Opportunities for local teams exist in revamped districts

By Ken Jackson
For the News-Gazette

Gateway claimed the Orange Belt Conference baseball title last year, and Harmony was the only county team to reach the regional playoffs, but each of those races will be very interesting this season. Those two will be joined at the top by Liberty and St. Cloud, who return most of 2011’s lineups, and an Osceola club with plenty of raw talent, making for some interesting baseball in the county.

With only two schools outside Osceola County in Districts 7A-5 and 7A-6, it’s likely that a local team will reach the regional final.

Specification changes in the bats laid down this year by the National High School Federation will have an effect on the game. Composite BBCor bats are in; the livelier BBSr bats used in the past are out.

“It’s like night and day, the ball just doesn’t go as far,” Osceola Coach Scott Birchler said. “We’re going to see lower-scoring ball games, meaning faster games, and it’s going to put a premium on defense. You have to be sound up the middle. I didn’t endorse it, but I don’t hate it.”

Harmony

Coach Mike Fields led the Longhorns to a 16-10 record and to its first playoff appearance since 2008, and he did it with a young team. Five starters return, including pitcher and first baseman A.J. Stevens, who is returning after he was injured in a car accident last springs after pitching Harmony to a district semifinal win.

The righty went 9-4 with a 2.39 ERA and hit .419 with 11 doubles and three home runs.

Fellow senior Nate Thommen will pitch (4-4 last year) and play center field. Catcher Tim Helser and right fielder Cody Landrum are other starting seniors.

Wyatt Dering moves from behind the plate to first base to form an all-underclass infield. Thomas Lopez and Omar Villaman will swap jobs from last year and play second and shortstop. P.J. Musselman was a freshman starter last year and will play third again and pitch.

Junior outfielder Jared Kuchinskas and sophomores Rion Strom (catcher) and Chase Fields (outfield) also are on the varsity.

Fields said he’s looking forward to a good year.

“We’re not very deep. We need the pitching to stay healthy,” he said. “But I like our chances if we can keep the head coach from making too many mistakes.”

Fields said the Longhorns’ four-team district (7A-6, with Celebration, St. Cloud and Oak Ridge) puts the possibility of the regional playoffs back in the picture.

“St. Cloud is the favorite, and Osceola and Gateway will also be strong in the conference. They all have great kids coming back,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll be able to compete with them.”

Osceola

The Kowboys were 14-11 last year, but Coach Scott Birchler is nothing but optimistic about this year. It’s his second year coaching again at Osceola (1994-2000 was his first stint) after starting Liberty’s program. Plus, this team features more depth and senior leadership than the 2011 version.

“They’ve had a full year together now, they’ve jelled and matured,” Birchler said. “We had a great offseason program; the kids really got after it in the summer and fall.”

The mound will be anchored by senior starters Brandon Woodard, Jorge Pantoja and Travis Richardson.  The bullpen is a little younger, with Mark Clarke, Carlos Perez, Christian Figueroa and Tony Lima, but Birchler lauded their offseason efforts as well.

Senior Peter Calilao will be the calming influence, and Birchler is hoping for a healthy presence behind the plate. Calilao was in the heart of the Kowboy batting order until going down with an injury last year.

At first base, sophomore Gustavo Rios is pegged to start; seniors Bryce Burton and J.R. Charles will play there and split up the DH at-bats. Juniors Armand Calilao and Edwin Bonilla are up the middle at second and short. Senior Cameron Hindle is a new starter at third. He’ll be backed up by Blake Sorenson, when he isn’t fulfilling is other utility roles.

“He can catch, he can do it all. Good teams need a guy like that,” Birchler said.

Freedom transfer Hector Diaz may also have a role in the infield. Richardson and Ruben Perez will play left field, FAU-bound senior Edwin Rios will play center and Jose Figueroa will be in right.

The timing of this compilation of seniors matches that of the new district (7A-5), which will see Gateway, Liberty and East Ridge as the biggest challenges. Lake Minneola and Poinciana also compete.

“We’re senior led, so it’s time to shape up,” Birchler said.

St. Cloud

The Bulldogs return a coach for the first time since the 2008, and Mike McDaniel hopes that stability plus the return of eight players, six starters, can lead to success and a playoff berth.

“We return experience, and big game experience, so that is a positive for us,” McDaniel, who led the club to a 12-15 mark last year, said. “We’re grown and matured into a more confident team.”

Senior Matt Gannotti returns on the mound after going 4-3 with a 2.39 ERA. The staff also includes juniors Abel Del Valle, Cody Crawford, Hayden Glasscock and Robert Dupont.

“With the new bats, pitchers won’t have to blow 90 (mph) to beat hitters,” McDaniel said. “It will help us be able to pitch to the bad part of the bat again without getting hurt.”

Offensively, McDaniel’s kids practiced in the summer and fall seasons with wood bats, like many other local teams, and, “We are going to be fine.”

Del Valle and Alessio Pena, who hit .403 in 2011 with plus-speed, return at second and short. J.P. Del Valle and Christian Caballero are at first and third and both hit over .300 last year. Starting outfielders, senior C.J. Anderson and junior Angel Otero, are also back.

McDaniel thinks St. Cloud will be able to dictate who wins District 7A-6.

“I enjoy coaching this bunch, they play hard every pitch and understand they cannot do it alone, that is all I can ask of them,” he said.

Liberty

The Chargers were 9-15 in their first season under Coach Nick Philpot. Finally out of a district with the likes of Winter Haven and Lake Wales, and many key pieces in place, Philpot’s excited about the season’s prospects.

“I have a senior-laden team, we are deep in pitching and have speed everywhere,” he said. “All of these kids run a 60 in under 6.8.”

On the mound, Philpot looks to seniors Alex Espino, Joseph Nunez, Tim Tapia, Hector Perez, and Joram Perez. “Not one ace, but a group of aces,” the coach said.

Juniors Marvin Rodriguez and Christian Morales are at first and second, and sophomore Ezra Dominguez will show off his glove at shortstop. Tapia will play third.

The outfield may be the strength of the team, with senior center fielder Oscar Galagarza covering a lot of ground. J.J. Marquez, Edwin Marcial and Kevin Johnson will play the corner outfield spots and make some noise on the base paths.

Philpot said his Chargers will be in the thick of district and conference races.

It will be a fun year,” he said. “I’m looking forward to being around the diamond.”

Gateway

The Panthers were 19-8 and won the OBC for the first time since 2004, but with several key players lost to graduation, Coach Rob Hammond will look to some returning starters and newcomers to find his team’s heartbeat.

On the mound, they should be solid with seniors Lio Morales, James Griffin and Joel Diaz and freshmen Jaleel Del Valle and Carlos Villamil. The entire infield also returns, with senior Bryan Ojeda at first, junior Bryan Nunez at second, junior Randy Batista at shortstop and senior Randall Toribio at third.

But, the outfield is all new, with juniors Aaron Rosso and Sergio O’Neal and senior Miguel Beltre. The catcher’s job will be fought for among seniors Raymond Gonzalez and Isael Rodriguez and junior Jason Rivera.

“A few newcomers will have an impact,” Hammond said. “The defense should be an important part of the success of this team. We have some solid hitters, but we’ll need contributions from several newcomers.”

Celebration

Dan Caughman takes over a Storm program that hasn’t seen a lot of success over the years, but in a four-team district, he and his players are aware that they only have to win one game on April 24 (at the district tournament) to make the school’s first playoff appearance.

“Obviously the main thing is to be playing our best at the end of the year,” Caughman said. “I only have three seniors, it’s mostly juniors and sophomores, but the juniors played a lot even as freshmen. They’ll have to play big roles, though. We’ll go as far as our pitching takes us.”

That pitching staff includes senior Jerome Lopez, junior Abel Espinal and sophomores Cameron Mcguirk and Alex Oquendo. Mcguirk will catch along with junior John Birchall.

The infield is all juniors: Alex Kritikos is at first, Noah Perez at second, and shortstop and third base will be played by a combination of Joel Rivera, Johnathan Cotto and Will Santry.

Espinal and Birchall will play the outfield along with Jake DeLeon, Daniel Collins and senior Hector Marin.

“I like that they really want to work and get better,” Caughman said. “Our strength is defense. We have to work on getting good at-bats, especially with the new bats.”

Poinciana

Daryl Jones steps up to the head coaching position after assisting  Yarial Vignau last season. Jones formerly was the head coach at Orlando Oak Ridge.

He is enthusiastic about a team that will not start a senior.

“We’re going to be OK this year, but next year we’ll really make some noise,” he said.

Jones said that even though his team is young, it doesn’t lack for talent.

“We’ve got three juniors who are outstanding,” he said.

They are shortstop Ariel Vargas, outfielder Richard Hidalgo Jr. and pitcher Jeremy Abreu.

Hidalgo is the son of Major League player Richard Hidalgo, and Abreu is the nephew of Major Leaguer Bobby Abreu, Jones said. Both pros played for the Houston Astros during their careers.

“He’s (Jeremy Abreu) definitely our No. 1 pitcher. He was clocked last year at 88 miles per hour,” Jones said.

Outfielder Kenny Pacheco is another key component of the team, Jones said.

Sophomore infielder E.J. Ortiz has already earned so much respect from his teammates that he is a captain.

“He leads by example. He’s always positive, always the first one to lead the way,” Jones said. “He’s got a 3.7 GPA., a great kid.”

The Eagles may start as many as three freshmen, Jones said. That’s why  Poinciana will be an underdog in 7A-5.

“I don’t know much about East Ridge, but Osceola and Liberty are big schools with established programs, they’re always going to do well,” he said. “Everyone lost pitching last year, but the big schools like OHS and Liberty and Gateway always will have that one guy around who can throw.”