Baseball opens with Big Blue Bonanza at Lake Brantley, Husky Challenge at Hagerty
The high school baseball regular season opens Monday with the annual Big Blue Bonanza at Lake Brantley and Husky Challenge at Hagerty.
The Patriots host Dr. Phillips, Seminole, Oviedo, Bishop Moore and Lake Howell in pool-play games through Wednesday. The top two teams meet Friday at 6 p.m. to decide a champion.
Lake Brantley returns seven position players and four pitchers to a team that finished 26-4 and reached the Class 7A regional finals. Senior catcher Luke Heyman, one of 10 college signees on roster, ranks No. 33 among Baseball America’s Class of 2022 high school MLB Draft prospects.
Heyman and first baseman
Landon Moran signed with the University of Florida in November.
Former Wekiva coach Will King is in his first season as head coach at Dr. Phillips. Seminole returns four starters to a squad led by Mason McDaniel, Bo Simpson, Cody Tjomsland and Garrett Walden.
Oviedo brings back seven varsity players, including senior shortstop and N.C. State signee Isaiah Barkett. The Lions finished 18-10 last season.
Bishop Moore reached the 4A region finals and finished with a 15-13 record in 2021. Lake Howell is coming off a 13-13 season.
On Monday, Oviedo plays Lake Howell at 12 p.m. followed by Seminole vs. Lake Brantley at 3 p.m. Tuesday it’s Seminole vs. DP at 4 p.m. and Bishop Moore vs. Lake Howell at 7 p.m. Wednesday’s
games are Oviedo vs. Bishop Moore at 4 p.m. and DP vs. Lake Brantley at 7 p.m. Thursday games will be played between the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds.
Hagerty is hosting Olympia, Orange City University and Windemere High.
The Huskies, who finished 16-12 as a district champion and lost to Lake Brantley in the region semis, returns nine starters. Junior righthander Garrett Baumann returns after going 8-1 with a 0.79 ERA.
Seniors Nico Banez (.362) and Fabian Romero (.314) led Olympia in batting average last season. The Titans finished 15-14 as a regional quarterfinalist.
Orange City University will lean on an experienced roster led by seniors Todd Kniebbe (first base) and Evan Koehler (third base), who combined for 9 wins on the mound while also producing at the plate for a 19-5 team.
Windermere High’s Eric Lassiter enters his fifth season with the Wolverines after briefly stepping down in July and taking a tentative position at Lake Highland Prep. Joining Lassiter on staff this season is Ray Evans, a former Dr. Phillips and Pembroke Pines Flanagan coach with a 559-251-2 record at four schools.
Centerfielder Holden Brauner and catcher Gustavo Mendez are three-year starters for a team that went 14-9 last spring. Senior shortstop Blake Cyr is a University of Miami signee and sophomore outfielder Ty Head is an N.C. State commit.