Braden River boys tennis returns to state tourney

The Braden River High School boys tennis team repeated as regional champions and earned a second consecutive trip to the Class 3A state tournament on Thursday.

The Pirates rolled past Seminole Osceola 4-1 at home.

David Ojeda set the tone at No. 1 singles with a 6-1, 6-1 victory against Sean Crockett. Race Arande, Xavier Muzgurz and Matt Rhea followed with straight-set victories. The closest was Arande’s, which was decided 6-4, 7-5.

With the victory, Braden River advances to the state tournament, which is scheduled for Monday and Tuesday at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs. The team quarterfinals are scheduled for 8 a.m. Monday and the semifinals at 8 a.m. Tuesday.

Baseball

St. Pete Catholic 11, Bradenton Christian 7: The hosts led 5-2 in the fifth before St. Petersburg Catholic scored five in the top half of the inning to take the lead for good. In a losing effort, Rob Arakel and Dalton Francis collected two hits each. Arakel drove in a run. Austen Kessler finished with one hit but three RBIs. Bradenton Christian (8-13, 4-9) plays at Northside Christian on Friday in district finale.

Saint Stephen’s 7, Out-of-Door Academy 1: The host Falcons erupted for four runs in the fourth to take control of the district game. Mike Madigan, Jack Sauerbeck, Ben Schnur and Wyatt Sevin hit RBI singles in the inning, and Ben Tobio hit a two-run single in the sixth that capped the scoring. Niko Piccolo threw his third complete game of the season for the Falcons (12-7), who play Admiral Farragut on Friday

Flag football

Palmetto 19, Lakewood Ranch 13: Moe Fuller-Jones accounted for three touchdowns to lead the visitors. Fuller-Jones scored on a 62-yard run, a 40-yard interception return, and caught a 10-yard pass from Nadia Arroyo.

This story was originally published April 21, 2017 at 12:10 AM with the headline "Braden River boys tennis returns to state tourney."