Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Jackets In College: Herman Wink Florida Gators, May 4, 1950

Herman Wink Proves Mettle As Relief Hurler

By Sports Staff
Leesburg Commercial/Ledger
May 4, 1950

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - A lion's share of credit for the University of Florida's baseball success must be dished out to Lefty Herman Wink, Junior from Leesburg, who is rapidly gaining a fine reputation as a relief hurler.

The diminutive southpaw has been called in from the bullpen seven times this season and has proved his mettle each time. In fact, many Gator baseball followers have been tacking the name "Smokey Joe" onto Wink in comparison with Joe Page, popular New York Yankee reliever.

Wink's main assets are a good assortment of pitches, a better than average curve, good baseball sense, fine poise on the mound and plenty of courage. He is at best under pressure, especially in the late innings of a close game. Against the Bradley Braves, in a relief role, the lefthander fanned the last three hitters in the ninth inning.

Besides his firearm duties, Wink has been taking his turn on the hill with the other regulars and to date has chalked up five victories against one loss.

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Jackets In College: Witter Gets To Restart His Baseball Career,

Buddy Lowe Field at Pat Thomas Stadium, Home of the Jackets

Pitcher Jake Witter, Formerly Of Leesburg High, Signed With Lake-sumter Community College.

June 13, 1998|By Joe Williams, of The Sentinel Staff
LEESBURG — Projected to fill a role as a right-handed pitcher, Jake Witter signed Friday afternoon with Lake-Sumter Community College's baseball team.

Witter, who graduated from Leesburg High School a year ago and was a freshman at LSCC this past year, impressed baseball coach Mike Matulia during two tryouts in February and one in May.

 Though not expected to be used as a starting pitcher, Witter probably will be used in situations when the Lakers need to get outs.

``He is not overpowering with his fastball, but he has good offspeed stuff and he is always around the strike zone,'' Matulia said. ``You need to find pitchers who can come in and throw strikes, and that is what Jake can do.

``When he came to the tryouts, I was looking for pitchers, and I am not going to say he is a polished pitcher because he has a long way to go. But he has the tools to be a good pitcher.

How he is used is ``pretty much up to coach Matulia,'' Witter said. ``I'll play wherever or whenever he wants me to.''

For Witter, who is 6 feet and weighs 190 pounds, the signing is a second chance - an opportunity to restart a baseball career that has been on hold for about a year.

He didn't play his senior year in high school because of a disagreement with Leesburg coach Randy Wilson.

``The coach and I had some differences, but that is in the past,'' Witter said. ``There are not many guys who don't play baseball their senior year in high school and still get a chance to play in college. I really feel like it is a second chance.''

``It [signing with LSCC) gives me a chance to play with some of the guys I played with in high school or I played against them,'' Witter said. ``I already know a few of the players.''

The Lakers' signing spree has continued in the past two weeks. In addition to Witter, the team has also added three transfer players from Valencia Community College, which has shut down its athletic program.

Joining the Lakers will be right-handed hitting shortstop Eddie Rodriquez and another right-handed pitcher, Tommy Naddeo, both of whom played at Valencia last season and were high school teammates at Dr. Phillips. Both of those players signed baseball grants. The third Valencia player, former South Lake outfielder Darrell Turner, signed an academic scholarship.

Chuck Fullen, a pitcher from Apopka, also has signed an academic grant to LSCC and another Apopka pitcher, David Bultema, has committed to the Lakers but has not signed yet.

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Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Jackets In College: Ben Ayris 2008 Union University Profile


#1 Ben Ayris
SR, 6-5, 220
Hometown: Leesburg, Florida
Previous School: Leesburg HS

Before Union: Ayris prepped at Leesburg HS if Florida where was a three sport star in baseball, basketball, and football. He started and earned the win in the 2003 district championship game for his high school as they defeated East Ridge High School. Ayris missed several games at the beginning of his junior season due to injury. However, after his return, he went 3-3 with a 3.67 ERA. Ayris struck out 41 batters in just 36 innings pitched. He led his team to district titles in 2003 and 2004, and also a regional championship in 2004. 

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Jackets In College: Ben Ayris Photo Archives Union University, May 8, 2012


04/25/08 - Senior Ben Ayris prepares to throw a pitch. (ID: 10531) - Morris Abernathy



04/25/08 - Ben Ayris delivers a pitch to home plate. (ID: 10532) - Morris Abernathy



04/25/08 - Senior pitcher Ben Ayris attempts to pick off the baserunner. (ID: 10535) - Morris Abernathy



02/24/06 - Sophmore Ben Ayris delivers a pitch during his start versus Huntinton (Ind.). (ID: 5023) - Steven Aldridge



05/5/05 - Freshman pitcher Ben Arys warms up prior to an inning in the semifinals of the TranSouth Conference Tournament versus Trevecca Nazarene. (ID: 3897) - Julie Powell

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Jackets In College: Ben Ayris: Union Baseball Signs 6-5 Florida Native, March 4, 2004


By Steven Aldridge
Phone: (731) 661-5027
Sports Information
Fax: (731) 661-5182

JACKSON, Tenn. - 3/24/2004 - The Union University baseball team signed another standout pitcher for the 2005 season with the addtion of Ben Ayris. Ayris is a 6-foot-5 215 lb. pitcher from Leesburg High School in Leesburg, Florida. Ayris will start Union this fall as a freshman. 

Ayris started and earned the win in the 2003 district championship game for his high school as they defeated East Ridge High School. Ayris missed several games at the beginning of the season as a junior due to injury. However, after his return, he went 3-3 with a 3.67 ERA. Ayris struck out 41 batters in just 36 innings pitched. At the time is his signing during his senior season, Ayris has a record of 2-0. Leesburg high school coach David Lee and Union head coach Andy Rushing both agree that Ayris is only going to improve as a pitcher over the next few years. 

In addition to his on-field accomplishments, Ayris is a Who's Who among American High School Students, a member of the Beta Club, and a Florida Boys State Representative. 

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Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Jonathan Holt: Tampa Wins Second Straight Baseball National Championship, June 1, 2007

Tampa Wins Second Straight Baseball National Championship


MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The University of Tampa baseball team finished the season where it started as the nation’s number-one ranked team as the Spartans took a 7-2 victory over Columbus State (Ga.) University (51-19) to win their second consecutive NCAA II national championship. The Spartans become the first team to win consecutive titles since UT won in 1992 and 1993 as they capped off a 53-10 season.

Jonathan Holt (Leesburg High School, Leesburg Florida), who was the team’s closer for the entire season, made the surprise start and combined his excellent start with some solid late-inning hitting to lead the Spartans to another title.

Jonathan Holt (Leesburg High School, Leesburg Florida) became the first Spartan to get called in the draft after hurling a complete game in the NCAA II championship game.
The game began as a pitching duel, as the first two innings went scoreless with just a hit apiece. Columbus State scored the first lead of the game, scoring a run in the bottom of the third on an unearned run that was a result of a Jonny Geiger stolen base that created a throwing error on the play. Geiger then scored on a groundout to shortstop by Kurt McKee.

The Spartans quickly answered, scoring a pair of runs in the top of the fourth inning. After leaving three runners on base after three innings, Tampa scored its first run of the championship game on a Chris Rosenbaum double. A heady base running play by Nolan Brannon allowed UT to take a 2-1 lead as he advanced home on a wild pitch.

A defensive miscue in the sixth by the Cougars allowed the Spartans to extend their lead to 3-1 as Jose Jimenez crossed the plate on a wild pitch. After reaching base on a leadoff single, Jimenez advanced to third base on a double play before scoring the two-out run.

Tampa extended the advantage to 4-1 in the top of the eighth on a two out rally. Brannon got things started with a single through the left side. Rosenbaum, hitting next, rocketed a double off the left center wall to bring the UT lead to three runs.

The Rosenbaum double chased CSU starting pitcher Anthony Arrington, who pitched 7.2 innings for the Cougars. He was relieved by Johnny Floyd, who forced a Paul Cruz groundout to end the inning.
The Spartans went out with a bang with back-to-back home runs to lead off the top of the ninth. Junior Mejia connected for his third long ball of the year on a homer to deep left field. Troy Ferguson then came up and blasted a Floyd pitch that cleared the wall in right center. The pair of homers chased Floyd from the game as he was removed for Blake Norrell. Tampa then made the game 7-1 as Ryan Kennedy scored on a Roberto Mena base hit.

Holt went to 4-2 on the season as he pitched a complete game. In nine innings, he allowed just one earned run on six hits while striking out eight. His magnificent performance included zero walks in his longest outing of the year.

The Spartans offense was led by Rosenbaum, who finished 3-5 with two RBI. Brannon and Mejia each added two hits as Mejia, Ferguson and Mena each drove in a run as well.

2007 NCAA II National Championship All-Tournament Team
C - Chris Rosenbaum, Tampa
1B - Billy Howard, Columbus State
2B - Darin Mastroianni, Southern Indiana
3B - Brian Frew, Nebraska-Omaha
SS - Roberto Mena, Tampa
OF - Fernando Franco, Cal State-Los Angeles
OF - Drew Candlin, Columbus State
OF - Junior Mejia, Tampa
DH - Rodney Rutherford, Columbus State
P - Jonathan Holt, TampaP - Cory Julian, Southern Indiana
Most Outstanding Player: Jonathan Holt, Tampa

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Jackets In Pros: Jonathan Holt Drafted by Cleveland Indians, June 7, 2007

Jonathan Holt became the first Spartan to get called in the draft after hurling a complete game in the NCAA II championship game.

Jonathan Holt Drafted by Cleveland Indians

TAMPA, Fla. – University of Tampa pitcher Jonathan Holt became the first player from the national champion Spartans to be selected in the 2007 MLB Draft. Holt was chosen by the Cleveland Indians in the fifth round at pick number 167.

A native of Leesburg, Fla., Holt was recently named the Most Outstanding Player at the 2007 NCAA II Baseball Championships while guiding the Spartans to their second consecutive title and fifth in program history.

While being a second-team ABCA/Rawlings All-American, Holt was also named first-team all-South Region and first-team all-Sunshine State Conference as a junior in his first season at UT. The Seminole CC transfer and product of Leesburg High School concluded the season with a pair of victories over Columbus State and Cal State-Los Angeles in the championship series.

This season, Holt compiled an overall record of 4-2 with a team-best 1.64 ERA. In 31 appearances, he also registered 19 saves as his lone two starts of the season came against Florida Southern in the NCAA II Regional Final and Columbus State in the NCAA II National Championship game.

Holt pitched a total of 66 innings this season, allowing just 42 hits while holding opponents to a .179 batting average. While recording 79 strikeouts, he walked just four batters. His top performance was a complete game in the championship game as he allowed just one earned run on six hits while striking out eight and walking none.

“We are extremely excited for Jonathan as he was deservingly a high-level pick in the draft,” says Tampa Head Coach Joe Urso. “He had a tremendous season and played a major role throughout our championship run. Jonathan is a big game pitcher who has enjoyed ultimate success.”

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Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Jackets Run Over South Lake 12-2, February 14, 2002

Buddy Lowe Field at Pat Thomas Stadium, Home of the Jackets.

By Gerald Lacey
Staff Writer
Carver Heights Quarterback Club
February 14, 2002

LEESBURG - The Fightin' Jackets of  Leesburg High School started its season off with a impressive win over Groveland South Lake 12-2. Yellow Jackets ace Jordan Holmes pitched five strong innings in his season debut, giving up six hits while striking out five.

The Jackets show that they will be a serious threat at the plate and in the district in the 2002 campaign.

The Eagles kept the contest close until the sixth inning when the Jackets got untracked offensively scoring six runs in the inning to put the game out of reach.

Tyler Hill led the Jackets with three hits and two stolen bases and Logan Ashley had two hits and three RBI's. Michael Chancellor and Dale Delpit both added two hits to the offensive showcase.

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Monday, April 30, 2012

Sean Haviland 2010 Photo Archives

 
Sean Haviland
 
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Sean Haviland