The spring sports season has started and both the Harmony baseball team and the Liberty softball team are off to strong starts. Here’s a look around the county:
Baseball
Harmony has won eight of their first 10 games. The Longhorns won three of four last week heading into spring break, defeating University, Freedom, St. Cloud and Melbourne Christian; with the only defeat coming to Ridge Community. Senior Coy Moore (.414, 6 RBI) and junior Pablo Torres (.375, 3 doubles, 3 triples) were among the offensive leaders for Harmony, that is hitting .308 as a team. Junior Matt Rumardo is 3-0 and had not allowed an earned run in nine innings this season.
Celebration was also off to a solid start with a 7-3 mark, winning three straight games heading into spring break with victories over Poinciana (8-4), Tohopekaliga (7-3) and Foundation (3-1) last week. Yeremay Moreno (.370) and Justin Frias (.314) have been the top hitters for the Storm; while Bryce Reel (4-0, 0.00) has not allowed an earned run in 16 innings of work.
Playing a tough schedule, Osceola started the season 1-3, but has since righted the ship by winning four straight and six of their last seven – including an impressive 5-1 win over rival St. Cloud last Friday. Bryan Avila (.429) is leading the team with 11 RBI; while Jose Perez was also hitting above .400 on the season. Junior Blake Birchler and senior Darien Olivio were both 2-0 on the mound; while ace Mario Lopez was 2-1 with a 1.68 ERA.
St. Cloud won two of three last week to improve to 7-4 on the season. The Bulldogs defeated Boone (7-2) and Lake Nona (8-7, before dropping a 5-1 decision to rival Osceola. The Bulldogs are off this past week for spring break before resuming their season with games against Gateway and Osceola this week.
Gateway was 2-4 on the season and had six starters hitting better than .300, including Kaszius Daniel (.480), Nick Bargelski (.375) and Yamil DeJesus (.368).
Poinciana was 1-5 on the season, but Gariel Cadet was off to a strong start with a .500 batting average (9 of 18) through five games. Liberty (2-8) and Tohopekaliga (0-7) have struggled in the early going.
Softball
Liberty is 10-2 this season and has won five in a row with their last loss coming to Lake Nona in a wild 13-10 game. The Lady Chargers are hitting on all cylinders in the early going – batting .462 as a team, averaging more than 10 runs a game and sporting a team ERA of under 2.00. Four regulars were hitting better than .500 on the season, including Luna Fett (.655), Blanca Elaraj (.568), Siah Patterson (.500) and Nghari Patterson (.562).
Osceola won three of four games last week to improve to 7-3 on the season. A pair of sophomores have been leading the Lady Kowboys’ attack as Gabriela Avila (.524, 12 RBI) and Nayeli Hernandez (.478, 12 R) have both been hitting well over .400.
After starting the season with five consecutive wins, St. Cloud ran into a tough part of schedule and dropped four of their next five to take a 6-4 mark into spring break. Offense has not been an issue for the Lady Bulldogs, as St. Cloud was hitting .404 as a team led by juniors Hannah Nasco (.692, 5 HR, 18 RBI) and Delaney Carnell (.333, 4 HR, 12 RBI).
Coming off a 2-2 week, Celebration found itself at .500 for the season with a 4-4 record. Tohopekaliga was 2-8, with Natasha Ortiz batting .357 on the season. Harmony was off to a rough start at 1-5, but had a big 18-1 win over Gateway last week. Senior Carlee Fitzgerald led the Lady Longhorn starters with a .286 average. Gateway was 2-7 through nine games and 1-5 Poinciana picked up its first win of the season with a 25-1 win over Evans High School.
