabino going 3-for-3 with a run and Taryn Hendrickson giving up two runs in 6 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts. They lost 13-3 to Doral Academy on Saturday. Nathan Marsh had a home run and two RBI as Springstead dropped to 10-5.
In flag football, Hernando improved to 7-1 overall by beating Seven Rivers 20-18 on Friday. Annabelle Chamberlain completed 12 of 21 passes for 162 yards and threw for three touchdowns. Kenderlyn Hart caught eight passes for 119 yards and hauled in two touchdowns. Aajyrah Adams caught the other touchdown.
