Polk County high school baseball top 10 rankings: How teams stack up at midway point

High school baseball is nearing the midpoint of the regular season in Florida, as many teams in the Lakeland area have played 11 games, although defending state champion Lakeland Christian has played just seven.

It’s enough to see that, if pitching is the key to winning championships, Polk County’s top teams could all be dangerous in the playoffs as it’s a strength for many. Even Lake Wales, which its outside the top 10, boasts one of the top pitchers in the county in junior Gage Chandler.

McKeel showed the importance of a deep staff last week in winning the tournament at Santa Fe Catholic, and that has allowed them to take the top spot for now in Polk County’s baseball rankings. The county tournament in a couple of weeks will give each team the opportunity to knock the Wildcats off the top spot and claim it for itself.

For now, here’s how the top 10 teams shape up.

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Polk County’s top 10 baseball teams

MCKEEL (10-1): The Wildcats have won six games in a row and won the Dan Giannini Classic. KJ Scobey (.296 batting average, 11 RBIs) is one of the top players in the county and leads the lineup along with Bear Testerman (.500, 13 RBIs), Brock Spurgeon (.370), Wyatt Thomas (.375) and Joseph Mills (.429). They also boast a deep pitching staff with Caleb Clanton (3-0, 0.31 ERA), Austin Peddycoart (3-0, 0.81), Braxten Plemons (2-0, 0.00) and Kaden Howell (1-1, 2.33).

GEORGE JENKINS (9-2): The Eagles have split with Lake Wales and beat Lakeland Christian. Braden Smith (2-1, 0.74) and Xavier Glover (3-1, 2.95) give the Eagles a strong 1-2 punch to lead the pitching staff. Armani Cozza (.367), Wilfredo Ortiz (.344, 10 RBIs) and Kam Wilson (.304) lead the lineup. Jenkins and Lakeland will battle it out later for the supremacy in the district.

LAKELAND CHRISTIAN (5-2): When all is said and done, LCS could end up No. 1 in the county. The Vikings beat Santa Fe Catholic early and lost to Jenkins prior to spring break. They are coming off a 5-4 win over Mulberry on Tuesday. Don Colon (.409), leads the lineup with Gavin Byrd (.391) and Conor Brown (.300). Trey Bentley (.269) and Peyton Brenneman (.261) help give depth to the lineup. Zach Lester (.214) is off to a slow start at the plate but hit .369 last year. Carson Martin (1-2, 3.37) is a top pitcher and Peyton Rutledge (3-0, 2.03) lead the pitching staff.

WINTER HAVEN (9-1): The Blue Devils got hammered by Jenkins at the beginning of March and struggled to outlast Kathleen, 8-7 in nine innings on Tuesday, but otherwise have been cruising this season. The lineup is led by Brody Catrett (.416), Anthony Sandoval (.370), Gage McChrystal (.363), Vincent Miller (.333) and Matthew Pheiffer (.280).

LAKELAND (9-2): The Dreadnaughts split with Lake Wales and their only other loss was to McKeel. The Dreadnaughts could easily move up with the way they’ve been playing. Their pitching has been dominant, led by Cooper Emery (3-0, 1.34), Chris Conde (2-1, 1.58) and Jose Garcia (3-0, 0.38). Lakeland’s lineup also has been strong; it is batting .331 as a team with five regulars batting better than .300: Conde (.500), Xaivier Rivera (.500), Dan Hernandez (.412), AJ Sierra (.400) and Ashton Vaughan (.318). Eli  Miller is batting .267 and leads with 11 RBIs. He’s also 1-1 with a 1.11 ERA in 6 1/3 innings.

SANTA FE CATHOLIC (8-3): The Crimson Hawks took perennial powerhouse Owasso (Okla.) to nine innings before falling 3-1. Their pitching is led by Gavin Steadman (3-1, 3.33), Jameson McGuire (2-0, 1.45) and Jacob Knisley (1-0, 3.60). Marvin Montenegro (.500) leads the lineup with DJ Flores (.438), Easton Beach (.469) and Angel Andujar (.353). Ethan Crawford (.296), Cole Bedenbaugh (.286) and Steadman (.261) provide lineup depth.

MULBERRY (7-4): The Panthers are a much-improved team with quality losses to Winter Haven, IMG Black, Kissimmee Osceola and Lakeland Christian. They’re still looking for a signature win and have big upcoming games against LCS, Hardee, Sebring and George Jenkins. They are batting .333 as a team, led by Nic Partridge (.440, 4 HR, 13 RBIs), Hayden Wright (.429), Jake Buffington (.429), Cooper Wright (.405), Brock Thielen (.355) and Dominick Gotauco (.314).

FORT MEADE (6-4): The Miners could be a handful district tournament time, as three of their four losses are to Santa Fe Catholic and the other is to Lakeland. The Miners have already defeated district rival Discovery, 10-4, and also claim an 11-1 win over Lake Region. The lineup is led by Florida-signee Carson Montsdeoca (.394) along with Demarion Abrams (.400), Owen Harrell (.400) and Garrett Sims (.318). Montsdeoca is 1-2 with a 1.91 ERA. Jeremiah Cabrera is 1-2 with a 2.00 ERA. He also second on the Miners with nine RBIs.

RIDGE COMMUNITY (7-3): The Bolts’ best win has been over Lake Region. Their losses are to Winter Haven, Four Corners and Lakeland. Sebastian Ortiz (.517) and Yamil Martinez (.515) lead the lineup that also includes Edwin Castaneda (.375), Dylan Vazquez (.367), Omar Santos-Cruz (.345) and Jason Blanco (.314).

LAKE REGION (6-2): The Thunder are in a tough district that includes McKeel, Mulberry and Hardee. The Thunder’s losses have been to Fort Meade and Ridge Community. Jordan Gonzales is 2-0 with a 1.91 ERA but the pitching as a whole has struggled with a team ERA of 4.77. The hitting has been strong, led by Jahiel Gomez (.400), Alex Trujillo (.400), Ayden Wheelis (.389), JD Richardson (.353), and Gage Calcutt (.300).

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: FHSAA baseball: Polk County top 10 teams at midway point