A senior captain was the first to respond when Mike Bradley sent a text message to players last month after noticing a Seminole Athletic Conference rival had won on a no-hitter.
“Man, when is Winter Springs going to get one of these?” Bradley wrote.
“Coach, we’ve got your back,” Carter Craig responded.
In Craig’s next start on March 22, the righthander struck out 13 batters, issued 4 walks and allowed no hits while leading the Bears to a 2-0 win at Sanford Seminole (6-9).
“Everybody was excited for him,” Bradley said. “They came pouring out of the dugout and started throwing water on him.”
Craig, who pitched only two innings last season due to an elbow injury, is the first team captain on any of Bradley’s teams in more than a decade as head coach. Teammates chose Craig for that honor during a preseason vote.
“He’s really come a long way,” Bradley said. “He’s got a tireless work ethic and a lead-by-example attitude.”
Craig has yet to allow a single run this season while carrying a 6-0 record with 36 strikeouts and 9 hits allowed in 26⅔ innings.
The no-hitter for Winter Springs came just six days after the Bears were no-hit for the second time this season.
Dr. Phillips’ Logan Wirt silenced the Winter Springs bats during a 1-0 win on March 16. Lake Brantley’s Garrett Caropreso did the same March 4 in a 6-0 win.
Craig joins a no-hit list in 2022 that also includes Hagerty’s Garrett Baumann and Lake Brantley’s Isaac Padilla. Baumann struck out 14 batters for the Huskies (7-8) on March 15 during a 3-0 win vs. Treasure Coast (4-10). Padilla won 5-0 vs. Edgewater (9-5) on March 3.
Winter Springs (11-6) enters Thursday’s outing at Horizon (1-13) and Friday’s home game vs. Lyman (3-11) on a six-game win streak. The Bears face Lake Mary (8-7) in a two-game series next week.
“We’ve been a really close-knit team ever since offseason workouts,” Bradley said. “Our bond has grown stronger, and players have become more aware of their roles on the team.”
TFA maintains
The First Academy dropped just one spot this week in FHSAA playoff power rankings, released Tuesday, after its 34-game win streak ended last Thursday during a 7-4 loss vs. Bishop Moore.
Dylan King, Josh Haggerty and Bryce Gluckman each recorded one hit while leading the Hornets (12-6), who sit at No. 13 in Class 4A rankings.
The Royals, ranked No. 17 overall and No. 4 in Class 3A, remained the highest-ranked Orlando area program entering this week’s USA Baseball National High School Invitational in Cary, North Carolina.
TFA (14-2) opened that tournament Wednesday afternoon with a 6-3 loss against Nevada’s Basic Academy (15-5). Ben Barrett finished 4-for-4 at the plate with 1 stolen base and Riley Parker went 2-for-4 with 1 RBI in the loss.
Apopka (11-2) fell to No. 23 and Windermere High (12-3) is down to No. 30 in state rankings. The Blue Darters are No. 2 behind Jacksonville Sandalwood (10-1) in Class 7A Region 1 while Windermere maintains its top spot in Region 2.
Lake Minneola (9-3) is No. 7 in Class 5A. Foundation Academy (10-3-1) ranks No. 15 in Class 2A.
Stat leaders
Windermere High’s Gustavo Mendez is tied for third in the state in home runs (6) and tied for seventh in RBIs (24), according to stats posted on MaxPreps. Mendez is batting .521 (25-for-48) this season.
Lake Brantley senior Evan Griffis has 5 home runs and 23 RBIs. West Orange senior Max McClusky is tied for sixth in hits while batting .473 (26-for-55) with 5 doubles.
Harmony sophomore Cade Walter is batting .571 (24-for-42) with 15 RBIs, 15 runs scored and 6 extra-base hits. The Longhorns entered Wednesday’s game vs. St. Cloud (3-11) with a 6-8 record.
Tavares senior Riley Scott Fitzgerald is tied for 12th in strikeouts as he’s retired 49 batters in 31 innings pitched. Fitzgerald owns a 4-1 record and 3.16 ERA for the Bulldogs (8-6).
Orlando University’s Sebastian Pagan and Orange City University’s Evan Koehler each has struck out 43 batters in 26 innings. Pagan is 4-0 with 5 walks allowed and a 2.89 ERA for the Cougars (6-4). Koehler is 3-1 with 1 save, 5 walks allowed and a 1.06 ERA for the Titans (11-3).
200-win club
Windermere High coach Eric Lassiter took to social media last week to thank former players and coaches after notching career-win No. 200.
The milestone came during a 12-1 home win vs. first-year Horizon (1-13).
“Thank you to every player and assistant coach who contributed to the wins,” Lassiter posted on Twitter. “As a head coach you are only as good as the players you have and the assistants you hire.”
Lassiter is in his fifth season at Windermere after previously coaching at Apopka.
Lake Brantley’s Eric Entrekin enters Thursday’s home game vs. Olympia (8-7) two wins shy of 200 as head coach of the Patriots (12-3). Entrekin opened the spring with a 263-158 career record in 16 seasons, which included 186 wins the past 10 years at Lake Brantley.
Orangewood Christian coach Scott Hilinski, in his 11th season with the Rams (10-6), enters Thursday’s game at Foundation Academy with a 195-105 career record.
This article originally appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email J.C. Carnahan at [email protected].
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