Harmony, St. Cloud host starting Monday
Harmony used Alexavier Lebron’s outstanding no-hit performance against St. Cloud in last year’s Orange Belt Conference Championship game as a spring board – riding that momentum of that late season tournament win all the way to a district championship and a spot in a regional final on their way to one of the best seasons in school history.
The Longhorns and Coach Heath Williams hope history repeats itself when the 2025 OBC tournament begins today (Monday) with quarterfinal games at Harmony and St. Cloud High Schools.
As the top two seeds, which was determined by FHSAA state rankings as of last Monday, Harmony and second-seeded St. Cloud host Monday and Tuesday. The third place and Championship games will be played Friday at Tohopekaliga.
Monday’s quarterfinals at Harmony find #4 Celebration (8-6) facing #5 Osceola (3-9) at 4:30 p.m.; with Liberty (0-5) playing #1 Harmony (14-6) at 7 p.m. Over at St. Cloud, #3 Gateway (9-7) meets #6 Tohopekaliga (6-8) at 4:30 p.m.; followed by the Bulldogs (12-5) playing #7 Poinciana (4-4) in the 7 p.m. nightcap. Semifinal and consolation games are at 4:30 and 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the same sites.
It’s been a bit of a roller coaster season for the Longhorns. After a season-opening loss to Rockledge, Harmony ran off a 12-game winning streak. But starting with a March 13 8-7 loss to rival St. Cloud, Williams’ squad dropped five of six, before registering an impressive 7-3 win against Rockledge Friday night in the return game of the series.
To be fair, during the mini-slump the Longhorns were in the toughest part of their season and four of those setbacks were one-run losses.
Harmony has the offensive firepower and the pitching staff to repeat as OBC champions. Samuel Castillo, who earned Osceola News Gazette Co-Player of the Year honors last season and was both an ONG and OBC All-County selection, leads the Harmony offense with a .387 batting average, 22 RBI and a team-leading six home runs and 14 extra base hits. Angel Medina (.356, 5 home runs, 22 runs scored) and Jose Scrofani (.367) are also important cogs in a Harmony line-up hitting .318 as a team.
On the bump, Lebron (3-1, 3.50 ERA), Trevin Bean (2-2, 3.21 ERA) and Raul Romay (2-0, 1.47 ERA) are having outstanding seasons, as is senior Ismeal Rivera (2-1, 2.24 ERA, 43Ks in 25 IP), who has been used as a starter, long reliever, and closer this season.
St. Cloud enters the tournament on a roll, having won five of their last six. Like rival Harmony, they have a potent offense and a deep pitching staff. Led by sophomore Sammy Echeverry (.441, 17 RBI, 7 extra-base hits), the Bulldogs have six starters hitting over .300. Those players include Drew Kelly (.366) and Josh Bejarano (.333). Top hurlers for the Bulldogs include Sean Gallagher and Logan King.
Although it might be easy to predict a St. Cloud-Harmony final, Bulldogs coach David Blackmore says his team will not be looking past anyone.
“I learned a long time ago that you can’t take any team for granted, especially in a seven inning high school game. A bad outing by a starter, a kicked ball or a throwing error and you can find yourself behind early and start to lose confidence,” Blackmore said. “The key for this week is the same key we had all season, keeping our focus -- one game, one inning, one pitch at a time.”
Several other teams could factor into the tournament. After losses to Poinciana (7-6, 9 innings) and Lake Nona (8-2), a much-improved Gateway team defeated Liberty on Friday, 16-6, and enters the tournament with its highest seed in a number of years. Celebration could also challenge for the OBC crown, and while Although perennial county power Osceola is just 4-9 on the season with a young team, six of the losses came against teams with a combined 71-28 record –including Owoso (17-1), the top ranked team in Oklahoma, and Florida’s number 10 ranked team The First Academy (15-4).
Following the OBC Tournament, one week of regular season play remains before the start of district tournaments.
2025 Orange Belt Conference Baseball Tournament
Monday, March 31
At Harmony
#8 Liberty vs. #1 Harmony, 7 p.m.
#4 Celebration vs. #5 Osceola, 4:30 p.m.
At St. Cloud
#3 Gateway vs. #6 Tohopekaliga, 4:30 p.m.
#7 Poinciana vs. #2 St, Cloud 7 p.m.
Tuesday, April 1
At Harmony & St. Cloud
Monday's losers, 4:30 p.m.
Monday's winners, 7 p.m.
Thursday, April 2
At Higher Seed
5th Place: Tuesday's early game winners
7th Place: Tuesday's early game winners
Friday. April 3
At Tohopekaliga
3rd Place: Tuesday's late game losers, 4:30 p.m.
Championship: Tuesday's late game winners, 7 p.m.
