Windermere Prep’s baseball season is coming to a close in a week, so let’s dive in and see how this new, young team has emerged in the Citrus League. Coming into the season, Windermere Prep hired Coach Omar Peña, an experienced ex-minor league baseball player, to lead the team. WPS digital arts teacher and ex-High School baseball player, Mr. Collier has also stepped up into coaching 1st base, providing a supportive and motivating voice for the team. So far, this season has been an upgrade over last season, as the squad has gone 6-10 with notable, dominant wins over Cornerstone Charter (7-0), Evans High School (24-12), and recently, Circle Christian (19-7) (Statistics from MaxPreps).
Leading the team in earned run average, wins, innings pitched, and strikeouts, senior pitcher Luke Slattery has been the Lakers’ ace with his powerful fastballs and deceptive offspeed and breaking pitches. Other strong pitchers in the rotation include junior Peyton Hollern, junior Andrew Ligonis, freshman Matthew Kirk, and sophomore Jaiden Patel.
On offense, leading the team in hits, runs scored, slugging, and stolen bases, Joshua Goldberg has settled well into the Lakers’ lineup in his sophomore season. Brody Knight has also become a hard out for pitchers at leadoff with his .537 OBP (on-base percentage), 15 runs scored, and 10 hits. At the cleanup spot, Matthew Kirk has driven in many runs for the Lakers with 14 RBIs, the most on the team! Overall, the offense has shown many signs of life and craftiness with creative play calls at the plate for batters and on the bases for baserunners by Coach Peña, keeping many defenses off balance.
Next for the Lakers Varsity Baseball team is a 4-game road schedule to finish off the regular season, with tough matchups against the Lake Highland Prep Highlanders, the Foundation Academy Lions, and the Bishop Moore Hornets. Windermere Prep Baseball is determined to end the season strong and stay resilient. Be sure to attend these games to cheer on your Lakers!
