Tag: baseball

Baseball & Softball Are For Everyone At The North Tampa Athletic Association!

When Duncan Pastore was growing up in New Tampa, he played recreational baseball with what is now the North Tampa Athletic Association (NTAA), dreaming of one day playing Major League Baseball.

Duncan became a Wharton High standout who recently signed with the New York Yankees and, at age 24, is currently playing for its Single-A affiliate, the Yankees’ Florida State League (Single A) affiliate, the Tampa Tarpons.

Back in Duncan’s NTAA days, his father Lou was one of the league’s volunteers, ensuring his son and others in the community had a thriving league for youth baseball and softball, even serving as league president.

“Duncan playing with the Yankees is a dream come true,” Lou says. “It’s every kid’s dream to play professional baseball and eventually [make it to] the big leagues. As you move up the ladder from high school to college, the chances of you making it one step further is less each time. The fact that he was able to do it makes me, his mom, and everyone who knows him extremely proud of him.”

And to think, it all started on the fields in New Tampa.

This spring, hundreds of boys and girls will have their opportunity to work on their dreams their dreams to follow in Duncan’s footsteps, while others will play just to get outside, have fun and develop skills such as teamwork and sportsmanship in the NTAA.

*Duncan Pastore*
***(Source: Nova SE University)***

Registration is now open for boys and girls ages three to 16 (as of April 30, 2025) to play baseball and softball with NTAA.

Robert Pickett is the director of baseball for ages 12 and under for the league.

“We’re a thriving and growing league, right in the heart of New Tampa, and a lot of people don’t know about it,” Robert says.

While the NTAA had more than 450 players last season, Robert says an ideal size would be closer to 600-700 playing baseball and softball. “The more teams there are, the more competitive it is,” Robert explains. “I’d rather have 10 teams in each division instead of three. It’s more fun.”

That’s why he and others from the entirely volunteer-run league are increasing their recruiting efforts this year, hoping that new players will grow the NTAA community.

The NTAA plays baseball and softball at two field complexes. One is Eber Field, located near the corner of Cross Creek Blvd. and Kinnan St., and the other is Live Oak Park, located behind Turner Bartels K-8 School.

“Every night the parks are bustling,” Robert says. “If you drive by Eber Field on a Tuesday night, you’ll see games on two fields, concessions are open, families are everywhere,” he says. “You can go hang out and feel the sense of community.”

Registration for the Spring 2025 NTAA season will remain open until mid-January. That’s vastly different than at the nearby Wesley Chapel Athletic Association (WCAA), where registration filled within minutes of opening.

Some parents have asked why NTAA is open for registration while WCAA is completely full. What’s the difference?

According to Robert, it all comes down to capacity.

With the ongoing explosive growth of Wesley Chapel (vs. the nearly-built-out community in New Tampa), there’s simply more demand for WCAA youth baseball and softball than there is space for players.

Because WCAA and NTAA are both part of the Babe Ruth League, there are flexible geographic boundaries, unlike with Little League Baseball programs. So, WCAA’s capacity is crunched by both tremendous growth in its “home” area, and kids from Dade City and Zephyrhills who want to play in Wesley Chapel.

Meanwhile, NTAA’s geographic location makes it sandwiched in between other areas where New Tampa kids can go to play, such as Lutz or Wesley Chapel.

That means there’s still room in the NTAA for kids in nearby Wesley Chapel to be part of a league that is this year celebrating 10 years since switching from Little League Baseball to the Babe Ruth League, which provides more flexibility for players who don’t live in the 33647 zip code.

“It’s a great outlet to have fun,” Lou says of participation in NTAA. “Sports can teach kids a lot about how to grow up and mature and become great leaders and teammates. At the same time, kids can just go out and play and not have to worry about cleaning their room or all the things they have to do.”

Lou says NTAA taught his son to be a role model for other kids, which started with Duncan looking up to the older players, and then wanting to be like them.

“Duncan wanted to break the park’s home run record,” Lou explains, “and then, when he was 12, he did it. The younger kids looking on went chasing for that home run ball as if (Yankees star) Aaron Judge himself had hit it over the fence. They ran it back to the dugout and Duncan signed it and gave it back to them. He learned to be a role model at such a young age, and that’s a big part of who he is today.”

Lou currently actually works for the Yankees as a groundskeeper for George Steinbrenner Field, where the Tampa Tarpons play, and still also maintains the fields for NTAA.

“I have now taken care of every field Duncan has played on since he started playing baseball,” Lou says, adding that he also takes a lot of pride in maintaining the fields so NTAA kids have an outstanding place to play.

In January, Duncan will return to his childhood baseball fields to host a one-day camp for young players, ages 5 to 12, whether or not they are registered to play with NTAA. He will be joined by other professional baseball players who want to give back to their community and mentor young people who want to sharpen their skills.

“Youth Day with the Pros” will be held on Saturday, January 11, at the Live Oak baseball complex. To register, go to NT-AA.com.

Registration for NTAA’s spring baseball and softball season is open now through mid-January. Players must be at least three years old on April 30, 2025, and no older than 16 on that date. Practices, which begin in early February (the season runs through May) are held at Live Oak Park (behind Turner Bartels K-8 School) and Eber Field (at the corner of Cross Creek Blvd. and Kinnan St.). For more information, see the ad below. To register, go to NT-AA.com.

Wildcats Put Last Season In Rearview Mirror

When it comes to all of the 18 baseball teams coach Scott Hoffman has had at Wharton High, last year’s version had the potential to be one of the best.

The Wildcats started out 8-1, with every win but one by four runs or more, outscoring their opponents 73-19. It was a great start.

But then, Covid took hold, and the season, as well as the Wildcats’ hopes for a State championship, faded away.

“When you look back, we thought last year might have been our year,” Hoffman says.

However, thanks to this year’s team, the coach hasn’t had to do much lamenting. The Wildcats picked up right where they left off in 2020 and are 20-4 this season following a 6-2 win over Alonso to send them to the Class 7A, District 7 district championship game this Friday at 7 p.m. against Sickles.

The Wildcats, who win or lose in the 7A-7 final have already clinched a spot in the regional baseball playoffs, will see if they have a deep playoff run in them. They returned most of the starters from last year’s team, the pitching has been better than expected and three of their four losses — including a 6-5 loss to nationally-ranked Jesuit — have only been by a single run.

Hoffman says his squad still hasn’t put together the perfect game — although it does have two no-hitters — and thinks the 2021 Wildcats may be due. He has high hopes for this postseason.

“When we’re trying to think of the teams (we’ve had) that have gone on and done something in the postseason, I’d say we’re right about there (with them),” he says.

Pitching has been a major key. Junior starters Ryan Fry and Evan Chrest are a combined 13-2 with an ERA under 2.00, while senior Jackson Perkins is 5-0 with a 0.89 ERA.

Last month, Fry, a University of Miami commitment, threw what is believed to be the first seven-inning no-hitter in Wharton history, which also happened to be the second of back-to-back 15-strikeout games for the hard-throwing righty. Fry threw a complete game 3-hitter with nine strikeouts against Alonso in the district semifinal.

“Pitching has been the key,” says Hoffman, joking that every Wharton team he thinks will pitch well ends up hitting well, and vice versa. This year is no different, as he thought the hitting would be the team’s primary strength.

And, it hasn’t been bad. Hoffman said one hole to fill this year was developing a swing guy who could play multiple positions, and that turned out to be junior David Limbach, a backup catcher who showed more athleticism than Hoffman originally thought he had. In his utility role, Limbach has played in both the infield and outfield and is fourth on the team with a .343 batting average and tied for third-best with 20 RBI.

*Dylan McDonald leads the Wildcats in a handful of offensive categories and thinks this team could be a State championship contender.*

That puts him right behind Wharton’s formidable 1-2 punch at the top of the lineup — senior centerfielder and Saint Leo University signee Dylan McDonald and senior shortstop Zach Ehrhard, who is bound for Oklahoma State.

McDonald, who bats leadoff, leads the team with a .410 average, 10 doubles, three home runs, 33 hits and 22 RBI, while Ehrhard is hitting .440 with 12 doubles, three homers and a team-high 24 steals. Ehrhard has gotten hot at the right time the past two weeks, going 10-for-18 with two homers, three doubles and eight RBI.

“I feel like we are definitely a pretty good 1-2 combo,” McDonald says. “When I get on, I know the 2-3-4 guys tend to get me in. And, when we start out quick, we seem to do pretty well.”

In fact, the Wildcats are 15-1 when they score first, with the only loss coming to Jesuit.

The Wildcats also have flexed their muscles this season, with seven different players combining to blast a school record 17 home runs in 24 games.

In the previous five seasons combined, Wharton hit 16 homers in 111 games.

Although the Wildcats have hit well in spurts, Hoffman is still looking for that stretch of offensive consistency — they are averaging nearly nine runs a game during their current 5-game win streak — that will elevate the team to a true playoff contender. If that happens, last year could become even more of a distant memory.

“We had a really good team last year, but is this team better?,” asks McDonald. “I think we kind of flip-flop on that every day. We could have won State last year, can we win State this year? We have a lot of chemistry this year, so it’s possible. Either way, these have been two of the best years Wharton has ever had.”

baseball wharton high school

Freedom’s Softball & Tennis & Wharton’s Baseball & Track Teams Spring Forward

Wharton Baseball (Photo: Gigante Productions)

The spring sports season ended last month, and, of all the spring teams at New Tampa’s two high schools, the Wharton baseball team proved to be the last team standing, falling in the Regional semifinals.

They weren’t the only team to put up a strong postseason, however, as Wharton’s softball, track & field and girls tennis teams all made it past Districts, as did the softball and both tennis teams at Freedom.

Here’s a recap of some of the highlights:

WHARTON BASEBALL: The Wildcats made yet another Regional playoff run in 2018, after finishing as the runner-up in the Class 8A, District 4 tournament. Wharton set down crosstown rival Freedom 4-0 in the District semifinals, but fell to the Strawberry Crest Chargers in the final.

After an 8-1 win over Ocala Forest in the Region quarterfinals, Wharton got another shot at the Chargers, but dropped a 3-2 decision to finish the season at 17-9.

The Wildcats’ three-man pitching rotation was a strength all season. Duncan Pastore, a senior, and junior Brian Baughman each won six games — Pastore had three shutouts — and junior Zach Allen was 4-2. The trio combined for 127 strikeouts in 117 innings.

Pastore also led the Wildcats with a .431 average and 17 RBI, while Baughman batted .398 and led the team in hits. Senior Leo Alfonzo batted .397 and tied for the team lead with 17 RBI.

“Starting pitching, as well as talented freshmen and sophomores, have been key to our success this year,” coach Scott Hoffman said. “Brian Baughman was a stud down the stretch.”

The Wharton baseball team even earned the District’s Team GPA Award with a team Grade Point Average of 3.505.
Freedom’s baseball team finished 6-16, dropping its last eight games. Senior Hunter Kniskern hit .333 with five doubles to lead the Patriots.
FREEDOM SOFTBALL: After a slow start,. the Patriots went 13-1 down the stretch to finish 19-6.

The only loss in that streak was to arch-rival Wharton, but the Patriots got revenge when it mattered most, beating the Wildcats 13-0 to win the District 8A-4 title.

“That was the first District title for softball in Freedom’s history, so it was a great accomplishment for those 11 girls,” Patriots head coach Autum Hernandez said. “The girls were motivated before the game, they wanted to prove that they hadn’t played their best against Wharton the two previous times we played them.”

Freedom advanced to the Regional semifinals by beating Ocala Forest 6-2 in the first round of the State Class 8A playoffs, before a 7-0 loss to East Ridge ended the Pats’ season.

Sophomore Ellis Erickson led Freedom with 34 hits and a .442 batting average. She was one of a number of underclassmen — sophomore Shaniyah Pope had 25 RBI, while freshman Lilly Kiester led the team with 26 runs and junior Abigail Vandeberg hit .361 — to shine for the Patriots, who have a bright future, according to Hernandez.

The team only had two seniors, with Kristina Calixto driving in a team-best 27 runs while going 8-2 in the pitching circle, and Dallas O’Clair batting .333.

The future also looks promising for Wharton, as underclassmen led the team in average, runs and doubles (freshman Tieley Vaughn), hits and RBI (junior Jordyn Gendron) and triples (junior Asia Thomas).

Sophomore Jillian Long was the winning pitcher in 13 of Wharton’s 15 wins.

The same East Ridge team that ended Freedom’s season did the same to Wharton in the first round at Regionals.

FREEDOM TENNIS: The Patriots broke through for a historic season in 2018, taking two boys and two girls to the Class 3A State tournament in Orlando under fourth-year head coach Rich Simard.

“We’ve been pretty consistent the last four years, both boys and girls,” Simard said. “We’ve been either District champs or runners-up over that time.”

The Freedom boys won a third straight District title in 2018. At the District 3A-9 tournament, Patriots sophomore Hakim Zerki took the title at No. 1 singles, and then teamed up at No. 1 doubles with senior Jared Klay for another title. The wins qualified both players for States.
The Zerki-Klay doubles team made the Round of 16 at the State tournament, the highest climb for a boys doubles team under Simard. Things look even more promising for the future, as Zerki’s younger brother, Malik, will be a Freedom freshman next year.

On the girls side, sophomore Julianna Gibson won her second straight District singles title at No. 1, and then teamed up with sophomore Zoe Ruszin to win at No. 1 doubles. That helped the Patriots team to a second-place team finish at Districts, but Gibson and Ruskin qualified for States as individuals.

“The girls are going to be even stronger next year,” Simard said. “Gibson was very close to breaking through deep into the State tournament, and next year is going to be a good shot for her.”

WHARTON TRACK: The Wildcats took 13 athletes from the boys and girls teams to the Class 4A State meet at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville on April 16.

Senior AJ Hampton was the top finisher for Wharton, running the 400 meters in 48.09 seconds to take fourth place. The time was just off his personal and school record of 47.53, set a week earlier at Regionals.

Hampton capped his high school career with three medals at States. Next year, he will attend Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, on a football scholarship. Northwestern, however, does not have a men’s track program.

“AJ willingly did the most painful event in track, knowing that if he qualified for States, it would be his last race,” Wharton boys coach Kyle LoJacono said. “Having AJ as kind of the captain of the sprints and Frankie (.) as captain of distance was huge this year.”

Godbold, a four-year runner and two-year captain for the ‘Cats, surprised even Coach LoJacono with his chance entry in the 800 meters.

Godbold, more of a traditional long distance runner that LoJacono threw into the 800m halfway through the season, was only seeded eighth at the District meet. However, he finished second in 2 minutes, 3 seconds. He cut his time even further at Regionals, with a 1:57.97, the fastest time for a male 800m runner for Wharton in the last decade.

“Just getting to states for Frankie was incredible, it made me so proud,” LoJacono said.

Teammate Nehemiah Rivers, a junior, became the first male Wildcat distance runner to win the 1600m at Regionals. He also became the first Wildcat to qualify for the State meet in both the 1600m and 3200m races in the same season.

Rivers placed 12th in the 3200 at the Class 4A State finals with a time of 9:44.44, and he was 22nd in the 1600m finals, running a 4:36.70.
Both times were markedly slower than Rivers’ breakout performances at Regionals, where he set personal and school records in the 1600 (4:25.39) and 3200 (9:25.77).

While winning the 1600 at Regionals, Rivers ran a sterling 59-second final lap.

baseball freedom high sports

New Tampa’s Brian Lee Nearly Goes Out A State Champion

Brian Lee pitched complete game wins in four straight playoff games to lead King to the Class 7A state championship game. /Photo courtesy of Jarrett Guthrie

By JARRETT GUTHRIE

Oftentimes an athlete’s competitive days end in a whimper, a slow spiral downward until he or she is forced from the field. Other times, they can end in a snap, a break, or a fluke injury. And still, there are times for a lucky few where an athlete gets to pick his spot and go out on his or her own terms.

New Tampa resident and King High senior pitcher Brian Lee made the most of his moment, capping a stellar senior baseball campaign with four straight, complete-game, post-season wins as he lifted the Lions baseball team into the Florida High School Athletics Association Class 7A State championship game.

The final moment on the field for Lee, a Tampa Palms resident who grew up playing in the New Tampa Little League and with the New Tampa Predators travel team, included a pair of seventh-inning strikeouts as the Lions won 3-1 on May 31 in the state semifinal. A large group of King supporters chanted his name as he walked off the field.

“I never imagined something like that would ever happen,” said Lee, who finished with a 11-3 record and sterling 1.00 ERA this season. “It’s kind of overwhelming to have all those people come to Fort Myers to watch you. It was really special.”

“It’s as a good a performance I’ve seen in my 42 years,” King High veteran coach Jim Macaluso said, “and I’m not saying just in King High School … I’ve never seen anyone in the county, around the state, that threw the pressure games he threw, and won.”

Unfortunately, King just didn’t have enough to finish the 2017 campaign with a championship, falling to Ponte Vedra Nease 11-0 the following evening.

Lee had a stellar career at King, winning 25 games in 43 appearances as a pitcher. Despite a average junior year, Lee showed signs in the offseason of having a breakout year.

“Brian had experience as a senior because he started in our rotation as a freshman,” Macaluso said, “but he kind of leveled off a little bit there through his junior year. Then, we saw something in the fall. You could see that bulldog in his face, you could see it in his eye, you could just see the type of competitor he had matured into.”

Lee said this was due to a reduced travel baseball schedule, which he said began to tire him out in his previous high school seasons. After his junior year, Lee said he focused on a weight-training regimen and eliminated the added wear on his throwing arm.

“I think it just all clicked for him that he just wanted to dominate,” Macaluso said.

Lee, who opted to attend King for its International Baccalaureate (IB) program, was a member of the National Honor Society and a number of service clubs. He said that when he started seriously looking at colleges in his junior year, baseball at the college level wasn’t an option.

By the time baseball had crept back into the college picture, he had already fallen in love with the business program at Boston University – a school without competitive baseball.

So, he knew his senior year would be his last. “It was a thought, but when I was looking for colleges I kept baseball separate from it,” Lee said. “By the time I realized I could maybe think about baseball in college, I’d already found the school for me.”

At just 5-foot-10, Lee doesn’t have an intimidating mound presence and there is no fireball coming from the lefty’s arm. What he did have was a variety of deceptive arm angles, some good movement on his off-speed pitches, a funky delivery that often saw his follow-through end with his head mere inches from the ground, an intelligence for the game, and most important to Macaluso, a determination that grew throughout his senior season.

“If you are going to throw a complete-game you are usually going to have an inning you have to (fight) through when the other team goes on a run,” Macaluso said. “We saw it go first and second, no outs and you’d see him take a moment. You could see it. You could feel it. He’d step behind the rubber and just say, ‘No, I’m gonna get through this.’”

That determination helped King reach the state semifinals for just the fourth time since the school opened in 1960, and its first-ever appearance in the final. Although it ended just shy of a championship, Lee said his final season will be something he will always remember.

“Yes, I’d have liked it to end a different way,” Lee said. “But, that’s baseball … and I’ll remember this team the rest of my life.”

baseball Brian Lee King High

Ehrhard Wins Saladino As County’s Top Senior

Saladino Award winner Drew Ehrhard (with trophy), is joined by ((l. to r.) Wharton assistant coach Joe Fernandez, his mom Shannon, his brother Zack, dad Rodney, Wharton head coach Scott Hoffman, Tony Saladino and Wharton assistant coach Wade Boggs.

Rodney Ehrhard was supposed to talk about how proud he was of his son. How it had been great teaching young Drew how to play the game of baseball. How terrific his son’s senior season had been, and about how special it was to see him chosen as Hillsborough County’s best baseball player.

But he couldn’t. Not yet.

Overcome with emotion, Rodney could only stick a napkin in his eyes and walk outside to compose himself.

It was an emotional ceremony in the living room of Tony Saladino, the patriarch of one of Hillsborough County’s most prominent baseball families and the namesake of a popular spring break baseball tournament, as the 80-year-old host awarded Wharton High’s Drew Ehrhard the 47th Saladino Award, presented each year to the top high school senior baseball player in the county.

Drew led the Wildcats in hits (35), average (.422), RBI (24), doubles (9) and homeruns (4) this season, helping Wharton to a Class 8A, District 4 district title, two thrilling come-from-behind playoff wins and a spot in the Regional championship, where his team lost 2-0 to the eventual state champions from Tallahassee Lincoln High.

He became the first player in Wharton’s 20-year existence to ever win the prestigious award, which is voted on by the county’s coaches, and said he was shocked to win it.

“I didn’t think I would win it, to be honest,’’ Drew said. “I had always hoped I would, but I knew there was some good competition.”

He joins an impressive list of past winners of the award, including past major leaguers like Mike Heath (Hillsborough, 1973), Dave Magadan (Jesuit, 1980), Tino Martinez (Jefferson, 1985), Gary Sheffield (Hillsborough, 1986), as well as current Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers (Jesuit, 2012) and Chicago White Sox pitcher Tyler Danish (Durant, 2013).

“I’ve looked at the list, and it’s unbelievable to be a part of that crowd,’’ Drew said. “I have no words for it.”

Some Hall Of Fame Help

One major leaguer who played in Hillsborough County but never won the award, former Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Devil Rays third baseman and Hall of Famer Wade Boggs, played a big hand in helping Drew win it this year.

An assistant baseball coach at Wharton the past 17 years, Boggs — who teased Saladino about getting passed over for the award in favor of Brandon’s Sammy Spence in 1976 — said he remembers hitting ground ball after ground ball to Drew his freshman year as the youngster was converting from second base to shortstop.

Despite being undersized and having to adapt to making a longer throw to first base, Drew made the transition seamlessly and ended up, rather remarkably, playing every inning of every game in his high school career.

“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog,’’ Boggs said, proudly.

Boggs, along with head coach Scott Hoffman, also helped get Drew to the Saladino home in Brandon while keeping the award a surprise.

“He told me some story about how there were some reporters down from Boston for coach Boggs, and we had to go to dinner to meet them,’’ Drew said.

The coaches managed to get Drew into Saladino’s home, even though he had to step over a Saladino Tournament doormat to enter — “I didn’t even see it,’’ Drew laughed — before it finally dawned on him that he, and not Boggs, was the evening’s actual guest of honor.

“I was kind of confused when I got inside,’’ Drew said. “I had always heard stories about being in Coach Saladino’s house and seeing all the memorabilia on the wall…I was like, ‘whose house am I in?” Then I realized, oh, this makes sense now.”

Drew found a large crowd waiting for him, including his brother Zack, who will be a freshman at Wharton next year, his parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and baseball coaches.

While Boggs compared Drew to current Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia, others see a more apt comparison to Rodney, who was a high school standout as an outfielder at Plant City High who was drafted as a catcher and went on to play in the New York Yankees minor league system, making it as far as Double-A.

At Plant City, many considered Rodney Ehrhard the best player on a team that included future major league pitcher Kenny Rogers. Rodney went on to star at the University of Tampa, and was inducted into the Spartan Hall of Fame last year.

When it came to playing ball, Drew also chose the Spartans. Like father, like son.

“I hear his family make that comparison a lot,’’ said Shannon, Drew’s mother.

“Both of them hit well, they always started and they always worked hard,’’ said Rodney’s father, George. “I followed Rodney around when he was at Tampa, and I’ve got some more following around to do now with Drew.”

His napkin gripped tightly in his right hand, Rodney finally spoke proudly of Drew, who was given a stuffed baseball and bat when he was only three years old. He never put them down, his parents say. Soft stuffing gave way to cowhide and aluminum, but Drew’s grip, his father said, never wavered. He watched his son grow into the player he is today, relying more on hard work and determination than on God-given ability, as the two spent countless hours sharing their passion.

“He’s always been smaller than everybody, but he’s always been really good,’’ Rodney said. “But, he made up for that in hard work. He never stopped trying to get better.”

baseball Drew Ehrhard Wharton