Male Athlete of the Week
As a new varsity baseball program, the Island Coast Gators anticipated some struggles when they opened the season in the Cape Coral Early Bird Tournament last week.
Despite losing their first two games by a combined 20-3, the Gators stayed upbeat and earned a tough 4-1 victory over Cape Coral on Friday.
Leading the effort was sophomore left-hander Taylor Renegar, who came through with a complete-game pitching performance.
The Daily Breeze Male Athlete of the Week worked seven innings, allowing three hits, and struck out six to capture the first win in school history.
“I wasn’t thinking too much about that,” Renegar explained. “I just wanted to pitch well and help get a win. It felt pretty good, after losing the first two.”
The Gators fell behind 1-0 in the first inning, then rallied with three runs in the fourth and one in the sixth. The lead held up thanks to outstanding defense and Renegar’s command on the mound, particularly with runners on base.
Renegar had three pickoffs, while freshman catcher Randy Petito threw out three runners stealing.
“Taylor brings experience,” Gators coach Clinton Montgomery said. “He knows how to pitch and do a lot of little things like pickoffs and holding runners on.”
Though only a sophomore, the 5-foot-10 Renegar has been pitching about five years. In addition to travel ball, he spent the past two seasons playing for Evangelical Christian, before enrolling Island Coast.
“Coach Clinton is a good coach and I thought I’d get some good playing time here,” Renegar said of switching schools.
The Atlanta native has lived in Southwest Florida for about 12 years and is one of several young players hoping to build the Island Coast program. The Gators’ roster consists of one senior, three juniors, nine sophomores and three freshmen.
They opened play last Monday with a 10-3 loss to North Fort Myers and then suffered a 10-0 loss to Fort Myers Tuesday, before Friday’s win.
The Gators (1-2) play their first home game Tuesday against Naples Seacrest Country Day.
Honorable mentions:
Daniel Alimonti, junior, Mariner baseball: Alimonti belted two home runs in the Tritons’ 10-0 win over Port Charlotte.
Brady Logan, junior, North Fort Myers wrestling: Logan capped a stellar season with a third-place finish in Saturday’s Class 2A FHSAA finals.