Here are the capsules for Hillsborough County baseball teams playing in tonight’s region quarterfinals in Classes 7A-5A and 3A. The 5A winners advance to Thursday’s region semifinals while the winners in 7A-6A move on to Friday’s semifinals and 3A winners go on to Saturday’s semifinals.
Class 7A
Sarasota (18-7) at Durant (17-8), 7
The Sailors had their seven-game win streak snapped with a loss to Sarasota Riverview in the 7A-8 title game. The defending state semifinalist Cougars enter on a four-game win streak, including victories over Plant City (6-5) and Newsome (7-5) to take the 7A-6 district title.
Stat leaders
| Category | Sarasota | Durant |
| Batting average | Mario Trivella, .446 | Dylan LaPointe, .423 |
| Home runs | Mario Trivella, 4 | Dylan LaPointe, 5 |
| RBIs | Lance Trippel, 21 | Dylan LaPointe, 23 |
| ERA | Bradley Ramsden, 1.34 | Torin Byrnes, 2.36 |
| Strikeouts | Bernard Barnes Jr., 46 | Torin Byrnes, 70 |
Newsome (17-6) at Plant (20-6), 7
The Wolves know how to win close games. They beat Sickles 1-0 in the regular season finale and followed that with another 1-0 win over Lakewood Ranch in the 7A-6 semifinals. The 7A-7 district champion Panthers, who have won nine of their 11 games, are ranked sixth in the class by MaxPreps.
Stat leaders
| Category | Newsome | Plant |
| Batting average | Lucas Phelps, .446 | Conley Strayer, .412 |
| Home runs | Two tied with two. | Bryce Pelleriti, 3 |
| RBIs | Evan Wainman, 17 | Robert Satin, 20 |
| ERA | Jack Weber, 0.29 | Mike Hawks, 2.24 |
| Strikeouts | Evan Dempsey, 55 | Robert Satin, 61 |
Class 6A
Lennard (17-5) at Sickles (21-6), 7
The Longhorns’ 17 wins are more than their previous two seasons — combined. Another win and Lennard will tie the 2019 team for the most wins in school history. The Gryphons, ranked seventh in the class by MaxPreps, bounced back from a three-game losing streak at the end of the regular season to beat Largo and Gaither by a combined 21-3 for the 6A-6 district title.
Stat leaders
| Category | Lennard | Sickles |
| Batting average | John Smith, .397 | Caden McDonald, .657 |
| Home runs | Alex Brazer, 4 | Caden McDonald, 8 |
| RBIs | Alex Brazer, 19 | Caden McDonald, 41 |
| ERA | Zack Bird, 1.08 | Adrian Cartaya, 0.59 |
| Strikeouts | Jackson Mueller, 73 | Caden McDonald, 69 |
Wiregrass Ranch (14-8) at Wharton (19-7), 7
The Bulls are trying to regroup after going 4-6 in their last 10 games, including three straight losses heading into the postseason. Two of the losses were in extra innings. The Wildcats got hot at the right time, winning eight of their last nine games. In last week’s 6A-5 tournament, Wharton was dominant, beating Sunlake, Mitchell and Land O’ Lakes by a combined 30-12 to take home the title.
Stat leaders
| Category | Wiregrass Ranch | Wharton |
| Batting average | Maddox McDougall, .355 | Quentin Meadows, .359 |
| Home runs | Three tied with one. | Elijah Dukes, 5 |
| RBIs | Maddox McDougall, 19 | Jake Turer, 24 |
| ERA | Maddox McDougall, 0.97 | Wyatt Wright, 0.39 |
| Strikeouts | Cannon Hinkle, 33 | Evan Chrest, 82 |
Land O’ Lakes (19-6) at Strawberry Crest (18-8), 7
The Gators have won 14 of their last 16 games. They gave up double digits in runs in both losses during that stretch. The Chargers outlasted defending state champion Bloomingdale in eight innings for a 3-2 victory in the 6A-7 district final. That extended Strawberry Crest’s win streak to three.
Stat leaders
| Category | Land O’ Lakes | Strawberry Crest |
| Batting average | JP Pennella, .414 | Brandon Watts, .348 |
| Home runs | Daniel Busot, 5 | Ethan Pues, 4 |
| RBIs | Daniel Busot, 24 | Ethan Pues, 23 |
| ERA | Max Folkman, 0.69 | Zachary Redner, 1.43 |
| Strikeouts | Timothy Dunn, 50 | Zachary Redner, 74 |
Class 5A
Hillsborough (13-12) at Jesuit (19-8), 7
This is the third time the teams have met this season. The Tigers won the previous two by a combined 12-3. Jesuit, ranked second in the class and 11th in the state by MaxPreps, rebounded from a three-game losing streak to reel off four straight wins, including a 4-0 victory over Freedom in last week’s 5A-6 district final. The Terriers, who lost three of their last four games, are trying to find more consistency in the playoffs.
Stat leaders
| Category | Hillsborough | Jesuit |
| Batting average | Sal Urso, .415 | Wes Mendes, .410 |
| Home runs | Three with one | Wes Mendes, 4 |
| RBIs | Sal Urso, 23 | AJ Nessler, 22 |
| ERA | JJ Shipherd, 1.42 | Wes Mendes, 1.44 |
| Strikeouts | Sal Urso, 47 | Jamie Arnold, 76 |
Seminole (16-11) at Sumner (9-12), 7
After starting 5-12, the Stingrays got hot at the right time, winning four straight games. Two of the victories during that streak came in extra innings, including a 6-4 victory over Braden River in the Class 5A-7 final to clinch Sumner’s first district title. The Warhawks are used to marathon games. Two of their last four contests have gone to extra innings. Seminole split those games, beating Dunedin 1-0 in nine innings and losing to Hollins 5-4 in eight innings in last week’s Class 5A, District 8 final.
Stat leaders
| Category | Seminole | Sumner |
| Batting average | Jackson Graden, .344 | Cole Montgomery, .348 |
| Home runs | None. | Three tied with one. |
| RBIs | Braedon Cochran, 12 | Manny Ramos, 12 |
| ERA | Jackson Graden, 0.75 | Jayden Brown, 1.73 |
| Strikeouts | Jackson Graden, 64 | Jayden Brown, 40 |
Jefferson (13-12) at Hollins (19-6-1), 7
The Royals won their first conference title since 1991 two weeks ago. They followed that up with their first district title in more than 30 years, beating Seminole 5-4 in eight innings in the 5A-8 final. Hollins will try to continue this dream season against the Dragons, which had a magical postseason run last year that included a victory over nationally ranked Jesuit enroute to reaching the state semifinals.
Stat leaders
| Category | Jefferson | Hollins |
| Batting average | Alejando Montada, .371 | Joshua Castellani, .446 |
| Home runs | Alejandro Montada, 3 | Three tied with two. |
| RBIs | Alejandro Montada, 20 | Colin Lemons, 25 |
| ERA | Alejandro Aguilar, 0.68 | Ryland Bozenhard, 1.92 |
| Strikeouts | Julian Vargas, 44 | Ryland Bozenhard, 69 |
Freedom (17-8) at River Ridge (13-12), 7
Despite scoring a combined three runs in their two 5A-6 district tournament games, the Patriots advanced to the final thanks to some stellar pitching. After a rough 1-7 stretch to close out the regular season, the Royal Knights put it together when it mattered most, beating Countryside and Springstead by a combined 25-1 to win the
Stat leaders
| Category | Freedom | River Ridge |
| Batting average | Gio Mendoza, .383 | Matthew Mehring, .357 |
| Home runs | None | Victor Figueroa, 8 |
| RBIs | Gio Mendoza, 16 | Victor Figueroa, 23 |
| ERA | Evan Mobley, 1.01 | Tyler Ganoe, 1.29 |
| Strikeouts | Joseph Leon, 40 |
Class 3A
Berkeley Prep (24-3) at Sarasota Cardinal Mooney (12-9), 4
The Buccaneers are ranked second in the class and ninth nationally by MaxPreps. Their three losses have all come against Calvary Christian, a team they could see again in the postseason. The Cougars have won their last three games by a combined 23-2.
Stat leaders
| Category | Berkeley Prep | Cardinal Mooney |
| Batting average | Cade Kurland, .487 | Paddy Hebda, .404 |
| Home runs | Cade Kurland, 10 | Four tied with one. |
| RBIs | James Hankerson, 33 | Paddy Hebda, 15 |
| ERA | JT Quinn, 1.17 | Bronson Sessa, 1.91 |
| Strikeouts | JT Quinn, 69 | Bronson Sessa, 63 |
 — May 10){kind=link}