District Tournaments Kick Off Tonight in Osceola County High School Baseball, Softball and Boys’ Volleyball

By: J. Daniel Pearson

Photos Courtesy Robb Leggett/MeyDey Media and Katie Williams

It’s tournament time!

All eight Osceola County public schools will be in action this week in baseball, softball and boys’ volleyball as they seek district championships and the automatic bids to regionals that go with them.

All three sports have the same schedule, with district quarterfinals slated for Monday, semifinals on Tuesday and championship games on Thursday. Although a district championship comes with an automatic regional bid, eight at-large bids for the eight highest ranked non-ranked district winners in each region are also available.

Here is a look at this week’s tournaments:

BASEBALL

The FHSAA Class 7A, District 9 tournament will have an Orange Belt Conference “feel” to it as all five district teams are from Osceola County. Harmony (14-11), winners of 10 of their last 13 games and the defending OBC Champion has earned the top seed as the highest ranked team in the district.

Longhorn coach Heath Williams says his team is playing extremely well despite having numerous injuries this year. “We have faced a lot of adversity, but this team is gritty, plays hard and is having a lot of fun right now,” the veteran coach said. “They have certainly earned the top seed and the right to play at home.”

Second seeded Osceola (10-11) and third seeded Tohopekaliga (13-11) are seeded second and third in the district and also have quarterfinal byes. Those two will meet in a district semifinal game at Osceola on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Harmony will meet the winner of Monday’s quarterfinal between Celebration (11-10-1) and Poinciana (2-14). Osceola is the defending district champion but has had an up-and-down season under first-year coach Nikko Martell after graduating a lot of talent off of last year’s team. Senior Nick Palmi (.448 batting average, .598 on-base percentage, 10 extra base hits) has been one of the bright spots for the Kowboys and h received some exciting news this week when he was named to the Florida Athletic Coaches Association All-State Team.

Games in the 7A, District 9 tournament are played on the home fields of highest ranked teams.

David Blackmore’s young St. Cloud team (14-10) will play in the 6A, District 8 Tournament which is a neutral site affair at the USSSA Complex in Vero Beach, Fla. The Bulldogs receive a quarterfinal bye and will play 4 p.m. semifinal game on Tuesday against Melbourne (12-12). A win would put them in a Thursday championship game against the winner of the other semifinal game between top-seeded Vero Beach vs. the Sebastian River/Heritage quarterfinal winner.

St. Cloud has just two seniors (part-time) in its starting lineup and is led by freshman sensation Sammy Echeverry (.389, 4 HR, 18 RBI), junior Josh Bejarno (.323, 16 RBI) and junior pitcher Sean Gallagher (2.72 ERA, 10.3 strikeouts per seven innings).

Gateway (6-15) will host Liberty (2-18) in a 7 p.m. Monday, Class 5A, District 7 quarterfinal but the winner will face a tough challenge in the semifinals with a contest at top-seeded Sebring (16-7) in a semifinal game on Tuesday. Lake Wales and Auburndale are scheduled to play in the other semifinal with the championship game slated for 7 p.m. Thursday at the highest remaining seed.

BASEBALL DISTRICT PLAY SCHEDULE

Monday, April 29

Poinciana at Celebration, 6 p.m. (7A, D9)
Liberty at Gateway, 7 p.m. (5A, D7)

Tuesday, April 30

Celebration/Poinciana Winner at Harmony, 6 p.m. (7A, D9)
Tohopekaliga at Osceola, 6 p.m. (7A, D9)
St. Cloud vs. Melbourne at Viera, 4 p.m. (6A, D8)
Liberty/Gateway winner at Sebring, 6 p.m. (5A, D7)

Thursday, May 2

7A, District 9 Championship Game (Site TBA), 6 p.m.
6A, District 8 Championship Game at USSSA Sports Complex Viera, 6 p.m.
5A, District 7 Championship Game (Site TBA) 7 p.m.
SOFTBALL

It will be an All-County affair in the Class 7A, District 10 Tournament, as Harmony, Osceola, Poinciana, Celebration and Tohopekaliga make up that district.

Harmony (10-9), which won the Orange Belt Conference Tournament and is the highest ranked team among all Osceola schools, will go into the tournament with a first round bye and host the winner of Monday’s quarterfinal game between Poinciana (13-10) and Celebration (4-15) at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

The Longhorns are led offensively by sophomore Emerson Alsan (.404 batting average, 6 HR, 16 RBI) and on the mound by Lindsey Green (8-8, 3.69 ERA). Should Harmony advance they would play the winner of the Osceola (12-10) – Tohopekaliga (14-6) semifinal game for the district championship on Thursday.

Osceola has already played the Tigers twice this year, winning 12-1 on Mar. 19 before taking a 16-15 extra-inning win on Apr. 12. The Kowboys also feature a young team, with six freshmen and a sophomore in its starting lineup. Freshman Faith Ferrer leads the team with a .568 batting average with 24 RBI, and 15 extra base hits. Freshman Anaya Josue is hitting .383 with a team-leading 23 RBI for the Tigers.

Top-seeded Horizon (18-5) will be the prohibitive favorites in the Class 5A, District 6 Tournament scheduled for Auburndale. Third-seeded Liberty (7-12) will face 6th seeded Gateway (0-14) in a Monday quarterfinal game, with the winner taking on #2 Auburndale (9-13) in a Tuesday semifinal. Horizon gets the Lake Buena Vista/Jones winner in the other semifinal.

St. Cloud is the lone county team competing in Class 7A, District 9. Coach Ray Whobrey is hopeful that an extremely difficult schedule (seven losses against teams ranked in the top 20 of their classification) has prepared his team for the post-season.

Seeded first, St. Cloud (12-13) receives a first round bye and will play Freedom/Cypress Creek winner in a Tuesday semifinal. The winner of that game plays at 7 p.m. Thursday for the District title against the winner of the Lake Nona/Boone game. All games in the tournament are hosted by Lake Nona.

Sophomore Addison Felblinger (.408 batting average, 3.15 ERA, 102.1 innings/121Ks), senior captain Brooke Scott (.289 BA) and junior Kacey Pagan (.304 BA) have been leading the way for the Bulldogs.

Top-seeded Horizon (17-5) will be the prohibitive favorites in the Class 5A, District 6 Tournament scheduled for Auburndale. Third-seeded Liberty (7-12) will face 6th seeded Gateway (0-13) in a Monday quarterfinal game, with the winner taking on #2 Auburndale (9-13) in a Tuesday semifinal. Horizon gets the Lake Buena Vista/Jones winner in the other semifinal.

SOFTBALL DISTRICT PLAY SCHEDULE

Monday, April 29

Celebration at Poinciana, 6 p.m. (7A, D10)
Liberty at Gateway, 6 p.m. (5A, D6)

Tuesday, April 30

Celebration/Poinciana Winner at Harmony, 6 p.m. (7A, D10)
Tohopekaliga at Osceola, 6 p.m. (7A, D 10)
Freedom/Cypress Creek Winner vs. St. Cloud at Lake Nona (7A, D9)
Liberty/Gateway Winner at Sebring, 7 p.m. (5A, D7)

Thursday, May 2

7A, District 10 Championship Game (Site TBA), 6 p.m.
7A, District 9 Championship Game at Lake Nona High, 6 p.m.
5A, District 7 Championship Game (Site TBA) 7 p.m.

BOYS’ VOLLEYBALL

Due to a smaller number of schools participating in the sport, boys’ high school volleyball is a single classification sport (1A) in Florida that produces a true state champion. All seven Osceola schools that have a team (Osceola High does not) compete in Class 1A, District 10 –essentially making this week’s District Championship a replay of the Orange Belt Conference Championship won by St. Cloud.

The Bulldogs are the top seed and will receive a first round bye; while Monday’s three quarterfinal games find Tohopekaliga at Harmony, Liberty at Celebration, and Gateway at Poinciana. All three quarterfinal games begin at 6 p.m. As top seed, St. Cloud is scheduled to host both the semifinals and finals. The Bulldogs will play the Toho/Harmony winner at 7 p.m. Tuesday in one semi; with the winners of the other two quarterfinals meeting at 5 p.m. The Championship game is slated for 6 p.m. Thursday night.

BOYS’ VOLLEYBALL 1A,

DISTRICT 10 TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Monday, April 29