Lakeland Christian leads top five Polk County baseball teams to watch

LAKELAND, FLORIDA – Lakeland Christian won the last baseball state championship by a team from Polk County four years ago, and no one would be surprised if it happened again,

LCS, coached by former major league outfielder Matt Diaz, reached the Class 3A, Region 2 final last year before dropping a thrilling 8-5 nail biter to Tampa Berkeley Prep. The Vikings finished 22-6 and are now competing in 2A, District 8.

Diaz, now in his fourth season as head coach, was an assistant when the Vikings won the 3A state championship in 2019, beating Fort Myers Canterbury in the title game. Ironically, Diaz was also a member of the second-to-last team from Polk to win a baseball state title, when he was a player at Santa Fe Catholic.

“We had a taste of success last year playing in a tough region with Calvary Christian and Berkeley,” Diaz said. “We are happy to make it to the final but obviously it left a bitter taste in our mouth. This may be the deepest pitching staff we’ve had since I have been here. I am really excited about what this pitching staff can do.”

Senior 6-foot-4 right-handed throwing Mack Estrada, who signed with South Florida, highlights the staff. He finished the 2022 campaign 8-0 with a sparkling 1.91 ERA and 59 strikeouts.

Left-handed throwing senior Anthony Schatz will handle the No. 2 spot. He no-hit Berkeley Prep for 6 2/3 innings of relief in the regional final and signed with Tallahassee Community College.

Also on the staff is Daniel Hartley, who signed with State College of Florida, while sophomores Peyton Rutledge and Carson Martin round out the talented staff.

“We are going to take it easy with Estrada, he is probably the most notable arm we have. We are really excited about Anthony Schatz. There were a lot of D-1 schools interested in him but he decided to go to junior college so he could pitch as a freshman,” Diaz said. “Daniel Hartley might have the nastiest stuff of any high schooler I’ve seen. But we also need him to leadoff and play second base. But he will pitch in relief a bit.”

The LCS lineup doesn’t feature a lot of power hitters such as Brody Donay, who hit 10 home runs during his senior season last year, but Diaz said they are very consistent from top to bottom.

“We have enough power though. Hartley can go deep,” Diaz said. “My two-hole hitter is Mitchell Rodriguez, and he is a Florida State recruit, and he can go deep. My three-hole hitter is Wyatt Jenkins, and though he doesn’t go deep very often, when he does it is an entertaining jog around the bases. And then we have four-hole Parker Galieraith, who already hit one in the preseason.”

Galberaith ran a 6.4 60-yard dash and stole eight bases last year and was a force at defensive back and quarterback this past fall. He is committed as an outfielder to North Florida.

LCS opens the season with Seffner Christian on Tuesday and then will face Santa Fe Catholic on March 2 before traveling to No. 1 ranked Calvary Christian March 3. They face IMG Academy on March 24 and Winter Haven on April 21.

“The goal is a state championship,” Galberaith said. “We have a really tough schedule, playing Calvary, the No. 1 team in the nation and IMG Academy.

District 2A-8 features Santa Fe Catholic, Moore Haven, a much-improved All Saints Academy and Victory Christian.

Winter Haven

The Blue Devils move up to 7A this year after reaching the 6A regional finals and losing to state semifinalist Melbourne. They finished 20-9.

Winter Haven head coach David Schafer classifies his team this year as a “pitching strong team that is trying to figure out their identity.”

The Blue Devils return five starters, among them are 6-5 right-handed starter Dylan Deleo, who was 5-3 with a 3.43 ERA and 62 strikeouts last year. He registered 91 mph on his fastball at Tampa Jesuit this week during a preseason game. He has a nifty four-pitch arsenal.

Also returning are infielder and designated hitter Mike Parsain and junior infielder JC Cruz, who will also be a main factor on the pitching staff. Left-handed throwing Robert Miller will also be in the hunt for the No. 2 spot in the rotation.

“Our bullpen is really strong,” Schafer said. “I have good pieces to work with. Matt Phieffer was very effective last year in the pen and Cruz. I also have a transfer from Upstate New York, Chase Clukey, who will be a middle reliever. He is a big piece for us.”

Winter Haven also had two huge transfers, picking up Haines City sophomore infielder Tyler Young and Ridge Community senior infielder Kenay Acevedo Santiago.

“Our younger kids are very good and the future is very bright here,” Schafer said.

George Jenkins

The Eagles finished 18-9 last year under now fourth-year head coach Alex Angulo and reached the quarterfinals before getting turned back by rival Lakeland in the first round. They return three starters: senior first baseman Paul Sweeney, senior shortstop Richie Collazo and senior second baseman Horiam Santiago.

“We are a team that should excel on a bunch of command pitchers,” Anuglo said. “It will be a lot more pitch-to-contact. We will be a defensive pitching team. I would classify us as a pitching and defense team with some talented hitters who are unproven. We have a good amount of speed but we won’t be a big power team.”

The six-man pitching staff – all right-hand throwing- are highlighted by Lakeland transfer Bo Seymour, who finished 4-3 last year with 45 strikeouts, 18 walks and a 4.95 ERA through 35.1 innings. Two more starters include junior Xavier Glover and sophomore Braden Smith. Rounding out the arms are Lakeland transfer Seth Patterson, senior Michael Garcia and junior Austin Dadey.

Senior shortstop and Campbell University Richie Collazo brings the biggest bat to the lineup hitting .390 with one home run and 24 RBIs this past season. Sweeney (323) and Santiago (.282) are expected to bring plenty of pop and possibly produce a few home runs. Angulo said to look for Lane Moore, Deshaun Salter and Armani Cozza to provide some firepower in the lineup.

“Collazo brings a speed-power combination,” Angulo said. “We have some guys who can really swing the bat that are unknown to most of the county.”

Jenkins will compete in District 6A-6 with rivals Bartow, Lakeland, Kathleen and Lake Gibson. The Eagles start the season Monday hosting Arcadia and then travel to IMG Academy Friday. They will face Gulf Coast, Riverdale and Charlotte during spring break.

Jenkins beat Merritt Island 10-4 and 7-2 in a preseason double-header on Saturday.

Santa Fe Catholic

The Hawks are guided by Polk County Sports Hall of Fame and FACA Hall of Fame inductee David Saliba, who has coached 42 seasons.

They finished 18-9 last year but were eliminated by 2A state semifinalist Winter Garden Foundation Academy in the Region 2 semifinal, 6-2. They had beaten Foundation in the district title game just 10 days earlier.

“We are very good on defense,” Saliba said. “Probably the best I have coached in a long time. Our first two preseason games we scored 15 runs and 13 runs and we got 12 hits in both of them while starting six sophomores. They want to work hard and be here. I have to run them off to get them to go home.”

Florida Southern signee and second baseman Canyon Marcewicz. The left-side of the infield returns sophomores Marvin Montengro at third and shortstop Easton Beach. Montengro led the team last year, hitting .433 with 22 doubles.

The staff begins with Jacob Knisley, who was 7-1 with a stingy 2.10 ERA last year. He struck out 45 through 43.1 innings. Center-fielder Ethan Crawford is recovering from injury but is expected to return soon and will see some time on the hill. Also look for Auburndale sophomore transfer Gavin Stedman to be a big factor. He struck out 35 last year as a freshman and has been clocked in the low-90s.

Lakeland

The Dreadnaughts return five starters from a team which finished 19-9 and reached the 6A regional semifinals last year. Among them are sophomore infielder Nic Partridge, senior infielder JC Ayala, senior catcher Alejandro Rodriguez-Couverthie and senior center fielder Laith Lineberger.

The four are also the team’s top bats along with junior infielder Danny Hernandez,

The staff is made up of all right-handers, including juniors Jose Garcia, Chris Conde and Cooper Emery and senior Hunter Nix.

“We will just have to be consistent and throw strikes and get a lot of ground balls,” Lakeland coach Lenny Brutcher said. “We just have to keep them off the bases and let our defense work.”

Lakeland was eliminated in the regionals last year by Winter Haven, which has moved up to 7A. The Dreadnaughts open the season Monday at Bartow. They also have some tough games slated against Tampa Berkeley Prep, national perennial power Owasso (OK), defending state champion Island Coast and Winter Haven.

“The district will be tough. Jenkins and Bartow are always good. Kathleen is getting much, much better,” Brutcher said. “Lake Gibson should be improved."