Starting five young freshmen in last year’s postseason, Monsignor Pace’s baseball team lost a disappointing district semifinal game against Florida Christian in extra innings.
Needing two more outs to win, the Spartans allowed Florida Christian to tie the game and send it into overtime and pull off the victory.
This postseason might be a little tougher for Pace with a lot of young players.
At 14-8, the Spartans are the No. 1 seed in the district playoffs, which start next week and head coach Tom Duffin is relying on his top three hitters and pitchers to get them through the postseason.
Outfielder Lorenzo Hampton, who is bound for the University of California, is hitting over .400 and two home runs.
Shortstop Jorge Arenas is hitting .400 and hit one home run with 18 RBI.
“He is playing solid defense for us this year,” Duffin said.
Pace’s catcher Andre Sanchez is batting .380.
“They’re the top three hitters who are carrying most of the load,” Duffin said.
The pitching staff will be in heavy rotation during the playoffs, as Duffin is planning to use his pitchers to the fullest to help his team win.
“We will carry 7 to 8 pitchers for the playoffs,” he said.
They include Rick Rodriguez, Juan Rodriguez, Matt Dardaer and Peter Diaz.