Prep Baseball Report

Plant City Scores 9 in the 11th to Beat Durant


Rocco Iervasi
PBR Florida Director of Operations/Area Scout

Plant City, FL - I headed over to Plant City last night to see a matchup between Durant hosting Plant. The game was a pitcher’s duel for most of the game with good arms going for both teams.

For Durant, 2022 University of Tampa commit Torin Byrnes started for Durant. The tall, lanky right hander worked quick with his fastball sitting 87-89 mph and showed ability to spin the slider. He would go 7 innings allowing 1 run on 6 hits with 5 strikeouts.

On the other side, uncommitted 2023 Preston Rogers started for Plant City. He had loose arm action sitting 85-87 mph and topping out at 88. He showed a 4 pitch mix with a slider, curveball, and changeup that all were thrown for strikes. Rogers would go 6 innings allowing 1 run on 9 hits with 5 strikeouts.

Durant got on the board first as Oscar Fernandez singled home a run in the first. Plant City tied things up in the 5th as Jacob VanDerzee brought in a run on an RBI single. The game remained tied after 7 and went to extras.

2023 Tanner Rollyson came in relief for Plant City. Durant started a rally in the bottom of the 9th, but with bases loaded and 2 outs, Rollyson got a big strikeout to keep the game going. Rollyson finished with 5 innings pitched allowing no runs on 5 hits with 4 strikeouts.

In the top of the 11th, everything changed. Jacob VanDerzee led off with a solo homerun breaking the scoreless tie. Chase Mobley followed with a double and Wyatt Fordham drove him in with a single. After a few walks, Anthony Grasso drove in another run with a single, then Colin Shultz launched a grand slam to left, giving Plant City a 9-1 lead. Fordham would come up again in that inning with another RBI single bringing the game to 10-1 where it would finish.

A wild one that stayed 1-1 until the 11th finished at 10-1.

Notable Hitters:

Plant City

Colin Shultz: 4-6, HR, 4 RBI, R
Jacob VanDerzee: 2-6, HR, 2 RBI, R
Chase Mobley: 3-6, 2B, 2 R
Wyatt Fordham: 3-6, 2 RBI, R

Durant

Carlos Morales: 3-5, 2B


UPCOMING EVENTS

SHOWCASE STATE DATE LOCATION
FL Rising Stars Spring Games FL 04/23 Lake Bonny Park
FL Rising Stars Summer Games FL 05/07 Clover Park Minor League Complex
Summer Kickoff - USF FL 05/26 USF Baseball Stadium
Summer Kickoff - UCF FL 05/27 John Euliano Park at UCF
2022 Sunshine State Classic (Invite Only) FL 06/01 Ed Smith Stadium
Team Florida ID Games - FIU FL 06/14 FIU Baseball Stadium
FL Unsigned Senior Games FL 06/28 John Euliano Park at UCF
Team Florida ID Games - UCF FL 07/03 John Euliano Park at UCF
Team Florida ID Games - Northwest Florida FL 07/06 Northwest Florida State College
Team Florida ID Games - Jacksonville FL 07/12 John Sessions Stadium at Jacksonville U
PBR Junior Future Games NATIONAL 07/26 LakePoint