NEW PORT RICHEY – The Springstead Eagles are district champions!
On Thursday night, Head Coach David Cazanas and the Eagles (15-10) defeated the Wesley Chapel Wildcats (12-11) in the Boys Baseball 5A District 8 Championship. The Red, White, and Blue used a strong defensive effort and an even stronger night from their pitcher to take the 2-0 victory on the road.
This was Springstead’s second straight appearance in the title game, but much had changed in that span: new district, new coach, new players, and (most importantly) a title.
“My first year coaching here, I couldn’t ask for anything better,” said Coach Cazanas. “This group came from the bottom. They doubted themselves, and I told them we could do it. […] Great season. District champion. It’s been a while for us here to win that. So, I feel excited. I know I got more to say, but right now my emotions are running a little bit.”
In his first season with the Eagles, Coach Cazanas led his squad to a second seed bye in the district tournament and a semifinal win over River Ridge before emerging victorious in the championship game.
This was aided tremendously by the efforts of Senior Pitcher Taryn Henrickson who threw a complete game on Thursday. His stat sheet read seven hits and one strikeout on 87 pitches, and Henrickson and the defense stranded several runners throughout the night to keep the Wildcats off the board.
The Eagles’ coach noted that he had a player warming up in the bullpen, but it would not be necessary. Henrickson knew he could get it done, and Coach Cazanas had complete faith in his pitcher who he called the MVP of the game.
It was a strong game from the team all around. The Eagles struck early and held on throughout. In the top of the opening inning, Senior Joey Rief would belt a bouncing single to left field. As the ball skipped just beyond the reach of multiple defenders, Sophomore Javon Marks ran across home plate for the first of only two scores by either squad.
In the bottom of the same frame, the Wildcats were threatening. Wesley Chapel’s Dylan Pabon was walked, and the next two batters’ hits advanced Pabon to third despite them being caught out.
Henrickson quickly shut down the threat, however, by striking out the next Wildcat batter. The second inning saw a similar situation with bases loaded with two outs before Pabon was thrown out at first to end that threat.
At the conclusion of the third inning, Springstead struck again. Thanks to an error by a Wildcat outfielder, Rief’s single was dropped. This allowed Sophomore Nathaniel Sabino across home plate for the game’s final score moments before a tag out at third ended the frame.
For much of the rest of the evening it was a tight, defensive pitcher’s duel. Then, the bottom of the seventh inning afforded Wesley Chapel one last chance. With a runner on second and two outs, Nolan Hartley smacked a would-be ground ball single to the left, but it clipped Aiden Nguyen’s foot on his way to third.
Game over. The Eagles were victorious, and Coach Cazanas’ players delivered their school its first district title since the 2018-2019 season.
“I can’t ask anything else from these boys,” the Springstead coach said. “They gave me everything I needed. Everything I asked for the whole time, they gave it to me.”
Moving forward, Cazanas and the Eagles will have home field advantage as they take on the New Smyrna Beach Barracudas in the regional tournament next week.
