Lake Brantley starts season with annual Big Blue Bonanza
Florida High School Athletic Association region finalist Windermere High is one of eight Orlando area baseball teams opening the 2023 season at the annual Big Blue Bonanza at Lake Brantley.
Four quality matchups Monday usher in the week-long tournament.
Apopka plays at Lake Howell and East River travels to Oviedo at 6 p.m. At Lake Brantley, Windermere matches up against Sanford Seminole at 3 p.m. followed by the host Patriots vs. Dr. Phillips at 6 p.m.
“It’s always a great tournament,” Lake Brantley coach Eric Entrekin said. “We want to play good teams early because we want to know where we’re at as a team in Week 1. That’s why we play the Big Blue. I want to play the best teams we can play, because if we’re lucky enough to make the playoffs we’ll be prepared for better teams.”
Entrekin enters the season 13 wins shy of 300 for his career. He owns a 210-82 record with the Patriots.
Two contests are scheduled for each night throughout the week at Lake Brantley at 4 and 7 p.m., including Friday’s championship game. Winners Monday play in semifinal outings Wednesday.
Lake Brantley and Apopka reached the FHSAA regional semifinal round last year. Oviedo and East River were playoff participants.
Tennessee signee Holden Brauner, an outfielder and pitcher, leads a senior class at Windermere that went 25-4 in 2022. The Wolverines will receive a boost on the mound as left-handed pitcher Jack Sanchez returns after missing all of last season due to injury.
Sanchez joins a rotation that includes Clemson commit Cannon Feazell, USF commit
Cruz Warp and uncommitted junior Blayke Rabens.
Senior first baseman Guillermo Yepes (Albany State) teams with juniors Ty Head (N.C. State) and Jack Waddingham (Stetson) as the top returning bats in the lineup.
Lake Brantley, which lost talented infielder Logan Chapman to Montverde Academy in August, brings back just three starters to a team that finished 24-5.
Junior pitcher Isaac Padilla went 9-0 with a 0.66 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 52.2 innings last spring. East Carolina commit Michael Kalinich and college signees Ethan Beal (Rollins) and Eric Entrekin (Embry-Riddle) will be looked upon to generate runs.
Apopka returns 10 starters to a 20-8 team, including senior infielder K.J. Durand, who batted .500 (24-for-48) with 20 RBIs, 18 runs and 9 extra-base hits in 19 games.
Skylar Stinson struck out 47 batters and yielded 12 earned runs in 49.1 innings last year.
Oviedo vs. East River is a matchup of region quarterfinal teams.
The Lions, with just three returning starters, are led by junior pitchers Robbie Mitchell (Wake Forest commit) and Kaiden Lopez (Stetson).
East River, which went 18-9, has a deep senior class and a young standout infielder among its six returning starters.
Shortstop Ty Kennedy, an Oklahoma State commit, batted .443 (31-for-70) with 22 RBIs and 5 doubles as a freshman. Right-handers Tyler Marczak and Matthew Demetree and lefty Hunter Key lead the pitching staff.
Seminole, Lake Howell and Dr. Phillips enter the season chasing playoff berths for the first time since 2019.
The ‘Noles look poised to improve on a 10-16 record with eight returning starters and six seniors among their top players.
Left-handed Lyman transfer Bryce Carter adds to a pitching staff that includes sophomore South Carolina commit Jalen Foxx and senior Andrew Little among its most experienced arms.
Lake Howell senior Chance Fitzgerald is a Clemson signee who went 4-1 with a 1.53 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 45.2 innings. Florida Gulf Coast signee Matt Misiti is a two-way player that hit .280 (21-for75) and finished with a 0.97 ERA and 44 Ks in 29 innings.
Dr. Phillips fell short of regionals in 2022 after losing 5-4 vs. Windermere in the 7A District 5 championship game. The Panthers finished 15-12 in their first year under new coach Will King.
Senior third baseman Christian Cantwell, who batted .320 and hit 6 home runs, is one of four returning starters. Junior shortstop Jose Paniagua and sophomore outfielder Blake Fields are two-way players anchoring DP’s pitching staff.