Running Around The World!

Donna Holas with the seven medals she earned running half marathons on seven different continents.

In her late-40s at the time and looking for a way to relieve stress and find some solace, Donna Holas bought a pair of running shoes and started with a few steps here, and a few steps there.

She has hasn’t stopped running since.

Last month, in a journey that has taken five years and took her around the world, the 55-year-old resident of The Hammocks, just south of County Line Rd., ran the last leg of a personal challenge in which she completed seven half-marathons on seven different continents.

“It was absolutely wonderful,” Holas says, holding a flowery canvas bag filled with the medals she collected on her trips. “I’ve seen so many beautiful things.”

Holas completed her five-year, seven-continent journey on March 18, running in the Antarctica Half-Marathon on King George’s Island. It was a long way away, and under totally different conditions, when she took up running in the sweltering Florida heat almost a decade earlier, in 2012.

Looking back, she says it’s nothing she could have ever expected. While she was a high school basketball player in Olney, MD, for Sherwood High and enjoyed working out as an adult, running never really appealed to her.

“I always hated running,” she says. “Why get all tired and sweaty? I didn’t get it. But, I started with walking and running, just around the block, and eventually found myself running all the time.”

She joined a running organization, Black Girls RUN!, which has clubs all across the United States, including Tampa, and met other runners. Eventually, she started to experience the “runner’s high” and decided to sign up for a 5K race in 2012, even hiring a running coach to help hone her form and make sure she bought running shoes that fit correctly. She doesn’t remember her time that first race, but she says it wasn’t that great. 

“But, I was so competitive, every race I ran after that I tried to make it better than the last one,” Holas says. “I just kind of took off from there.”

Holas also ran in several 5K and 10K races, not with the goal of winning but always trying to improve on her previous time. She worked her way up to running half-marathons, which are 13.1 miles and has even run two full marathons, which are 26.2 miles.

“Just to prove I could do it,” she says.

But she found the 13.1-mile distance of the half-marathon to be her sweet spot. She traveled for work as a healthcare consultant and would run in races wherever she happened to be. Often, she would travel to other states just for a weekend race. 

Once she had logged races in more than a dozen states, including Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, New York, North and South Carolina, and Pennsylvania, she thought she might try to run a half-marathon in all 50 states. However, since she had only started running in her late-40s, time wasn’t on her side for such a project.

Instead, she heard about a company, Marathon Tours & Travel (MTT), that arranges racing trips all over the world, and they were offering an opportunity to join more than 600 runners who had already joined the Seven Continents Club (SCC).

“I thought, I could do that,” Holas says.

She signed up in 2014 for the Rock n Roll Madrid half-marathon and remembers being struck by the beautiful Spanish architecture — “Out of this world,” she says — along the route, like the Royal Palace of Madrid. Because it was her first half-marathon of the seven, she says she was focused on the running and not enough on the scenery, she says, a lesson she learned when one of the runners excitedly asked if she had seen various landmarks at certain mile markers along the route and Holas had to admit that she hadn’t.

“Some people try to set personal records, some walk, but after that I began running and stopping to take pictures,” she says. “I didn’t want to miss anything. I needed to stop and pay attention.”

She ran the New York City half-marathon in 2015, and later that same year ran along the Great Wall of China for a half-marathon there.

In 2016, she says she was humbled by the experience of running in Kenya, Africa, in the Amazing Maasai race, as she was able to visit small villages with no electricity, eating meals cooked over a fire. 

“So so beautiful,” she says. “Beautiful mountains, beautiful people.”

Holas says she was ready for any terrain she faced. She trained for many of her races in nearby San Antonio, FL, and at Saint Leo University in Dade City, taking advantage of the hills and sand to prepare. 

“It helped,” she says, “but oh my gosh, some of the terrain we encountered (was difficult).”

In 2017 Holas traveled to South America to run in the Rapa Nui Island (better known as Easter Island) half-marathon. The medal from that race is modeled after famous moai (sculptures of oversized heads) that many people associate with Easter Island, which is 2,200 miles west of Chile, and Holas said if she ever needed to escape from the modern world, that is where she would return.

Holas ran amongst some of the most beautiful scenery she says she has encountered on her journey in the 2018 Air New Zealand Queenstown half marathon — she says that ziplining over some of it during an excursion was “breathtaking” — and concluded her seven-continent challenge last month in Antarctica, which was its own little 15-day journey.

She flew from Tampa to Atlanta to Argentina, spending three days in Buenos Aires. From there she flew to Ushuaia, a resort town at the southernmost tip of Argentina, where she and the other runners boarded an expedition ship— “definitely not a cruise ship,” she says, laughing — for the three-day trip to Antarctica.

Holas said the seas were choppy, but the really bad weather passed the day before the race, which she ran in mostly mud and snow and 30-degree weather.

She found time to take in the beautiful blue ice and snow-covered mountains as she galloped past signs alerting runners to possible penguin crossings. She also took the Polar Plunge — a quick dip into freezing waters — and came face-to-face with a whale on the ship ride over.

“It was all just so amazing,” Holas says. “Everywhere I went was different, and there were so many terrific things about each one.”

In her last run, Holas raised $350 for the Girls on the Run charity, a non-profit that encourages pre-teen girls to develop self-respect and healthy lifestyles through interactive lessons and running games, culminating in a celebratory 5K run.

She is back to running around her New Tampa neighborhood and at Saint Leo a few times a week, but she is already looking for a new challenge. She will pick and choose her next running expeditions — she’s considering Dubai in December — and is contemplating trying a half-Ironman Triathlon, which would be a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike ride and, fittingly, a half marathon run. 

She says she is already working on her swimming, which is her weakest leg, and the one that concerns her the most. The challenge, though, makes her feel the same way she did when she first started running.

“As I’ve gotten older, I realize how fear has held me back,” she says. “Now I know if I can run a marathon, there’s nothing I can’t do. If I’m afraid or don’t want to do it, I do it. That’s how I continue to grow.”

New Tampa Teen Wins Community Hero Award From The Lightning!

Harsh Bagdy (right) with 9-year-old Sabian, who was the first to receive a donation from Harsh’s 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Charity Health Resources.

When New Tampa resident Harsh Bagdy was in the fifth grade at Montessori Preparatory School, the place he loved the most was the soccer field — and it was in bad shape. More rocks and dirt than grass, it was too dangerous to play on.

So Harsh, whose father Ash had instilled in him a passion for giving back, decided to do something about it. Together, they rallied people in the community to raise $40,000 for a brand new field.

That was only the beginning. In seventh grade, Harsh secured enough money to build a new computer lab at Terrace Community Middle School. By his sophomore year at King High, he had founded his own nonprofit, Charity Health Resources, a 501(c)(3) that raises money to purchase quality wheelchairs, walkers, shower chairs and other devices for people without adequate health insurance.

“I see mobility as something we all take for granted,” said Harsh, whose mother Kavita Jain works as a physical therapist. He said she often tells him about the great need for mobility equipment she sees. 

“It’s impossible to go out, have a job or do really anything if you aren’t mobile, and if you’re worried about paying for food or housing, you can’t do anything about it,” he said.

Harsh, 17, a first-generation American whose parents moved to Tampa from India 25 years ago and now a junior in high school, was honored by the Tampa Bay Lightning on January 19 as this season’s 25th Lightning Community Hero.

He received a $50,000 donation from the Lightning Foundation and the Lightning Community Heroes program. Half of the money will go towards his own education. He gave the other half to Metropolitan Ministries, an organization he’s been volunteering with since the sixth grade, and the one he turned to when establishing Charity Health Resources. 

“I instantly connected with Metro’s outreach team, because we had something they couldn’t easily provide and they could find people who needed it,” said Harsh. 

Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Alex Killorn (left) and CEO Steve Griggs present Harsh Bagdy, the 25th Lightning Community Hero this season, with a check for $50,000.

A new partnership between Metropolitan Ministries and Charity Health Resources, made possible by Harsh’s winnings, will put more members of the outreach team further into the community, allowing them to find mobility-challenged clients who are unable to travel to the main outreach center in Tampa Heights. 

“Because of Harsh, when our team meets someone in the community with a handicap or mobility challenge, we can just call him up and he’ll fulfill the need,” said Metropolitan Ministries’ president and CEO Tim Marks. “That’s something we never could have done without him.”

Charity Health Resources, said Harsh, has made between 15-20 donations in its first year. Their first donation was a new wheelchair for a 9-year-old boy named Sabian with spina bifida. He was growing too big for his chair and too heavy for his mother and grandfather to carry around, but his insurance wouldn’t pay for another wheelchair for two more years. 

The chair that Charity Health Resources donated to him enabled him to return to riding around in his grandfather’s car, spending time with his cousins and other family.

“I really enjoy hockey,” said Harsh, who attended the January 19 Lightning game against the San Jose Sharks as the team’s guest of honor. “I see it as a faster-paced soccer game.”

When Harsh — who is enrolled in demanding International Baccalaureate (IB) classes at King and travels multiple weekends a month for debate competitions, and also is a Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) member — isn’t at school or doing charity work, he still loves playing soccer and occasionally goes out for movies or dinner with his friends.

He’s hoping for admission into a prestigious business school to pursue his interests in business.

“Being chosen for this award felt amazing, both for me and for the work I’m doing,” Harsh said. “I may get the recognition for it, but the best part is that it allows me to spread my branches further and help people in areas I couldn’t reach before.”

For more information about Charity Health Resources, visit charityhealthresources.org. For additional information  about the Lightning Community Hero award, visit NHL.com/lightning/community/community-heroes.  

HerStory to be made at AdventHealth Center Ice Saturday!

Digit Murphy, pictured here coaching the Chinese National women’s hockey team.
(Photo courtesy of Digit Murphy via Getty Images).

Margaret “Digit” Murphy was strolling through the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH, one day, and asked one of the employees if there were any exhibits about some of the women — either executives, referees or television announcers — that had left their mark on the game.

“Follow me,” the employee said, and proceeded to take Murphy on a fruitless tour. Apologizing, the employee simply said, “Well, it used to be here.”

Murphy thought for the richest sports league in the world, pro football’s $100-million Hall of Fame would at least have something dedicated to women. But, she wasn’t really that surprised it didn’t.

“We can’t tell our story anywhere,” sighed Murphy. But, that sparked an idea.

Along with Wesley Chapel’s Jeff Novotny, Murphy has hatched an idea to bring those kind of stories, in this case, those specifically related to ice hockey, to the people.

First stop: Saturday, March 9, 1 p.m. at AdventHealth Center Ice (AHCI).

That day will mark the grand opening of the “Herstory Museum,” which will feature interactive displays on the second floor of Center Ice, in a viewing room next to the Top Shelf restaurant and sports bar, overlooking two of the skating complex’s ice rinks.

The grand opening will coincide with a large girls hockey tournament at AHCI, providing for a perfect backdrop. Murphy will be on hand to introduce the newest feature at the rink.

And, admission to the museum will be free.

Murphy is one of women’s hockey’s pioneers, as well a key force behind some high-profile cases involving Title IX, the federal law prohibiting anyone, on the basis of sex, from being excluded from participating or denied the benefits of sports, or being discriminated against under any education program or activity that receives Federal financial assistance.

She was having dinner with Novotny one night when she mentioned the idea of creating a “mini” museum, one that wouldn’t require its own building but could make use of technology to offer a wealth of important information and overlooked stories in a smaller space.

Jeff Novotny

Novotny, a project manager for American Consulting Professionals, LLC, immediately thought AHCI would be the perfect place for it, having taken in more than a million visitors in less than two years after opening, hosting dozens of hockey tournaments and serving as the home training facility for the 2018 U.S. Women’s Hockey gold medal winners.

After Novotny presented the idea to AHCI general manager Gordie Zimmermann, a three-year agreement was signed to bring the museum, which will be developed by Murphy’s Play It Forward Sport Foundation, to Wesley Chapel.

“You want to go to places that embrace you,” Murphy says. “Wesley Chapel has bent over backwards for us.”

For Novotny, the museum is a labor of love. He has three daughters, all athletes. His youngest daughter, Madison, spurred his interest in women’s hockey. Madison currently plays prep school hockey at the Northwood School in Lake Placid, NY.

He said bringing Murphy’s story and the Herstory Museum to Center Ice is a real boon for girls hockey. 

“She’s a legend,” he says. “It will inspire girls who read her story.”

The room housing Herstory on the second floor of AHCI is only about 100 square feet or so. When visitors walk in, they will immediately see a virtual brick wall where they can purchase a virtual brick, with the money raised going towards running the museum and for a scholarship for a local athlete. There also will be a selfie wall, where visitors can snap self-portraits and post them to social media.

The first display will feature Murphy, a former Ivy League Player of the Year at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. She also produced seven Olympians while becoming (at one time) the all-time winningest women’s hockey coach in NCAA Division I history with 318 wins at Brown (she is currently 13th on that list).

At the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, she became the first American female color analyst for a women’s ice hockey game broadcast on television and, in 2015, along with Aronda Kirby, founded the UWLX, the first professional women’s lacrosse league in the U.S. 

Murphy and Kirby also founded the Play It Forward Sport Foundation, which is geared towards gender equity in women’s sports.

Honoring The Legends

Others who will have displays at the museum are:

‱ Katey Stone, who today is the winningest women’s coach in NCAA hockey history and the coach of the 2014 women’s silver-medal winning Olympic Team; 

‱ Sara DeCosta-Hayes, the goalie on the first U.S. women’s team to win a gold medal at the Olympics (in 1998); 

‱ Amanda Pelkey, the University of Vermont’s all-time leading scorer and a member of the 2018 U.S. team that trained in Wesley Chapel and won the gold medal in South Korea; and 

‱ Kitty Guay, who refereed games in the 2018 Olympics and most recently became the first woman to referee the famous 67-year-old Beanpot ice hockey tournament in February.

“We just want to elevate the conversation and tell stories that don’t get told enough,” Murphy says. “They just disappear, and they shouldn’t. Now, they will be there for the girls and the kids in the community. That’s the only way to advance the conversation and have women’s sports matter.”

Each of the featured women will have their own large vinyl display, and visitors can access a QR Code, or send a text to a certain number, to get more information and videos about each inductee. All of the information will be available online at GetHerStory.org.

Another wall in the Herstory Museum will one day feature a local hero, which could be anyone, says Novotny, but will likely be someone with a relationship with hockey. That person hasn’t been selected yet, but Novotny says that, at the grand opening, they will be putting out a call for nominations and hope to choose someone over the next few months.

Novotny says the recent success of the U.S. women’s team, and Zimmermann’s commitment to helping advance girls hockey in Florida, makes AHCI the perfect place for Herstory. He and Murphy would like to see the concept of recognizing women in sports scaled for other organizations as well, like the new Wiregrass Indoor Sports Complex — which could do similar mini-museums for volleyball players and gymnasts, as well as for high schools and universities and even corporations.

“The whole reason we’re doing this is for little girls to have leaders and role models,” Murphy says. “We want them to see there have been women just like them. If you can see it, you can be it.”

For more information, visit GetHerStory.org and PlayItForwardSport.org.

Wharton’s Versatile Hudson Uses Tools To Succeed On And Off The Field

Wharton baseball player Mike Hudson with one of the children who insisted he play sports with her while he was in Thailand this past summer. (Photos courtesy of Mike Hudson)


When talking about an up-and-coming baseball prospect, the chatter always comes down to the “tools” a player has in his repertoire: Is he fast? Can he hit? How’s his glove? 

Wharton High senior first baseman and designated hitter Michael Hudson has a number of the tools college coaches look for, so much so that he has been offered a chance to play baseball at the college level next year at nearby Saint Leo University near Dade City.

However, it was a whole different set of tools Hudson relied on for two weeks last October, as he and his father, Scott, joined other members of Cypress Point Community Church on a mission trip to Thailand. There, the Hudsons and other volunteers spent a week working at a local orphanage in Chiang Mai, addressing the serious building and rehabbing needs of the girl’s dormitory.

Hudson said he split his days hanging new lockers, replacing doors and windows, and sanding and repainting interior and exterior walls. But, because he was one of the few workers under 25 years of age, he often found himself being pulled away from the work by the young children of the orphanage to play sports — often finding himself challenged to foot races. 

“The smiles on the kids’ faces when they saw me, because I was with a bunch of adults, was really special,” Hudson says. “They knew I could run, so they made me run a lot. They were 12-hour days and I’d spend about six hours building, sanding or painting. The other six hours I’d spend playing with them.”

Mike Hudson and his dad, Scott.

Hudson said the trip was a great experience, both because it gave him a sense of accomplishment in providing care to the facilities at an orphanage, as well as getting to spend some quality time working beside his father, Scott, who owns and operates ServiceMaster of Tampa Bay, a contracting business that specializes in emergency rehabs of flood, fire and mold damage. 

“The thing that stood out for me was how me and my Dad connected throughout the trip,” Michael says. “He is busy at work and I have school and baseball, but this was two weeks we were able to spend together, building our relationship up.”

Although the work in Thailand was the first official building project the younger Hudson has undertaken, it’s far from his first time showing off his handy side.

At Wharton, Hudson has never shied from helping with field upkeep, being labeled as the go-to guy by baseball head coach Scott Hoffman for projects like putting up the windscreen around the baseball field fences, or replacing the tires and the netting on the batting practice roll-cage. 

“He’s our resident construction guy here at school,” Hoffman says. “He’s a big help to this team, a great student and a tremendous leader for our program.”

For Hudson, the sense of challenge and the resulting feeling of accomplishment is what he enjoys most about any creative project. 

“When you start a project, sometimes you start to think, ‘Oh wow, I’m never going to get this done,’” he says. “But you keep working super hard at it and you finish it up. I always get that tingling feeling that makes me appreciate what I was able to do.”  

On the field, Hudson was a key contributor last season as a junior, hitting .312 for the year with 15 RBI and 12 runs scored, while serving as the Wildcats 1B/DH. He began his career at Wharton aiming to play shortstop; however, a series of injuries changed those plans and led to his transition to first base. 

“We thought he was going to be our guy at shortstop for the future when he came in as a freshman, but he ended up blowing out his right knee,” Hoffman says. “He came back from that and hurt it again, then came back and dislocated his shoulder, but he never once complained. He’s been through hell and has the best attitude in the world.” 

For Hudson, the injuries were no different than any other task put in front of him to accomplish. 

“Injuries happen to all athletes, you just have to put your faith in God,” Hudson says. “You do what you have to do. You fight, you just work harder.” 

Playing baseball at the professional level is still Hudson’s dream, and he plans to study business at Saint Leo with the hope of working in athletics. He doesn’t see a career in construction or contracting in his future, but he says he hopes the desire to build and create will always be a part of his life. 

“Baseball is going to be that number one goal for me after college,” Hudson says. “But at Saint Leo, I plan on majoring in sports-related business and would look to work for some (professional) organization, so I don’t really see construction as a career path for me at this time,” Hudson said. “But I’ll never be paying anyone to do anything once I get my own house, I’ll always be doing that kind of stuff myself.”

New Tampa prep baseball & softball previews

Brian Baughman is the top returning player in New Tampa, after batting .398 and going 6-3 on the mound in 2018. (Photo: Jarrett Guthrie)

WHARTON BASEBALL

Coach: Scott Hoffman

Last season: 17-9 (5-2 in Class 8A-4) 

Key returners: Brian Baughman (Sr., LHP, OF), Zach Ehrhard (So., 2B), Mike Hudson (Sr., 1B), Dylan McDonald (So., INF), Grady Maguire (Jr., SS).

Promising newcomers: Ryan Fry (Fr, RHP) and Michael Rivera (So., LHP). 

Breakout Star: Dubbed by Hoffman as the team’s “Ben Zobrist” for his incredible versatility on defense, junior shortstop and infielder Grady Maguire opened last season on a tear with hits in 10 of the first 11 games. He finished his sophomore season hitting .357, with 20 runs scored and 12 RBI.  

Outlook: District runners-up last season and riding a streak of four straight  regional playoff appearances, Wharton will again bring a highly-talented team to the table this season. 

The Wildcats will be led by senior pitcher and outfielder Brian Baughman, who burst onto the scene last year by hitting .398, more than 100 points better than his 2017 batting average, scored 26 runs  and went  6-3 on the mound with a 1.94 ERA and 60 strikeouts.

Sophomore Zach Ehrhard had an impressive varsity debut last year, hitting .371 and scoring 20 runs, while Mike Hudson (see story on previous page) had 15 RBI and Dylan McDonald drove in 14 runs, including one in each of the team’s last four games. 

Freshman pitcher Ryan Fry hasn’t even thrown a high school pitch yet, but he already has made an early oral commitment to the University of Miami this winter and may make an immediate impact on the mound for the‘Cats. Lefthanded sophomore Michael Rivera transferred in from Alonso High, where he did not see any varsity action. 

Hoffman says: “Our seniors like Brian (Baughman) and Mikey Hudson are guys we lean on a lot and they show how about we go about our business around here… the younger guys see and follow them.” 

Tieley Vaughn, pictured here with USF coach Ken Eriksen, has already orally committed to play for the Bulls in college. (Photo: Twitter)

WHARTON SOFTBALL

Coach: Brittany Bonea

Last season: 15-7, Class 8A, District 4 runner-up

Key returners: Jordyn Gendron (Sr., 3B); Jillian Long (Jr., P/OF); Hana Schwindler (Sr., P/2B); Tieley Vaughn (So., SS).

Promising newcomers: Riley Collins (Fr., P/2B/OF)

Breakout Star: A University of South Florida oral commitment as a freshman, Tieley Vaughn is a powerhouse hitter according to Bonea, who also boasts a cannon of an arm from shortstop. Last season, Vaughn was the leading hitter for the Wildcats amongst the regulars, hitting .352, with six doubles, 12 RBI and 15 runs scored. 

Outlook: The Wildcats, 2-0 so far with a pair of shutout wins, cruised through district play last season, going 6-0 in the regular season, before winning its district tournament semifinal game against Wiregrass Ranch. 

In two regular season games against Freedom, the Wildcats outlasted the Patriots.

However, in the district championship Wharton hitters were held to just four hits in a mercy-rule loss to Freedom, and then knocked out of the state playoffs 14-0 by East Ridge.

Despite the end-of-season stumble last year, Bonea, a former Saint Leo University player, has steered the Wildcats to three straight District championship games, and four straight winning seasons since taking over the program in 2015. 

Wharton loses four of its top five hitters due to graduation, but will regroup offensively behind solid crop of returners.

 Senior Jordyn Gendron (.306, 19 RBI and 10 runs scored in 2018), Hana Schwindler (.292, 12 runs scored) and Vaughn will key the offense.

Junior Jillian Long returns to the mound for her junior campaign after posting a 13-4 record last season, with a 3.33 ERA and 44 strikeouts. She leads the team with three RBI in two games this season.

Bonea says: “Our goal this year is to make sure that the players take their mental game as serious as their physical game.” 

Tripp Merrell, Freedom’s fourth baseball coach in as many years, hopes to finally turn Patriots baseball into a winning program. (Photo: Freedom Revolution).

FREEDOM BASEBALL

Coach: Tripp Merrell

Last season: 6-16 (1-5 in Class 8A-4)

Key returners: Mitchell Leroy (Sr., RHP), Jeremy Carrick (Sr., SS), Kevin Kirby (Jr., 1B/RHP), Brylan West (Jr., 3B/RHP).

Promising newcomers: Sebastian Burgess, Sr., Util/P; Jack Richardson Sr., OF

Breakout Star: The Patriots success this season will be highly dependent on pitching ace Mitchell Leroy, and according to Merrell the senior righty is just fine with that pressure. Mitchell is a workhorse on mound, who Merrell says is a “big-game pitcher,” who loves the limelight and wants to have the ball in his hands for the biggest game. 

Outlook: Merrell is the fourth new baseball coach in as many years at Freedom, and he is tasked with turning around a program that has had only one winning season, back in 2012. A Sickles High grad and former college player at Webber International University in Babson Park, FL, Merrell will likely lean on Leroy, who was 2-4 last season.

However, the Hillborough Community College oral commitment posted a 2.88 ERA, with 59 strikeouts in 56 innings. He is 6-foot-3, and boasts a fastball that gets up to 90 mph.

Jeremy Carrick, a four-year starter committed to NCAA Division III’s Norwich University in Vermont, will play a pivotal role on defense and will look to be a leader at the plate after scoring a team-best 16 runs last season, while juniors Kevin Kirby and Brylan West (the top returning hitter with a .267 average) will contribute at the plate and on the mound this season.

Returning for their final prep seasons after two years away from the program are seniors Sebastian Burgess and Jack Richardson, who Merrell hopes can be impact players this season for the Patriots. 

Merrell says: “We have a tough schedule and I’m happy about the teams we played in the fall. And in most of those games, we hung in there and I feel like those things prepared us for this tough district. Come (district tournament) time you only have to win one game to advance, but I know every team in our district.”

Kylie Coffin already has two homers and nine RBI in two games. (Photo: Dan Sidwell, Freedom Revolution)

FREEDOM SOFTBALL 

Coach: Autumn Hernandez

Last season: 19-6 (Class 8A-District 4 Champions, region semifinalist)

Key returners: Ellis Erickson (Jr., C); Lilly Kiester (So., OF); Abigail Vandeberg (Sr., SS).

Promising newcomer: Kylie Coffin (Jr., P; see photo)

Breakout Star: A speedy runner with a great ability to read the ball off the bat, sophomore Lilly Kiester is already one of the best outfielders in the county according to Hernandez. As a freshman, Kiester scored 26 times last season and hit .333. 

Outlook: Freedom is already 2-0 and have outscored opponents 34-6 in its first two wins, a year after claiming its first softball district title last season. The Patriots hope to build on that with a junior-heavy lineup, but one that returns a lot of starting experience. For Hernandez, leaders like Ellis Erickson (.442, 19 RBI, 21 runs, and six doubles in 2018) and senior Abigail Vandeberg (.361, 20 runs, 17 RBI) will be crucial to the success for the Patriots, who are still adjusting to some defensive realignment heading into the start of the season.

Erickson, who already has a homer and four RBI and has already orally committed to play in college for Northern Illinois, is the “heartbeat of the team” according to Hernandez and is the field general from behind the plate.

The Patriots biggest boost on defense, however, might come from its most crucial new edition – Carrollwood Day School junior transfer Kylie Coffin. Last season while pitching CDS to the Class 3A regional final, she posted a 17-9 record with a 1.90 ERA and 156 strikeouts. Relying on a nasty screwball and a solid curve, she will immediately take over the heavy lifting on the mound for Freedom, and she is no slouch at the plate after hitting .487 with three home runs and 32 RBI for CDS.

In two games, Coffin is making a serious impact, going 5-for-7 at the plate with two homers and nine RBI, and has struck out 13 batters in seven innings pitched.

Senior Abigail Vandeberg makes the move from first base to shortstop this season, filling a key role defensively for the Patriots, and returns solid numbers at the plate after hitting .361 with 17 RBI last season. 

Hernandez says: “We are a small team this season with just 11 players, so we are moving a lot of players around the field this season. To fill some holes, I’ve had to move some people to new spots, so there may be a bit of a learning situation taking place early on. But I think we are getting better every day, and once we get into district play I expect us to be ready.” 

Outlook: Merrell is the fourth new baseball coach in as many years at Freedom, and he is tasked with turning around a program that has had only one winning season, back in 2012. A Sickles High grad and former college player at Webber International University in Babson Park, FL, Merrell will likely lean on Leroy, who was 2-4 last season.However, the Hillborough Community College oral commitment posted a 2.88 ERA, with 59 strikeouts in 56 innings. He is 6-foot-3, and boasts a fastball that gets up to 90 mph.Jeremy Carrick, a four-year starter committed to NCAA Division III’s Norwich University in Vermont, will play a pivotal role on defense and will look to be a leader at the plate after scoring a team-best 16 runs last season, while juniors Kevin Kirby and Brylan West (the top returning hitter with a .267 average) will contribute at the plate and on the mound this season.

Merrell says: “We have a tough schedule and I’m happy about the teams we played in the fall. And in most of those games, we hung in there and I feel like those things prepared us for this tough district. Come (district tournament) time you only have to win one game to advance, but I know every team in our district