TEAM OF THE MONTH
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The Plant City High School baseball team athletes include: Jarrett Joyner, Billy McKay, Matt Moclair, Tyler Mondoux, Nick Palestrini, Peyton Collins, Cory Cotnoir, Cameron Schneider, Brandon Luke, Dalton Wingo, Troy DeVault, Raymond Lopez, Dylan Robinson, Austin Eldridge, Cody Cribbs, Dean Collins, T.J. Gayner, J.J. Gonzalez, Parker Messick, Hunter Emerine, and Cade Shissler.
left-handed freshman on the varsity baseball team. The PCHS baseball team is a pretty “goofy” team, as Fryrear would put it. They always make it a point to have fun but work hard in everything they do. The three captains, Wingo, McKay, and Joyner, display solid leadership and are great examples for their teammates. “Our team is resilient,” Fryrear shared. “We lost to Brandon High School earlier in the season, but we came back and beat Durant twice this year. Now we are in it for the win.” Fryrear has two ultimate goals for the PCHS baseball team. The first is to have all his seniors graduate with honors and go to college to play baseball. The second is, of course, to win state. Plant City baseball has not won a district title
in almost 30 years. By “taking over the city” (beating DHS and SCHS), PCHS baseball will be in a good place for the district tournament, leading them to success at the regional and state level,” explained Fryrear. “As a team, we always talk about the ‘#ship’ (‘hashtag ship’). Our eyes are focused on the championship.” The Raiders’ baseball team has a motto their coaches urge all players to abide by: family, academics, and baseball. These are the priorities of an athlete. “If our boys keep those three in order, baseball will eventually start winning,” Fryrear stated. With this strategy, it is guaranteed the Plant City High School baseball team will achieve great success throughout their 2016 season.
PLANT CITY HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL #SHIP
BY ASHLYN YARBROUGH
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pring has started, and so has one of America’s favorite sports: baseball. Plant City’s three high schools – Plant City, Durant, and Strawberry Crest – all have some of the best baseball programs in Hillsborough County. However, this year PCHS has gone above and beyond in their season thus far. The PCHS baseball team is led by head coach, Mike Fryrear, and the following assistant coaches: Byron Humphrey, Cam Townsend, Sean Culereth, Steve Shissler, Jim Wingo, and Steve Schneider. Fryrear, a Durant High School graduate, played baseball for the University of North Florida as a second baseman on a four-year scholarship. This is his fourth year as Plant City’s head coach. The Plant City baseball team has a current record of 12-6, placing them first
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in the district. The most important game of the season was the first time PCHS played Durant at the Raider’s home field. After a nail-biting game with the lights going out twice, Plant City beat Durant 8-6; a victory they have not achieved in three years. “The game changer for us was when one of our captains, Dalton Wingo, hit a homerun over centerfield,” explained Fryrear. “It felt really good to finally beat Durant after so many years,” offered Wingo. “It was an even better feeling when I found out we placed higher than them going into the district tournament.” Fryrear stated the team’s main strength is “having three legit arms.” The three starting pitchers for PCHS are far beyond extraordinary: Billy McKay, a University of Florida commit; Jarrett Joyner, a Southern Westland University commit; and Parker Messick, a starting
University of Florida commit Pitcher, Billy McKay focusing on what he does best.
Team captain Jarrett Joyner watches as he crushes a ball.