ALL-COUNTY BASEBALL: Scarborough was tops on mound

Harmony’s Caden Scarborough is the Osceola News-Gazette Baseball Player of the Year for the 2023 season. Scarborough completes a rare double as he was also the winter’s basketball Player of the Year.

Although he recorded just a 1-1 record, he was without question the county’s most dominating starting pitcher. He recorded a 2.19 ERA in 11 starts – striking out 70 in 38 1/3 innings. Scarborough was the team’s starting shortstop when not on the mound and hit .423.

Scarborough was selected to participate in the FACA State All-Star Classic (June 11-12) in Lakeland. He is the first Harmony baseball player to earn a spot in that exclusive All-Star Classic.

The Longhorns placed five players on the All-County team. Joining Scarborough are outfielders Samuel Castillo and Yathaniel Matos, pitcher Evan Christ and infielder Cade Walter. All four are underclassmen.

Castillo had a huge sophomore season, hitting .342 with 23 RBI and 10 extra base hits. Matos hit .348 and drove in 13 runs. Christ led the Longhorns with a 5-0 record on the mound. He allowed just 11 earned runs in 30.1 innings (2.54 ERA) and averaged more than a strikeout per inning (39 Ks), while walking just seven. Walter missed a good portion of the season with a knee injury but recovered to hit .391 with 15 RBI in 19 games.

Osceola also placed five players on the team: infielders Nick Palmi and Jason Ramos, pitcher Carlos Negron and outfielders Luis Rodriguez and Terry Cruz.

A potential Division-I prospect, Palmi – a switch hitter – batted .384 with 20 RBI, 13 extra base hits, and a .565 on-base percentage. Ramos led Osceola in batting average (.429) and hits (33) and was second in runs (22). Rodriguez hit .310 with eight extra base hits, including two home runs. In his first real season of playing baseball at Osceola, football star Terry Cruz hit .322 and scored 22 runs with a team-leading 15 stolen bases. On top of the offense and being disruptive on the base paths, Cruz was an outstanding center fielder.

“It’s one of those things about some multi-sport athletes,” Birchler said. “There’s no question that if Terry played more baseball, he would have received a lot more attention from college and pro scouts.”

Negron was Osceola’s top pitcher with a 3-3 record and led the Kowboys in innings pitched (47.1) and strikeouts (38). Negron was the hero of the regional win over Wellington, entering the game in the first inning with the bases loaded and down 2-0. He pitched 6.1 innings of one-hit ball, allowing just one unearned run and striking out eight in a 6-3 win.

Rounding out the 20man team is Tohopekaliga’s Hudson Moberly, Justin Diaz and Jose Montalvo; St. Cloud’s Benji Segura and Roman Lopez; Celebration’s Alejandro Hernandez and Cody Bergeron; Liberty’s Dylan Vazquez and Kenai Crespo and Poinciana’s Freilly Parejo.

In leading the Tigers to a school record 12 wins, Moberly was a tough out all season – collecting 29 hits in 54 at-bats for a .537 batting average. Diaz hit .413 with a team-leading nine doubles, Montalvo had 16 RBI.

In helping Celebration (14-7-1) to their best record since 2017, juniors Hernandez and Bergeron each posted big numbers. A threat at the plate and on the mound, Bergeron hit .397 while going 4-2 with a 1.69 ERA with 61 strikeouts in 41.1 innings. Hernandez led the county with a .542 average with 12 RBI and nine doubles.

Crespo (.419) and Vazquez (.396) were the two leading hitters for the Chargers and also finished 1-2 in runs scored – 25 and 21 respectively. Lopez led the Bulldogs with a .399 batting average and 12 RBI; while Segura hit .286 and also had a 4.32 ERA as a pitcher.

Birchler edges out Harmony’s Heath Williams and Tohopekaliga’s Nikko Martell as the Coach of the Year. Birchler capped his outstanding career with his eighth District Championship, a county-leading 16 wins and a regional playoff win. The veteran coach steps down after two stints, 21 years and more than 300 wins in Osceola’s dugout.

Williams, the OBC Coach of the Year, also did an outstanding job this season overcoming numerous injuries and keeping his team together in winning an OBC Championship and earning an at-large bid to the regional tournament. Martell posted a school record 12 wins for the Tigers as they finished five games above .500.