O.C. University baseball is right back in business
Orange City University continues to win baseball games despite losing to retirement the coach who constructed the program and several standout seniors to graduation.
The Titans snapped a three-game losing streak last week and won four in a row to claim the Florida League High School Invitational “Challenge” tournament title in Sanford.
and combined to drive in seven runs for University in a 10-5 championship game win Friday over Tallahassee North Florida Christian.
recorded two wins while allowing just one earned run in 92⁄3 innings pitched.
“We know the team we can be and finally got everything working for those four games in five days,” first-year coach
said. Norman, a Virginia native, has the Titans at 7-3 entering a Wednesday game at Flagler Palm Coast.
Norman replaced
University’s coach for its first eight years of existence. Martello, now an elementary-school principal in Volusia County, guided the Titans to state runnerup finishes in 2015 and 2017 with two-time Sentinel player of the year
excelling on the mound and at the plate.
Allen is 3-1 as a freshman left-handed pitcher this spring at FIU. He gave up nine hits and seven earned runs in two innings in his first outing against Missouri. Since then, he’s lowered his ERA to 4.15 while striking out 32 in five starts while also batting .281 on 16 hits. Two other 2017 Titans, and
signed with Major League Baseball teams last summer after being drafted by the New York Mets (13th round) and Milwaukee Brewers (23rd round), respectively.
Allen was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 16th round.
Pitchers did some nice work before Monday’s rain interrupted the opening day at the “The Classic” Florida League Invitational in Sanford.
struck out seven while allowing only two hits and one walk in five shutout innings as host Seminole (4-6) blanked Colonial 6-0. finished with two shutout frames. Olympia’s
also struck out seven in five shutout innings as the Titans (8-3) topped Leesburg 3-1.
Hagerty improved to 11-1 with a 13-3 rout of East River. The Huskies scored 10 runs in the third.
Ocoee (11-2) won 3-1 over Jacksonville University Christian with
and sharing a 3-hitter.
Area standouts won six of the nine boys basketball player-of-the-year awards by the Florida Association of Basketball Coaches.
The consensus national player of the year,
of Montverde Academy, was an easy pick as independent schools player of the year.
The players of the year by FHSAA class included
of Oak Ridge 9A; of Daytona Father Lopez for for
Beach 7A; of state champ Leesburg for 6A; of state champ Orlando Christian Prep for 3A; and
of Central Florida Christian Academy for 2A. Wildwood senior
and Spruce Creek coach
finished second in voting for the Florida Dairy Farmers girls basketball player and coach of the year honors. Fort Myers’
was named Miss Basketball. Winter Haven’s won the coach honor.