The Wandering Disciple

A youth ballplayer watches his hit take flight during a tournament game in Florida.  Travel baseball is big business in the Sunshine State.  Warm weather all year round makes baseball a 365 day sport in Florida with youth players convening at ballparks across the state each weekend.  (Photo: January 26, 2019)

Lakewood Ranch, Florida: Following the cancellation of the 16u class during this weekend's USSSA tournament, the Florida High Heat and Dioner Navarro Academy made the most of the weekend by hooking up for a pair of games on Saturday afternoon at Lakewood Ranch Park.  Despite both teams putting up a good effort, DNA swept the doubleheader. The first game was a tight affair with DNA grabbing a 4-2 win.  The second game saw a little more scoring with DNA winning 9-5.  The wins put DNA 2-3-1 on the Fall season. The doubleheader scrimmage was the first game action of the year of Florida High Heat. Click on the photo above to view the Florida High Heat/Dioner Navarro photo gallery .

A middle infielder for Eagles Baseball of SFL makes an off-balanced throw to first during an opening round tournament game in the 2020 Independence Battle. The two-day tournament hosted in the Port Charlotte area by Prostyle tournaments is on of the first regional tournament following COVID-19. In the 14U AA Class pictured here, it was Jarvel Juice from Fort Lauderdale that would be the tournament winner. (Photo: June 28, 2020)

A baserunner for the SWFL Yard Dawgs rounds third and looks home during a tournament game at Englewood Sports Complex. The boys of summer are back as baseball has resumed though-out the Sunshine State. After being shuttered for months, games have resumed in the youth baseball travel circuit and the pros are back in camp preparing for their shortened 2020 season. (Photo: June 27, 2020)

Fort Myers, Florida: The sun was shining and baseball was back on the diamond as the 13U field chased the title during the 2019 Fort Myers Classic hosted by Prostyle Tournaments. With four teams in the field, the SWFL Yard Dawgs faced off against the Florida 9 Hardball in the semifinals matchup. Both teams were evenly matched early with the Hardball scoring in the bottom of the first and the Yard Dawgs bouncing back to tie the game in the top of the second. But then Hardball rallied for seven runs in the second and two more in the third to take a commanding lead. The Yard Dawgs posted two in the fourth and another in the fifth but it was too little, too late as they fell 10-4. The loss eliminated the Yard Dawgs while sending the Hardball into the championship round. Click on the photo above to view the entire SWFL Yard Dawg/Florida Hardball 9 photo gallery .

Fort Myers, Florida: The SWFL Yard Dawgs returned to Field 2 at the Stars Complex for their second of two pool games during the 2019 Fort Myers Classic. This time the Yard Dawgs faced off against Florida 9 Hardball under the lights for the final game of the day. Both teams battled hard but at the end of the evening, it was the Hardball that would walk away with the 12-7 win. The SWFL Yard Dawgs finished 0-2 for the day in pool play and have earned a rematch with Florida 9 Hardball in tournament play on Sunday afternoon. Click on the photo above to view my SWFL Yard Dawgs/Florida 9 Hardball photo gallery .

Fort Myers, Florida: The SWFL Yard Dawgs kicked off the 2019 Fort Myers Classic with a pool game against the SWFL Scrappers to kick off the tournament weekend. The Yard Dawgs found themselves down early and never recovered as they fell 11-6 on Saturday afternoon at the Stars Complex. The Scrappers put up 2 runs in the first and seven more in the second to take a commanding 9 run lead. The Yard Dawgs put up a big six run third inning to avoid being shut-out but the rally fell short following Scrappers putting up two more in the bottom of the frame and cruising to the 11-6 win. The Yard Dawgs will face Florida 9 Hardball later this evening for the second of the two pool games of the afternoon. Click on the photo above to view my SWFL Yard Dawgs/SWFL Scrappers photo gallery .

North Port, Florida: The SWFL Yard Dawgs saw their late rally fall short as they dropped an exciting contest against the Hitmen 7-5 in the opening round of Sunday’s SWFL Champions Cup tournament at Atwater Park in North Port. The Dawgs trailed by seven before throwing five runs on the board in the fifth before having their bases loaded rally ended on a questionable call by the field umpire on a play at third. The Hitmen controlled the tempo early jumping out to an early lead in the first inning. Evan Hermanson drove home a run with an RBI single and then a two run double by Braden Reites gave them a 3-0 lead. The Hitmen added four more to their tally in the bottom of the third. Dawgs starter Michael Paolillo struggled with control, hitting two batters and giving up a single before hitting his third batter with the bases loaded to push across a run. Three more runs came on a double by Joseph Adames to put the Hitmen ahead 7-0. The Yard Dawgs game to life in the bottom of th...

North Port, Florida: After notching out a win in the first game of Saturday’s pool play, the SWFL Yard Dawgs were back in action against rival PBA Outlaws in the second game of pool play. Despite battling toe to toe through the first few frames, it was a big fourth inning by the Outlaws that would doom the Yard Dawgs in the 13-8 loss. The Yard Dawgs opened the game up by scoring in the first inning. Brayden Spain led off the game with a single. He would later score on an RBI single by Donte Taylor to give the Yard Dawgs a 1-0 lead. The Outlaws answered by posting four runs to the scoreboard in the bottom of the first. A bases loaded walk to Anthony Poriello tied the game. Then a sac fly by Dannyel Polanco and a two run double by Wyatt Stafford gave the Outlaws a 4-1 lead. The Outlaws added to their lead by scoring again in the bottom of the second. Angel Rodriguez scored on a single by Prescott to increase the lead to 5-1. The Yard Dawgs battled back to take the lead of...

North Port, Florida: The SWFL Yard Dawgs kicked off the 2019 SWFL Champions Cup with an early morning pool game against the Hitmen. The Yard Dawgs jumped out to a big lead early and held off a late game comeback to squeeze out a 7-6 win. The first inning rally for the Yard Dawgs began on a two out single by Donte Taylor. Taylor then stole second and later third and then scored on a passed ball before clean-up hitter MJ Patrick drew a six pitch walk. The Yard Dawgs then loaded the bases following back to back singles by Michael Palilllo and Hunter Force to load the bases. They then went station to station with back to back to back RBI singles by Jake Trottier, Michael Sprague and Bobby Timmons to increase the lead to 5-0. The Hitmen got on the board in the top of the third inning. A ground ball by Kessler scored Ian Kozolowsky. Peyton Hale followed with an RBI single to score Ethan Tsai to make t 5-2. The Yard Dawgs got a run back in the bottom of the fourth. In similar ...

North Port, Florida:  After finishing pool play with a 2-0 record on Saturday, the SWFL Yard Dawgs came into Sunday's tournament play at the 2018 Home Run Derby Classic as the number two seed in the tournament. By virtue of ranking, the Yard Dawgs entered the tournament in the semifinals,  Their semifinal round match-up would be a tough one against the Gulf Coast Monarchs, the only Majors rated team in the 13U bracket.  The red hot Monarchs were coming off a 2-0 Saturday as well an 11-0 shut-out win in the opening round of tournament play. The Monarchs dominated the game, cruising to a 16-0 win against the Yard Dawgs.  Costly errors and miscues doomed the Yard Dawgs as they were eliminated from the tournament.  The Monarchs would go on to defeat the PBA Diamonds in the finals to win the 2018 Home Run Derby Classic. Despite losing today, it was a great effort for the Yard Dawgs as they went 2-1 on the weekend in their first tournament as a team. More impres...

North Port, Florida:  Following a win in their first pool game of the day, the SWFL Yard Dawgs took to the field against the undefeated PBA Outlaws in their second and final pool game of the day.  Both teams looked to remain undefeated on the day as they battled for the top seed heading into Sunday's tournament play. The Yard Dawgs offense picked up right where they left off in the first game, opening up the game with three runs in the first inning.  The Yard Dawgs put the lead runner on the bases when Jake Patrick was hit by a pitch to lead off the game.  A walk to Donte Taylor and MJ Patrick loaded the bases with no outs.  The first run of the inning came on a fly out by Elijah Halcomb, Jake Patrick tagged up and scored to put the Dawgs on the board.  Donte Taylor then scored on an RBI double by RJ Cooper to make it 2-0.  The third run came on an ground ball by Michael Paolilo to increase the lead to 3-. The Outlaws answered in the bottom of t...

North Port, Florida:  The SWFL Yard Dawgs opened up their inaugural season with the 2018 Home Run Derby Classic hosted by Prostyle Tournaments.  The two day tournament featured six 13U teams in an open format with teams ranging from Majors down to AA.  The Yard Dawgs faced Clewiston Travel Ball in the first of two pool play games on Saturday afternoon at Atwater Park. Clewiston jumped out to an early lead by scoring two runs in the top of the first inning. Cayson Holman led off the game with a single to right field.  Holman later scored on an RBI single by Jadin Herrera to put them on the scoreboard.  A pair of walks loaded the bases for Clewiston.  Then Jonathan Thompson drew a bases loaded walk to score Herrera to give Clewiston a 2-0 lead. The Yard Dawgs cut the lead in half by pushing across a run in the bottom of the first.  They loaded the bases following three straight walks to lead off the inning.  Jake Patrick, Donte Taylor and MH P...

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 .