Palmetto hopes to see Johnny Be Good on the mound in district baseball opener against Lakewood Ranch
Rich Glass said he is starting "Johnny Wholestaff" in his district baseball opener.
You will not find this Johnny on the Palmetto High School roster, but he is more than a figment of the imagination to Glass.
He hopes Johnny Wholestaff transforms into Johnny Be Good.
The Tigers first-year head coach said he plays in the toughest district in the state (Class 8A, District 8) for baseball and, for better or worse, it's time to change things up.
"If it works out, we are going to look like heroes. If it doesn't, people are going to think we are crazy or stupid," Glass says. "You've got to have your best defense on the field in these games, and I think our best defense might not put our best pitcher on the mount to start."
It's been a crazy year for Palmetto. The Tigers are 16-4 outside the district and 1-5 in district losing twice to Lakewood Ranch and Sarasota, who tied for first place.
Sarasota (19-6, 5-1) is a perennial power with eight state titles and 42 state tournament appearances. Lakewood Ranch (16-9, 5-1) won a state title in 2003, went to the final four in 2012 and has been to the region semifinals three times since 2010. Manatee (10-14, 1-5), the other team in the district, went to the Final Four in 2011 and region semifinals in 2012. Palmetto lost 2-1 to Lakewood Ranch, Sarasota and Manatee.
The key to advancing to the region the following week is defense and pitching all the coaches agree, which is no surprise.
"Typically, our pitchers keep us in ball games when they locate their pitches," Lakewood Ranch head coach Ryan Kennedy said. "We have the athletic ability offensively to create opportunities to score runs. If each individual does their part, we should be able to be in every game. We need to play with intensity to put pressure on the defense."
Palmetto's best pitcher has been Jacob Josey, who has a 1.98 ERA in 28.1 innings. Hunter Finner has a 2.07 ERA in 27 innings and Harrison Thief (1.80 ERA in 23.1 innings). The top hitters are Josey (.352 BA), Alden Blaney (.302) and Brandon Lam (.300).
"Ryan is a good friend. He has been asking me who I am going to start and I keep telling him 'Johnny Wholestaff,'" Glass says.
That means Glass could use anybody and everybody and if you want to guess the starter be his guest.
Trevor Losada leads Lakewood Ranch in batting (.440) and runs scored (26). Justin Fischer tops the club with 21 RBIs and is hitting for a .325 average. On the mound, Colton Zimmering is 8-1 with 65 Ks in 50 innings and a 1.26 ERA. Pablo Garabitos has a 2.18 ERA in 45 innings with 47 Ks and is 4-3.
Kennedy, who led Lakewood Ranch to the 2003 state title as a player, said intangibles play a huge role in the postseason.
"Anything is possible when you work together as one," he says. "You believe in the people around you and it feeds off of each other and the trust is there on doing your individual part which helps the team. If they stay focused on the goal and play each game like it's a championship, they could have a special year."
Braden River (18-7, 7-1) tied for first in Class 7A-9 and earned the No. 1 seed on a coin flip. The Pirates will play all their games at Tampa Bay Tech, which might be better than playing in District 8A-8 even if they were home.
'We just play wherever they tell us to play. We have been good on the road and have a great group of kids that play hard every night," said Craig Page, who is in his third year as the Pirates head coach.
Page was in the same district as Sarasota and Lakewood Ranch the past two years. He was runner-up to the Sailors two years ago and was eliminated in district play last year.
A big part of Braden River's hopes rest with Tyler Dyson, who has not given up an earned run in 49.2 innings (55 Ks). He is hitting .338 with a team-high 16 RBIs. John Bean is batting a team-high .361 with 14 RBIs.
"With the competition we played Tyler's stat line is incredible and it couldn't happen to a better person," Page said. "We will throw him Tuesday because we want to get to the championship game. "
Southeast (4-12, 4-4) and Bayshore (8-16, 3-5) will be long shots in the Class 5A, District 11 tournament. The top seed is Booker (17-8, 7-1) and St. Petersburg Lakewood (11-12, 7-3) is seeded No. 2.
Northside Christian and Out-Of-Door-Academy are the two top seeds in Class 3A, District 5, which will be played at Indian Rocks Christian. In Wednesday's first round, Saint Stephens will meet Shorecrest and ODA faces Bradenton Christian.
Alan Dell, Herald sports columnist/writer, can be reached at 941-745-7056. Follow him on Twitter
This story was originally published April 16, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Palmetto hopes to see Johnny Be Good on the mound in district baseball opener against Lakewood Ranch ."