#11 Strawberry Crest Powers Past #21 Plant City

Friday night featured a ranked matchup of #11 Strawberry Crest taking on #21 Plant City. Two highly touted players faced off on both sides of this matchup with Arjun Nimmala for Strawberry Crest and Chase Mobley for Plant City.

For Strawberry Crest, Luke Richardson got the start. He sat in the mid 80s with his fastball going 2 innings with 5 strikeouts while allowing just 1 run.

On the other side, FSU commit Chase Mobley drew the start for Plant City. The right hander was up to 96 mph on the evening, but that didn’t scare the Strawberry Crest hitters. Mobley threw 2.1 innings allowing 9 runs (5 earned) with 4 strikeouts.

Chase Mobley ‘24 (FL) is as projectable as you can get in the 2024 class.

6’5, 195 lbs | Up to 96 early, sat 93-94 throughout the outing.

Athletic arm w/ little effort. 3/4 action w/ ASR. Depth to CB. Present CH.

FB: 93-94 T96
CB: 76-79 (2502)
CH: 83-84@FSUBaseball recruit pic.twitter.com/Jc5xLHnIPB

— Rocco Iervasi Jr. (@rocco_iervasi) March 4, 2023

Plant City’s defense was shaky from the get go with 7 total errors on the outing. Strawberry Crest got on the board in the 1st. Arjun Nimmala won the first matchup against Mobley singling up the middle. He would later come around to score on an Eli Vickers RBI single.

Arjun Nimmala ‘23 (FL) gets his night started early.

Jumps on a first pitch FB for a hard 1B up the middle.

Premier bat speed & feel to hit.@FSUBaseball recruit | #MLBDraft pic.twitter.com/EPPj0nWOcg

— Rocco Iervasi Jr. (@rocco_iervasi) March 4, 2023

Plant City tied the score at 1-1 in the 2nd when starting pitcher Chase Mobley helped himself out with a solo home run to left.

Chase Mobley ‘24 (FL) backed up his 96 mph FB tonight with a no-doubt HR.

Who doesn’t like #PitchersWhoRake#PBRBombSquad 💣@plantcityhighBB pic.twitter.com/757HvRf6l6

— Rocco Iervasi Jr. (@rocco_iervasi) March 4, 2023

In the 3rd, Strawberry Crest broke this one open. A 9-run 3rd gave them a 10-1 lead. A few errors by Plant City allowed the inning to continue, while Eli Vickers, Toby Highsmith, Raymond Llanes, and Arjun Nimmala added RBI singles. Akhil Nimmala capped off the 3rd inning by launching a solo home run to right center.

#UNcommitted Akhil Nimmala ‘24 (FL) continues to showcase power potential with his added strength.

Launches a solo HR backside

Mature approach, loose hands, & ability to launch.#PBRBombSquad@baseball_crest pic.twitter.com/tXKyA1bzfe

— Rocco Iervasi Jr. (@rocco_iervasi) March 4, 2023

Zachary Redner came in the game in relief for Strawberry Crest. He worked 3 innings allowing just 1 run with 4 strikeouts. The Chargers added more runs in the 5th. Toby Highsmith collected his 3rd hit and 3rd RBI of the game. Ray Allen Vazquez added a RBI double to make the score 15-2.

#11 Strawberry Crest would end things there and defeat #21 Plant City 15-2.