Baseball: Class 7A state semifinal preview — May 23

State Semifinals

All games are played at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers. Tickets are $12 and are available via GoFan. Parking is $10 for cars and $50 for buses (cash or credit card).  

Class 7A

Plant (20-7) vs. Lake Worth Park Vista (23-3-1), 4 p.m., today

How they got here: Plant d. Sarasota 14-2, d. Lakewood Ranch 7-0, d. Windermere 1-0. Park Vista d. Port St. Lucie Centennial 9-1, d. Kissimmee Osceola 3-1, d. Jupiter 3-1.

Stat Leaders
CategoryPlantPark Vista
Batting averageJohn Trey Freeman, .408William Bavaro, .449
Home runsRocco Demarinis, 4Three tied with 1
RBIsRocco Demarinis, 23Jason Lashley, 28
ERARobert Satin, 1.17Frank Sgarlata, 0.95
StrikeoutsRobert Satin, 99Ethan Mattison, 67

Outlook

This is a matchup between two of the top five teams in the class according to MaxPreps. The Panthers, ranked fifth, rebounded from a loss to Alonso in the 7A-7 district final, winning the last three games by a combined 22-2. The pitching staff has been a big part of Plant’s success. Robert Satin, the ace, is undefeated (11-0) and is coming off a perfect game with nine strikeouts in a win over Lakewood Ranch in the region semifinals. Garrett Hill and Mitchel Doane combined on a one-hit shutout in a win over Windermere in the region final. The Cobras, ranked second, have won seven straight games and have allowed just one run each in six of those victories.