The Wandering Disciple

Sarasota, Florida: The holiday season is in the air and baseball is on the field for the Suncoast Athletics 7th Annual Toys for Tot Tournament. Opening round bracket put the Englewood Stingrays against Kangaroo Court Baseball on Sunday morning at Twin Lakes Park. The Stingrays were handed a 12-7 loss eliminating them from the tournament. Click on the photo above to view my Stingrays/Kangaroo Court photo gallery .

Sarasota, Florida: The Englewood Stingrays took the field for game two of Saturday’s pool play for the 2017 Toys for Tots Tournament. This time they would take on the New Tampa Warriors in the final game of the afternoon at Twin Lake Park. The Stingrays could not muster any offense in this one as they fell 15-0. Click on the picture above to view my Stingrays/Warriors photo gallery .

Sarasota, Florida: The Englewood Stingrays took a major blow in the first game of their doubleheader of pool play during the 2017 Toys for Tots Tournament. In Saturday’s game one, the Stingrays faced off against the Tampa Marauders. The Stingrays were held off the scoreboard in the opener as they fell 21-0 to the Marauders. Click on the photo above to view my Stingrays/Marauders photo gallery.

Englewood, Florida: The Florida High Heat Black hosted the GCBA Black Sox in round one play of the 2017 SWFL Champions Cup at Englewood Sports Complex. An eight run second inning by the Black Sox proved too much to overcome as the High Heat fell 14-6. The Black Sox set the tempo for the game by reaching the scoreboard first in a big way by pushing across eight runs in the second inning. The High Heat tried to battle back but each time they would score, so would the Black Sox. In the end it was the High Heat falling 14-6, eliminating them from the tournament. Click on the photo above view the High Heat Black/Black Sox photo gallery .

Englewood, Florida: After losing the first game of pool play, the Florida High Heat Black were back out on the fields at Englewood Sports Complex for the second of two pool games. The High Heat lost a hard fought game to a tough Freeze Baseball team, losing 7-6. The Freeze jumped out to an early lead by scoring a pair of runs in the opening frame. Following a run by High Heat in the third, the Freeze added four more in the bottom of the third to increase their lead to 6-1. At that point, the High Heat battled back to tie the game following a one run fourth and a four run fifth. However the Freeze walked off following a home run in the bottom of the sixth to take a 7-6 win. Click on the photo above to view my High Heat Black/Freeze photo gallery .

Lakewood Ranch, Florida: After starting the tournament in last place as the number ten seed, the Florida High Heat Black found a groove and won the first two games giving them a spot in the final four. They opponent in the semi-finals would be a tough PBA Outlaws team who had yet to lose all weekend. The first inning was close as both teams exchanged a run to open the game. However from that point forward, the Outlaws dominated the game, handing the High Heat a 10-2 loss and eliminating them from the tournament. It was a strong run for the High Heat, making it to the semi-finals in their first tournament together as a team. They will look to build on this progress they made this weekend as they head to battle next week in the 2017 SWFL Champions Cup in Port Charlotte. Click on the photo above to view my High Heat/Outlaws photo gallery .

Lakewood Ranch, Florida: Following a round one win, the Florida High Heat Black faced the number two seed in the tournament, the Cortez Stone Crabs in the second round of the 2017 Suncoast Travel Ball Battle 4 the Belt tournament. Using the momentum gained in the first game, the High Heat was firing on all cylinders as they shut-out the Stone Crabs 9-0. A two run homer in the first set the pace and High Heat pitching kept their opponents off the board as they coasted to the win and a spot in the tournament semi-finals. Click on the photo above to view my High Heat/Stone Crabs photo gallery .

Lakewood Ranch, Florida: After finishing pool play 0-2, the Florida High Heat Black came into Sunday’s Battle 4 the Belt tournament as the tenth seed. In the opening round match-up, the High Heat would face the number seven team, the Lakewood Ranch RiverDawgs. The High Heat scored early and never surrendered the lead as the won 12-8 in the opening round. The loss eliminated the RiverDawgs while sending the High Heat into round two of the tournament. Click on the photo above to view my High Heat/RiverDawgs photo gallery .

Lakewood Ranch, Florida: The second game of pool play for the Florida High Heat Black matched them up with the Bloomingdale Bandits Red.  The High Heat found themselves down big in the first inning and never recovered as they fell 11-1.  The loss gave the High Heat an 0-2 record for pool play and they will begin tournament play on Sunday morning.  Click on the photo above to view my Florida High Heat Black/Bloomingdale Bandits Red photo gallery.

Lakewood Ranch, Florida:  The Florida High Heat Black 12U team opened up the 2017 Battle 4 the Belt tournament with a game against LWR Sharks in the first of two games Saturday.  Both teams battled tough, exchanging the lead a few times before the Sharks squeezed out a slim 5-4 win. Click on the link below for a gallery of photos from the Florida High Heat/LWR Sharks game .

Bradenton, Florida: A sunny Sunday gave way to competitive youth baseball as the teams converged on Braded River Park for the Suncoast Out Hit Hunger Tournament presented by Suncoast Travel Ball. After finishing pool play 1-1 on Friday night, the Sarasota Shock came into Sunday as the #5 seed and faced the GCBA Black Sox in the opening round. The Black Sox took the lead early, pushing across seven unanswered runs. But the Shock were not going down without a fight, clawing their way back into the game. But the Shock ran out of time and eventually fell to the Black Sox 7-4. The loss eliminated the Shock while the Black Sox advanced into the semi-finals. Click on the photo above to view my Shock/Black Sox photo gallery .

Lakewood Ranch, Florida: After a big win earlier in the evening, the Sarasota Shock took to the field for a second time on Friday night, this time against a tough Lakewood Ranch Mustangs Elite team. It didn’t take long for the Mustangs to set the tempo for the game, jumping out to a big lead. The powerful offense was backed by an even more dominating pitcher and some great defensive work to hold the Shock quiet all night. The first nine Shock hitters sent to the plate were all retired and the game was called early with the Shock suffering the 19-0 loss. The Shock will be off on Saturday before coming back on Sunday for the Suncoast Out Hit Hunger Tournament at Braden River Park. Click on the photo above to view my Shock/Mustangs photo gallery .

Sarasota, Florida: Following a hard fought victory in the first round of Sunday’s tournament, the Sarasota Shock were back on the field to face their rival, the Sarasota Vipers in the semi-finals of the 2015 Suncoast Fall State Tournament. The Shock took the lead early, scoring two runs in the first inning to take a 2-0 lead. But the lead didn’t last long as the Vipers answered with four runs in the bottom of the first to take a 4-2 lead. Both teams exchanged a run in the second to make it 5-3. The Shock scored a run in the third to pull within a run of the lead in the third. However the Vipers added a pair of runs in the fourth to extend their lead to 7-4. In the fifth, each team added a run to make it 8-5. The Shock staged a rally in the top of the sixth as they pushed across a run but failed to tie the game as they fell 8-6 and were eliminated from the tournament. Click on the photo to view my Shock/Vipers photo gallery .

Sarasota, Florida: After finishing Friday’s pool play with a 1-1, the Sarasota Shock entered Sunday’s Suncoast Fall State Tournament as the #3 seed in the tournament. The Shock opened up the tournament against the PBC Playmakers. Both teams battled back and forth in this close contest. The Playmakers took the lead in the second inning by scoring three runs. Then the Shock answered by posting three runs of their on in the bottom of the second inning to tie the game. The Playmakers regained the lead, scoring four runs in the top of the third to take a 7-3 lead. The Shock fought back in the bottom of the third, scoring three and pulling within a run of the lead 7-6. The Shock tied the game in the fourth after scoring a run to make it a 7-7 game. It took until the bottom of the fifth before the Shock pushed across a run to earn a 8-7 walk-off win and advance into the tournament semi-finals. Click on the photo above to view my Shock/Playmakers photo gallery .

Sarasota, Florida: The Sarasota Shock came out swinging on Friday night in the opening game of the Suncoast Fall State Tournament presented by Suncoast Travel Ball. The Shock faced the Cortez Stone Crabs under the lights at Sarasota Cal Ripken. The Shock picked up three runs in the first inning and two more in the third to take a commanding 5-0 lead. The offense backed a red hot starting pitcher for the Shock who had a perfect game through the first three innings.  The Stone Crabs scored three in the fourth to pull within two runs of the lead. The Shock answered with two in the bottom of the fourth to pull ahead. Cortez added a run in the fifth but the Shock held on for a 7-4 win. Click on the photo above to view by Shock/Stone Crabs photo gallery .

Sarasota, Florida: The 2015 Suncoast Fall Classic hosted by Suncoast Travel Ball opened up tournament play on Sunday morning as the Sarasota Shock took on cross town rivals Sarasota Vipers in the opening round of the single elimination tournament. After pool play yesterday, the Shock entered the tournament as the #8 seed. The Vipers jumped all over the Shock, taking a big lead in the first inning. The Shock battled back but in the end it was the Vipers walking away with a 13-5 win, eliminating the Shock from the tournament. Click on the photo above to view my Shock/Vipers photo gallery .

Bradenton, Florida: After losing their opening game of the Suncoast Fall Classic, the Sarasota Shock were back out on the field at Braden River Park for game two of pool play on Saturday afternoon as they faced the Pirates. After being shut-out in the tournament opener, the Shock managed to score two runs against the Pirates. But it wasn’t enough as they fell 7-2. The Shock lost both games of pool play in the tournament and will open the single elimination tournament on Sunday morning against the Sarasota Vipers at Sarasota Cal Ripken Park. Click on the photo above to view my Sarasota Shock/Pirates photo gallery .

Bradenton, Florida: Sunny skies and cooler temperatures provided a perfect backdrop for Saturday afternoon baseball in the 2015 Suncoast Fall Classic hosted by Suncoast Travel Ball. On the schedule first for the Sarasota Shock was a tough Pinellas Park Crushers team. The Crushers jumped out to a lead and never looked back, holding the Shock scoreless and cruising to a 12-0 lead in the tournament opener for the Shock. Click on the photo above to view my Sarasota Shock/Pinellas Park Crushers photo gallery .

The Englewood Crabs 9u team warms up before the semi-finals of the Fall Classic presented by Suncoast Travel Ball. (Photo: September 15, 2013)

The baserunner for the Englewood Crabs slides under the tag at home during the opening round game of the Fall Classic. (Photo: September 15, 2013)