No. 1 Tritons in crosshairs
As the No. 1 seed in the upcoming District 5A-15 Tournament, the Mariner Tritons (21-4) know they’re a team with a target on their backs with the eight other teams taking aim.
It’s a position the defending champs have been in since the start of the season, though, routinely taking their opponents’ best – from an emotional standpoint – along with their best pitching.
“We have no choice but to play the highest quality of baseball every time we step on the field,” Tritons coach Steve Larsen said. “We certainly have been more successful than not this season, but we are not bulletproof.”
The baseball district begins Monday with No. 8 Lehigh hosting No. 9 East Lee County in a play-in game to determine which team faces Mariner at 7 p.m. Tuesday at historic Terry Park
The other three quarterfinal games, also at 7 p.m., are No. 4 Fort Myers against No. 5 Ida Baker; No. 3 Barron Collier against No. 6 North Fort Myers; and No. 2 Gulf Coast against No. 7 Cape Coral.
Gulf Coast and Mariner met in last year’s championship game with the Tritons prevailing 2-0. The Tritons won their only regular-season meeting this year. It went extra innings, but the Tritons scored eight runs in the eighth to win it 11-3.
As usual, the field is open for some upsets, possibly preventing the No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in the finals. Last year, as the eighth seed, Cape Coral stunned top seed Fort Myers in the quarterfinals. The Tritons hope to avoid a similar fate.
The Tritons have been led by catcher Michael Zunino, a University of Florida recruit, who has tied his own single-season school record of 10 home runs.
There are several other key performers, offensively. Junior Daniel Alimonti has five home runs and leads the team with a .494 batting average, and sophomore Walter Cleary has five homers.
The lineup includes seniors Angel Laborde, Anthony Santo, Bryan O’Connor, junior Dan Cohill, and sophomore Alex Santana.
The Tritons have some proven options on the mound in seniors Ryan Patton, Ryan Schneider, Chris Ford, Matt Cooker and junior Taylor Walker.
Even with a talented and experienced group, the Tritons have suffered a few setbacks and hope those serve as a reminder of how they must play in the tournament.
“We have put in the hard work throughout the season and have received the results of the hard work,” Larsen said of their No. 1 seed, “but it really means nothing. You have to come to play this week or you’re going home.”
No. 4 Fort Myers vs. No. 5 Ida Baker: Arguably the most intriguing quarterfinals matchup pits the Green Wave (14-11) against the Bulldogs (10-15). The Wave prevailed in two tight regular-season meetings: 8-6 and 7-6.
The Bulldogs need to achieve consistency. They posted impressive wins over Mariner and Cypress Lake, but have been unable to string together victories.
Since the beginning of March, the Bulldogs haven’t won more than two games in a row. Three in a row is required to be district champs.
The Bulldogs’ lineup is led by senior Dustin Mishka, who has four home runs and a .391 batting average. Blake Fraser, Miles Rubinski, Michael Gulotta and Jacob York are among the mainstays while freshman Justin Pinto is emerging as a power threat, blasting six homers.
On the mound, Matt Mattia leads with three wins, while senior Richard Saracione has been effective, at times, with his sidearm delivery.
No. 2 Gulf Coast vs. No. 7 Cape Coral: The Seahawks have taken their lumps this season, breaking in a young but promising group.
A deep freshman class includes Jason Carmichael, Brandon Marshall, Cain Spangler and Derek Pandolfi. The sophomore class is strong with the likes of Koji Spangler, Bradley Kopale and Brian Heminger.
They’ve received valuable playing time and competed hard, despite some unfortunate results.
“I would say if anyone has been around this team, on any given night we can play with anybody,” Cape coach Chris Kelly said. “With a young team, you make one or two mistakes and it’s tough to recover. That’s happened to us a few times where one play changed the whole outcome.”
The Seahawks (6-16) must limit their mistakes if they want a chance against the Sharks (15-9).
No. 3 Barron Collier vs. No. 6 North Fort Myers: The traditionally strong Cougars (12-12) have had an up-and-down season, but remain a dangerous team at Terry Park. They defeated North 7-0 in the only regular-season meeting.
The Knights (6-18) must rebound from a late-season slide. Seniors Michael Becker and Ivan Melendez, juniors R.J. Curtis and Tim Sommer, and freshman Chase Vogelbach have led the offensive attack.
District 3A-12: Bishop Verot faces Dunbar in the opening-round game Wednesday at 7 p.m. at FGCU. The winner takes on Sarasota Cardinal Mooney in the championship game Friday at City of Palms Park.
The Vikings (12-14) are led by Florida recruit Bobby Borchering while sophomores Dan Vogelbach and Tommy Dougherty have made significant contributions.