Titans picked up steam in tourney
A week away from home has Orange City University moving in the right direction following a sluggish start to its baseball season.
After splitting their first six games, the Titans won three in a row over spring break before losing in the championship game of last week’s Florida League High School Invitational Showcase.
“You put everything into your workouts in preseason with the practices and the buildup, and after two to three weeks there we were sitting at .500,” University coach Frank Martello said. “It made players really reflect a little bit about what type of season this is going to be.”
The Titans, ranked No. 6 in the Sentinel Super Six, lost to Hagerty earlier in the month and split games against both Seminole and Port Orange Spruce Creek this spring.
Improved play in the field, coupled with muchneeded production at the bottom of the lineup, helped the Titans breeze past Montverde Academy, Clermont East Ridge and Daytona Beach Seabreeze by a combined 17-2 margin before losing 9-0 to Alabama’s Hillcrest.
“The tournament came at a really good time so that we could get another opportunity to evaluate,” Martello said. “What we learned was that it’s still going to come down to pitching and defense, and when you can string together a few timely hits, you’re going to be successful.”
Senior Logan Allen, who has tallied 40 strikeouts in 16 innings and has yet to allow a run, takes the mound at home today for a special in-school game against Winter Park. It starts at 2 p.m.
Winter Park is led by Max Clark, who is batting .615 (8-for-13) and owns a 1.50 earned run average with 18 strikeouts in 14 innings pitched.
Allen and seniors Jacob Molle and Cameron Robinson have carried University at the plate thus far, but centerfielder Timothy Dixon, who has the best bat speed on the team, and lefty Jackson Roberts are expected to surge.
“I’m optimistic that we’ve got some things figured out here and I’m looking forward to the rest of it,” Martello said.
Hagerty, Olympia and Seminole are among seven area teams taking part in the Florida League Classic tournament this week in Sanford.
The top four teams in pool play advance to Thursday’s semifinals. The title game is slated for Friday at 7 p.m. at Sanford Memorial Stadium.
West Orange, Apopka and Dr. Phillips host the eight-team Central Florida Spring Break Slam this week. The championship game takes place Thursday at 1 p.m. at West Orange. Semifinals will be held at West Orange and Apopka on Wednesday at 1 p.m.
Apopka defeated West Orange in last year’s final. Those rivals split two games last week. 1. Lake Brantley (10-0) 2. Bishop Moore (8-3) 3. West Orange (7-3) 4. Hagerty (7-2) 5. (6) Apopka (6-4) 6. (5) Orange City University (6-4)
Ocoee, Olympia, New Smyrna Beach, The First Academy, Winter Park, Trinity Prep.